A Korean American student died by suicide in Georgia after enduring severe bullying at school, according to family and local media reports. His parents are urging stronger measures to prevent similar tragedies.
Local broadcaster WRDW reported that Hyunkyung Lee, 11, who went by the English name Aiden, was a student at Harlem Middle School in Columbia County. He died by suicide at his home on August 24.
In an interview, his parents described their son as “a loving child who told us ‘I love you’ every day.” They said they could not imagine the loneliness and fear he must have felt before making such a decision. After his death, the family received multiple accounts from others alleging that their son faced intense bullying both at school and on social media. “We even heard he was tortured,” they said, noting the details were “too cruel to repeat.”
Lee had received psychiatric treatment due to the bullying but was unable to recover. He previously lived in Virginia before moving to Grovetown, Georgia, during elementary school. He also played trombone in the school band.
His parents stressed that bullying is not just part of growing up and vowed to fight to prevent another tragedy. Community members have organized memorial efforts, including selling tribute T-shirts to support the family.
The Columbia County School District issued a statement saying it does not dismiss any reports from students or parents. It emphasized that student threats are investigated under state law, with criminal charges possible for those aged 13 or older.
The case has sparked alarm in the education sector. California Penal Code §245.6 specifies that if school violence or hazing leads to serious injury or death, minors can be prosecuted for felonies.
Jennifer Kim, a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District, noted that new forms of bullying are emerging, including insults spread through social media and manipulated images created with AI. She explained that her district requires parents and students to sign anti-bullying compliance forms at the start of each school year.
BY HANKIL KANG [kang.hankil@koreadaily.com]
