Seoul ( CNN ) -- It took two teenage suicide cases due to school bullying last year in South Korea for people to notice something was very wrong . The students lived in different cities and went to different schools , but both jumped to their deaths after saying they could not take the pain of being bullied any longer . Over the last few weeks , the country 's media has been filled with reports about tragic cases of school bullying . This week , two more students from the same class reportedly took their own lives -- one was the victim of bullying , the other a powerless friend who had stood by and watched the abuse . Experts say the cases highlight how desperately many South Korean teenagers need a means to escape the bullying as well as a way to cope . Park Han-wool , a 17-year-old high-school student , said he has been bullied for the past six years . He has been isolated from other classmates , beaten during school trips and locked up in the classroom . `` I wanted to tell people about it . I did tell my parents , but they did n't take it seriously thinking it was an issue between friends , '' he said . The bullying became so bad that Park tried to jump from his school building in front of his teachers , but he was stopped by the police . He is now involved in creating a music video with other teenagers to raise awareness of school bullying , an issue he says that was not taken seriously until recently . The tools of bullying vary from forcing victims to run errands and steal , to sexual assault , confinement and gang beatings . With reports of other incidents of teenage violence n schools , including the assault of teachers and rape of younger students , many South Koreans are asking , `` what is wrong with our kids ? '' The answer , according to some analysts , lies within the hyper-competitive nature of South Korean society . As the country continues to enjoy success economically , Korean students are being pushed into an environment of competition to succeed . `` At school , students do n't see their peers as friends but as competition and believe that they need to beat others , '' said Dr. Bae Joo-mi , a specialist at the Korea Youth Counseling Institute . In a classroom environment in which students are forced to prove themselves , those who fall behind in grades turn to other means to show they are more powerful , taking on the role of the aggressor , Bae explained . The family support system also fails many adolescents . `` The parents heavily invest in raising their children to be successful and skillful in various fields , but when it comes to raising them to be moral and have healthy personalities I think there has been a lack of interest , '' Bae said . Schools and teachers have been criticized for turning the other way in bullying cases and trying to cover it up . Local governments have gone into a frenzy of drafting up new measures to hold bullies accountable and prevent school violence . Experts such as Bae believe it may take more than simply increasing monitoring of school violence . What students need is a healthier environment to learn more social skills and know how to deal with their problems , they say . A survey conducted in 2010 by the Foundation for Preventing Youth Violence , a counseling center established more than 15 years ago , indicated that more than 20 % of those surveyed said they had been bullied . Of those victims , more than 30 % said they felt suicidal due to bullying . The same group said last year that the number of counseling cases of students seeking help from suicidal feelings doubled from the previous year . The concern is that students have not been able to learn how to find solutions to their problems in a rigid educational environment and are now turning to suicide as their last resort . Counseling groups urge the government and schools to step up and punish those accountable , while keeping the victims safe from harm .
South Korea 's media has been filled with reports about tragic cases of school bullying . This week two more students from same class reportedly took their own lives due to bullying . Experts say many South Korean teenagers desperately need a means to escape . The hyper-competitive nature of South Korean society is held up as one reason for bullying .