To those who feel or believe at Yeonwoo is at fault

What is victim-blaming? Why do we do it? Why is it so wrong?

Victim blaming is a phenomenon in which victims are held accountable for the crimes or tragedies that happened to them. Blaming the victim can convince people that such horrific things will never happen to them (i will delve into that later).

The fundamental attraction error is one of the psychological phenomenons that contributes to the tendency of blaming victims. This bias involves attributing other people's behaviour to internal/personal characteristics while ignoring external forces and variables that could have influenced it. When Yeonwoo didnt tell anybody about his bullying as it got worse, you probably linked that to his internal characteristics. You could have thought that Yeonwoo was weak-willed, prideful, stupid or a straight up sissy. However, If YOU were sexually harrased and told an adult only to have your feelings invalidated, your experience downplayed, your harrasment only get worse and harm the only friend you have, all at the age of 13, would you be able to tell someone? Many would say that they wouldn't out of fear that the adults around them would ignore them again and the bullying only end up something way worse. Especially since you would have fear and humiliation instilled into you.

Another bias that contributes to the issue of victim blaming is the hindsight bias. "When we look at an event that happened in the past, we have a tendency to believe that we should have been able to see the signs and predict the outcome.This hindsight makes it seem like the victims of a crime, accident, or another form of misfortune should have been able to predict and prevent whatever problem might have befallen them" - Kendra Cherry MSEd.
This happens all the time not just with sexual violence or bullying, when someone becomes ill we often try to attribute the blame onto them by searching for something that could have been seen as a 'sign' or a 'warning'.
A collapsed lung? Should've stopped vaping. Liver failure? Well i guess she shouldn't have drank so much. Viral Gastroenteritis? You should've known better than to eat at that restaurant.
In these cases we often suggest that the other person should've simply known or expected such things to happen because of their behaviour but, in reality, there was no true way of knowing.

Victim-Blaming can also stem from the belief that the world is fair and just, even if you say it isnt true you could actually believe it subconciously without realising. We often think that when something bad happens to someone else they must have done something to deserve it, whether it was past or current wrongs.
You must be thinking, why do we even put our faith this 'just-world' phenomenon? Well if we believe the world isnt fair or just, then we realise that anybody, loved ones, friends, strangers and even you yourself could fall into tragedy. No matter are careful, cautious or responsible you are, bad things can happen to anyone and everyone whether they are a good person or not. But by lying to ourselves that the world is fair, believing that everyone deserves or let the bad things that happened to them happen and blaming the victim. People protect the self-created illusion that such horrible things will never happen to them.

"But bad things can and probably will happen to you at some point in your life. So the next time you find yourself wondering what someone else did to bring on their misfortune, take a moment to consider the psychological attributions and biases that affect your judgment. Rather than blame the victim, try putting yourself in that person’s shoes and perhaps try a little empathy instead". - Verywellmind