Concerned Your Child Might Be Facing Bullies? Meet the Private Investigator Who Terrorizes the Tormenters

[R2D2]

Typically, we think of private investigators as being in the employ of jealous lovers digging for evidence of cheating, or by insurance entities trying to expose scams.

Yet, in the bustling heart of Seoul, Son Hye-young finds an unusual kind of client ringing his office: parents desperate to know whether their kids are being harassed at school.

The frequency of these requests has grown so much that Son now gets two or three daily calls from anxious parents.

"Parents reach out when they notice a sudden shift in their child's behavior," he explained.

"They observe their child retreating to their room and not wanting to come out, unlike their normal self, prompting them to question the cause.

"Or when they affectionately rub their child's head goodnight, the child complains of pain," he added.

The surge of concern around bullying in South Korea has led Son to include "bullying" as one of the services advertised in his newspaper ads.

Despite the volume of calls he gets from perturbed parents, the steep prices of his services mean not everyone can engage his expertise.

Following a child for a week to gather evidence comes with a hefty price tag of about $5,000 and can sometimes escalate to $10,000.

"I assure them that our approach to handling school violence is highly professional, yet I have to warn them about the costs being more prohibitive than they may anticipate," he mentioned.

Even with the high costs, in the past half year, he accepted 10 cases of school bullying.

Employing powerful zoom lenses and covert cameras, Son scrutinizes the children's interactions, gathering proof of any bullying and pinpointing the offenders.

This documentation is then handed over to the parents and, if necessary, to appropriate legal bodies.

In addition to surveillance, he provides a "big uncle" service, where he or an associate accompanies the child for a time, deterring potential bullies with their presence.

"The amount of calls I've received has nearly tripled compared to the last couple of years," he noted.

"With the upsurge in these calls, it's clear that the issue of school bullying is far more pervasive than we may have realized."

Read further: ABC News