The process of bullying and victimization operates beyond the isolated conflicts between bullies and victims. These behaviors are maintained and influenced by an interaction of social variables such as attitudes of peers, teachers, and family (Hong et al., 2014).

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory contains five important components: individual, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem, where children are viewed as developmental entities that interact with their ecological environments. Among those, the components of microsystems have been thoroughly researched in regards to school bullying in South Korea (Hong et al., 2014).

Microsystems encompass the activities, roles, and interpersonal relations experienced by individuals. According to Bronfenbrenner, an individual’s experience in face-to-face interaction is the most critical in a microsystem (Bronfrenbrenner, 1989).