Introduction: Asian American Mental Health and K Dramas

In this series, K Drama About Mental Health, I pair two of my passions—K dramas and psychology! Luckily, there are plenty of K dramas to stream and there is no shortage of grist for the therapeutic mill in many of their storylines. In this series, I focus on dramas that prominently feature a mental health condition or a person struggling with mental health issues. In the last installment, I discussed my impression of Move to Heaven, a moving (no pun intended) story about loss, neurodivergence, and family. In this post, I’ll be focusing on an older drama that first aired in 2014, It’s Okay, That’s Love (괜찮아, 사랑이야). In my memory, this was one of the first K dramas to explore psychiatric illness in detail and in a non-pathologizing way. This drama paved the way for later medical K dramas to explore mental illness, such as Netflix’s Daily Dose of Sunshine, which aired in 2023 and takes place in a psychiatric ward.

I enjoy thinking about the role that K dramas can play in mental health and self-care. K dramas can be a soothing and comforting experience because you get caught up in the problems and struggles of these characters but you can trust that it works out in the end for them. That means that even though K dramas are an emotional rollercoaster, we’re in safe hands. Working with a mostly Asian American and Asian diaspora clientele, sometimes I connect to people around a particular K drama. That opens the door to so many productive explorations around the emotions that drama elicited, what reminded them of their own struggles, what reminded them of their own families or friends. It’s meaningful that we’re talking about an entire genre of popular culture that shows people who look like us and we can feel seen and accepted by that.

I also enjoy watching the evolution of attitudes surrounding mental health in Korean society as shown on these television shows. When I first began graduate training to become a therapist, my Korean relatives did not really understand what the job was and if they did, they were often confused by why I would want to work with people struggling with mental health. In more recent interactions with those same relatives, it seems there’s more interest in what I do and they tell me about celebrity therapists that give advice on TV or radio shows in Korea. In my personal experience as a Korean American who occasionally visits Korea, it seems the stigma is still there but it has softened. I’m thankful to see that shift in my lifetime and I hope the progress continues.

Mental Health Struggles Depicted in It’s Okay, That’s Love

The main character is a psychiatrist in her first year of practice who works in an inpatient psychiatric ward, Ji Hae Soo (played by Gong Hyo Jin). She’s a compassionate provider and an empathetic teacher to her residents at the hospital where she works. But her personal life is complicated. She struggles with anxiety and fear of intimacy, which results in her avoiding dating and romance altogether. She’s a likable character and I find myself rooting for her to grow and take more risks. The central plot of the drama depicts her romantic involvement with eccentric novelist Jang Jae Yeol (played by Jo In Sung). Jang Jae Yeol is not just a famous writer but also a radio DJ and exudes charisma. However, as we get to know this character more intimately, we see he suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia. The show suggests that his mental health problems stem from a childhood trauma, the details of which, honestly, I found a bit melodramatic. Other minor characters’ mental health struggles and life situations include: Tourette’s syndrome, panic attacks, child abuse, parental alcoholism, anti-trans discrimination, infidelity. If a goal of the series was to give a whirlwind tour of mental illness and psychosocial stressors, I’d say they were pretty successful. Overall, the show depicts a rich world in which it’s not just normal to have mental health struggles but the characters display empathy and compassion for everyone’s plight.

A Glimpse into Korean Mental Health Care

It’s Okay, That’s Love deliberately educates viewers about mental health conditions and psychiatric vocabulary throughout the series. In each episode, the name of a diagnosis or symptom appears onscreen as the characters discuss it and we’re given a definition of what it means. As a Korean American psychologist with limited ability in the Korean language, I was interested to see which terms were the same or similar in both Korean and English and which were different. It appears that as we do here in the US, the Korean mental health system relies on the use of the DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, for diagnosis and treatment formulation.

As in many other countries, South Korea is undergoing a mental health crisis, with the highest suicide rate of any OECD nation. Mental health stigma remains strong in South Korea and in Korean culture. Even on a mainstream TV show such as this one, showing what mental health symptoms can look like, in addition to showing that so-called normal people, like glamorous novelist Jang Jae Yeol, can suffer too is a big step in the right direction.

The Heart of the Drama

This drama is a rom com that starts with Hae Soo and Jae Yeol’s first encounter when their personalities clash on a live TV interview for Jae Yeol’s show. Then, through some contrived circumstance, they become housemates and over time, get to know one another and fall in love. What the show depicts over the episodes is the ups and downs of their burgeoning relationship, due to Hae Soo’s reluctance to enter a romantic relationship and Jae Yeol’s mental health issues. In the end, in good ol’ K drama fashion, there is a happy ending. But first, Jae Yeol has a psychotic break and ends up getting hospitalized. And Hae Soo realizes the extent of the pain Jae Yeol has suffered alone over the years. Hae Soo’s arc is not just falling in love but also getting to know herself better, particularly why she is so afraid of loving someone. Hae Soo signals her growth by empathizing with her mother, who cheated on her father when she was a child:

“It’s everyone’s first time in this life, so it’s inevitable that we aren’t perfect, and that’s why we are pitiable, and that’s why we can make some mistakes.”

As Hae Soo and Jae Yeol’s relationship develops, we see the rich cast of characters on the show take brave steps toward healing. At times, it’s very cheery (to the point of corniness perhaps?) but I appreciate the message of hope and positivity.

Questions to Explore As You Watch

I recommend watching this K drama for fun. The first episode in particular is sensational and will hook you. But if you’re interested in a little work on yourself too as you watch, here are some questions that might be helpful in your reflections.

• Is there a character you identify with on this show? Why is that?

• Hae Soo fears she will fail in relationships because she believes her parents’ marriage failed. How has your parents’ marriage impacted your views on romantic relationships and/or marriage?

• In your family’s culture, what messages did you receive about mental health, if any? Did you know anyone with mental illness growing up and how were they regarded?

• What moved you during the episode you just watched and how did the emotions bring up triggers from your own life? How do you feel after reflecting on your life?

• What are some thoughts and experiences you had watching this drama that you feel grateful for?

For More Information About Me

If you’d like to explore working with me directly, I encourage you to reach out.