Introduction: Korean American Therapist Discusses a K Drama about Mental Health

Welcome to my little series in which I discuss a K drama about mental health in each post. This will reveal I probably watch too many K dramas!

I’ve been watching k-dramas for a long time. I watched Winter Sonata with my mom during my breaks home from college. Winter Sonata had me crying so hard that I went through an entire box of tissues during one of the episodes. Since then, I’ve gone through phases of watching a series every night or not watching any at all. (My interest in K Dramas tends to fluctuate with how I am handling screen time.) K Dramas also tend to be formulaic and melodramatic and if I’m in a serious headspace I may not have the tolerance for it. Sometimes I simply don’t have the patience to stay with a series, which can be up to 20 episodes. That said, I read about Move to Heaven in a magazine recently and was so intrigued that I actually re-activated my Netflix subscription just to watch it. I’m a big fan of several other K dramas about mental health, which I’ll discuss at the end.

A Family in Grief and Transition

The premise is quite unusual for a K drama. The main character is an autistic young man, Geu Roo, whose father suddenly dies and he then has to live with his estranged uncle, who just got out of prison. (If you sense a redemption arc is in this uncle’s future, you may know your way around a K Drama or two.) But also, death is ubiquitous in the show because the family business is a “trauma cleaning” service for the deceased. What that means on the show is that when a person dies, this family’s business is contacted to clean and organize the belongings of the deceased. And they do it with such care and reverence, no matter how squalid the conditions in which they find the body. In each episode, we learn about a newly deceased person whose belongings need to be cleaned and organized, their heartbreaking life stories, and the odd/unpredictable assortment of people they leave behind.

An Invitation to Feel

Because death and loss are part of the world of this show from the very first episode, there’s an immediate emotional depth that invites the viewer to feel more deeply too. Themes of grief, loss, and impermanence are woven throughout the episodes. The pace of the show is slow, inviting stillness and reflection. There are moments of cinematic beauty and artistry in this show that I have found incredibly moving. This is the first K drama about mental health that I’ve seen to elicit such a specific emotional experience. I highly recommend watching the series, even if you don’t normally watch K dramas.

Some Cringe-y Representation

Unfortunately, the show’s portrayal of autism is quite problematic. The main character, Geu Roo, plays a “savant” type character reminiscent of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. When I take into account the Korean cultural context here, I recognize that this is perhaps one of the first attempts at depicting a strong character on the autism spectrum and that future endeavors will likely be more nuanced and realistic. But oh boy did it make me cringe at times. My hope is that as the discourse around neurodiversity continues to evolve in South Korea, we’ll see a change in representation in mainstream K TV. 

The Catharsis of Watching a K Drama About Mental Health

Over the years, I’ve had a few clients share that one of their self-care activities is watching a K drama with the explicit goal of crying. I know from many years of doing therapy that crying is cathartic. Crying may not immediately solve our problems but it can often feel as if the body has been waiting for just this opportunity to release tension and emotions. Medical research suggests crying is good for us because it releases oxytocin (the “love” hormone) and reduces stress. Keeping this in mind, K dramas can be a fun and accessible tool for coping, especially if you need a good cry. And if you do end up crying, the tears may be about the story, or about personal experiences and triggers that connect to the show. You can even find guides to K Dramas that are (almost) guaranteed to make you cry.

To take it one step further, you might even process your emotional reactions during the show. Who did this remind me of? Who do I identify with on this show? Which emotions are coming up for me and why might they be triggered right now? These might even serve as ways to journal out your thoughts and feelings after a good cry from a K drama.

K dramas can help us cope in healthy ways by providing opportunities for much needed catharsis. They can be a safe space for feeling emotions and crying. As a psychologist who specializes in serving AAPI people, I strive to think creatively about how we can celebrate our cultural interests and experiences and connect them to the progress we make in therapy. I’m certainly not alone in trying to leverage K dramas to benefit our well-being. There are a number of research endeavors examining how K dramas can be used for health education and to address bullying among college-aged students.

Need Another K Drama About Mental Health?

I must confess that I don’t have the time to keep up with all the K dramas about mental health because so many new ones are premiering continuously. This list I found from The Smart Local is pretty current. One that came out several years ago that I recommend is “It’s Okay, That’s Love.” I hope to write a post about this one in the next installment of this series. The main character is a psychiatrist who works in a psychiatric ward at a Korean hospital. I don’t want to spoil anything so let’s just say she’s got her own psychiatric issues (as we all do) and her love interest has some as well…though his are a little unrealistic from my point of view. In any case, it’s a very sweet show.

More to Come

Until next time, happy viewing—unless you need a good cry. If you’d like to connect with me for a free consultation, drop me a line here.