Korean dramas are always famous for their romantic stories. I cannot deny that the romantic factor is the main component of K-drama. However, they have abused it for years, and the audience can totally predict what’s going to happen easily.
But, in 2020, a Korean drama called It’s Okay to Not Be Okay will change your viewpoint about the content and how the romantic factor is shown in K-drama.
The film chooses to explore a topic that is not easy to see with the central character as a “crazy woman” with a complicated story about the world of people with psychological instability. On the outside, it is a beautiful fairy tale, but inside, it is a series of shocking details that easily make the film ranked in the most daring, even reckless works, most Korean films before.
The main female character, who is played by Go Moon Young, is called Seo Ye Ji. She is described as a “deviant” and “crazy” person. In the film, Seo Ye Ji has a disease called antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). She was emotionless and cold, despite the usual rules or restrictions. Yeji scares children, smokes in hospitals, and obviously wants to “catch” the main male character to be her own person; she does not hesitate to follow him everywhere or have excessive behaviors. Seo Ye Ji in the eyes of some people is “cool”. However, in the eyes of others, she is a ridiculous “stalker.”
ASPD is defined as an abnormal state of personality manifested primarily by the difficulty or inadequate adaptation to social ethics and laws. Therefore, Seo Ye Ji does not know and does not care what is limited or right. She does everything to satisfy her personal needs. All of the character’s controversial actions, some of which are meant to be “fanservice”, are directly related to her illness and are hard to see under normal standards if not sure. The audience can feel extremely uncomfortable when they watch her actions.
This K-drama is unique. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay exploited a range of psychological diseases, and was not afraid of even sensitive syndromes. In just the first four episodes, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay has naturally brought the audience into the world of “crazy” people, or simply those who have psychological instability. From autism, antisocial, memory loss to mania, the film is not afraid of sensitive illnesses when the main subject of the movie is inherently sensitive. It is important that It’s Okay to Not Be Okay’s characters do not exploit smoothly. The film lays a strong foundation for its character with severe psychological trauma from the past – the main cause of their illness and a clear accumulation of damage over time.
Another reason for this film to be a must-watch show is that it reverses common sense. Why is only the princess always beautiful and honest and the witch is always ugly and cruel? Do fairy tales represent beautiful dreams of humans and encourage us to stay optimistic in danger? Seo Ye Ji says no. To her, a fairy is to remind people not to look up but to forget that their feet are stuck in the mud. The pain is to accept and hug it to live, not to forget.
It must be determined that It’s Okay to Not Be Okay does not impose these “paradoxical” statements on anyone. The film conveys them under the lens of Seo Ye Ji – a “mad” woman who is not loved by the world and certainly not trying to love the world back. This film definitely goes against the usual bright messages to uncover the rigors of life and the way of thinking of destabilized people often considered “alienated” in society.