Humanity Healing
The South Korean Netflix-series It's Okay to Not Be Okay
(사이코지만 괜찮아; Saikojiman gwaenchana, directed by Park Shin-woo, written by Jo Yong, 2020, 16 episodes)
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance, Crime
– Dedicated to Vanessa –
The Butterfly Hug Method: a self-soothing technique developed by trauma therapists Lucina Artigas and Ignacio Jarero
Take part in a healing journey of an emotionless princess, a masked boy and his brother who is trapped in a box…
A woman in white on a darkened street, walking barefoot in the pouring rain. Her empty gaze focused far away into the distance in a never-ending walk. A beacon of hope glowing in the distance… This is just one of many memorable scenes in It's Okay to Not Be Okay, a recondite psychological K-drama with hauntingly beautiful images. Fairytale and gothic elements call forth an otherworldly atmosphere akin to Tim Burton's visionary landscapes, while its conjunction of tragic and comic situations almost seems Shakespearean in nature.
Destiny brought together three troubled, but yet quite different souls: A famous children's book writer with strong sociopathic tendencies (played by Seo Ye-ji), a selfless psych ward caretaker (heartthrob Kim Soo-hyun) and his autistic brother (a remarkable performance by Oh Jung-se). What they all have in common, however, is emotional and psychological trauma.
Due to her rude and cold-hearted demeanor and her obsession with knives and other pointy objects Moon-young – also referred to as the emotionless princess – is dreaded by her staff. While acting tough in public, she is suffering from nightmares, flashbacks and sleep paralysis during her stay in her former childhood residence (‚the ‚cursed castle‘). Soon it becomes evident that she grew up in a severely dysfunctional family.
Gang-tae – the masked boy – is working at OK Psychiatric Hospital and taking care of his autistic older brother. While he’s always looking for others he has never learnt how to live and enjoy his own life. He is known for his peculiar sad smile that, according to his best friend, is evocative of the Joker.
His brother Sang-tae – the boy who is trapped in a box – is a good-hearted man who was born with autism and suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder. Bits and pieces of his backstory wound are slowly revealed as the plot unfolds. Due to his autism spectrum disorder Sang-tae regularly refers to a chart of facial expressions that aids him in identifying the emotions of others. He has a charming obsession with dinosaurs and Moon-young’s children’s books. Trying to become an artist he draws caricatures in a pizza shop.
Witnessing a clash of these very different personalities and temperaments is already an enjoyable experience. But aside from the main characters the viewer also meets a number of likable patients who suffer from mental illnesses like dissociative identity disorder, bulimia and manic episodes. The young female script writer Jo Yong did a great job addressing all of these sensitive mental health issues in a realistic way without stigmatising them. It's not surprising the series was honored by the New York Times as one of "The Best International Shows of 2020". Hopefully there will be a new season or another cooperation with Netflix soon.