It's Okay To Not Be Okay (Series Review)

Title: It’s okay to not be okay
(Korean: 사이코지만 괜찮아, literal title: Psycho but it’s okay)
Genre: Romance, Drama, Psychology
Language: Korean
Episodes: 16
Distributor: tvN, Netflix
Rating: 4.7/5

Synopsis:

The drama tells the story of Moon Gang-tae (Kim Soo-hyun), a community health worker at a psychiatric ward who does not have time for love, and Ko Moon-young (Seo Ye-ji), a successful children's book author who suffers from antisocial personality disorder and has never known love.

After meeting each other, the two slowly begin to heal each other's emotional wounds. Throughout the series, the story also starts to reveal the truth of their pasts that have been haunting their lives.

Review:

I’m a super crazy fan of Korean series yet I was waiting for the right drama to set forth my review. Finally, I found a drama which may help heal all our broken hearts without our knowledge.

Moon Gang-tae (Kim Soo-hyun) – is a caregiver working at OK Psychiatric Hospital. He lives with his autistic elder brother Moon Sang-tae (Oh Jung-se). He never lived a normal life because of his brother’s traumatic experience.

Ki Moon-Young (Seo Ye-ji) – is a popular children's book author. She never felt any warmth of love in life and suffers from antisocial personality disorder because of her troubling childhood.

“Some things can’t be torn apart no matter how hard you try to do so. That is why obsession is noble and beautiful”.

This trio will touch your most emotional sides and try to mend your broken heart pieces together throughout their impeccable performances.

Oh Jung-se's portrayal as an autistic patient is absolutely phenomenal. His character development is so good. He relays us so many good messages which wouldn’t have been possible to learn otherwise. This character makes you realise that people who are cognitively challenged live in their own world which must be recognised by us.

“If I give all my stuff to people who need them, what about me? What will I have left?”.

Kim Soo-hyun's and Seo Ye-ji's interdependence is so adorable. Their acting perfectly justifies their characters. Their suffocations agitates our most suppressed feelings from this world and give us the strength to accept, heal and overcome it by the end of this drama.

All other actors have also magnificently performed their roles (especially Kim Mi-kyung, Jang Young-nam, Kim Joo-hun, Kim Chang-wan).

“If you want to make the people around you happy, you must find your own happiness first. Being selfish isn’t always a bad thing. Try to only think about your happiness when things are too stressful. It’s okay to do that”.

Child actors deserve a special appreciation. (Moon Woo-Jin as young "Moon Gang-tae", Kim So-In as young "Ki Moon-Young" and Lee Kyu-Sung as young "Moon Sang-tae")

Writer (Jo yong) has penned down a remarkable story which emotionally tugs our souls. And director (Park shin-woo) is proficient at his job. Cinematography is in top-notch level. Original sound tracks are connected well with the story. My most favourite track is "Lighting up your world". Locations, especially the cursed castle, are well chosen.

The five storybooks created by screenwriter Jo Yong for the series, and illustrated by concept artist Jamsan, were published (in Korean only) by Wisdom House in July and August 2020. These illustrations are unsurpassed.

Overall, this series has some psychic power which instantly touches your soul and makes you realise that “it’s absolutely okay to not be okay” in your life.

“You belong to yourself”.

I highly recommend this series to all the people who love drama with good content and to those who want to heal from their hidden wounds.

Happy watching!!!

It's Okay To Not Be Okay trailer

My favourite sound track (Lighting Up Your World) is also available at

Spotify

Amazon Music