It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)

Salute to the actors for a job well done. It's hard to pull off a difficult role especially in a case of a person who has special needs. A unique story line which makes kdramas great. For this review I will only put only the negative feedbacks that I observed as I watched the drama.

- There were no Climax and the Conflict of the story was only one episode. You won't really feel the climax of the drama since conflict was only good for one episode. The story only revolves the lovestory between to protagonist

- Total point of the story was simply summarized at the finale episode.

- Hype of the drama wasn't there if you waited each episodes every weekend. This is only my perspective since I only watch it and wait ever weekend. I think it is much better if you watch this series in a single day or two.

Overall the drama was great and for sure many of the viewers will be having a hard time to move on in this drama.

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Very touching and hilarious at the same time

This is one of the finest kdrama i havw ever watched... its so well written.. all the characters in this drama are casted with perfection.. the story line is so good.. initially you will find it dark.. but gradually when the story unfolds you will understand the deep meaning in the drama.. if you are a kdrama lover then this drama is a must watch for you.. and trust be it will become your most favourite drama.. kim so hyun looks ? ? and the seo ye jin looks classy her acting skills are on another level... its worth a watch... dont miss this... music is so good that i downloaded the entire album.. highly recommended go for it without second thought

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Your unusual Korean Drama that you should add on your watch lists!

I know that there are some K-dramas that doesn't go with the typical Korean formula (e.g. chaebol/heir - ordinary person romance; Historical and Fantasy genre; Hallyu status; etc.); but this drama is really something. A series that raises concerns about mental health is one of the best Korea had ever produced.

The story is simple - 2 past acquaintances with dark histories met again and ends up overcoming the past they have left behind. The real spice of this drama are the actors - As for KSH, what a comeback for him and yes, he still got it! SYJ also proved in this drama that she's really a top actress (also her wardrobe is absolutely stunning and gorgeous! she's like a bold Jang Man Wol). But the real show stealer is Oh Jung Se - giving a phenomenal performance as an autistic brother of KSH. There are no skippable moments in this drama! The hospital and patients scenes gave some motivation to the lives of Sang Tae, Gang Tae, and Mon Young. They also used some fairy tales and stories in the series to parallel the events that happened in the episodes. Each are summarized by the story that the trio narrates, most notably - Mon Young.

Although the drama seems perfect, 1 thing I like to emphasized is they don't use the other characters well in some points. Like isn't it strange that there is no romantic relationship between Sang-in (CEO) and Moon Young? or even Sang-in having a feelings for Mon-young? I think he can be a potential third wheel for the couple. Also her mother - I don't want to spoil but I don't like the plot twist in the last episodes.

Will all those shortcomings, it still doesn't ruin the quality of the drama. I'm looking forward for this drama to bag numerous award (OJS may also won a DAESANG!).

I know that not all will like this drama since the majority prefer a rom-com series but I swear, there are still scenes that are really hilarious (some are dark humors of Moon Young) so I really hope to give it a shot!
1 word to summarize this drama- MASTERPIECE

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A very fun and casual watch

I really enjoyed this drama, and I really liked the casting for it as well! The story built up well and there were lots of references to previous episodes that linked really well together. The build up of the overall story line of their parents involvements with each other was quite gradual and didn't have a huge surprise ending like many other dramas would, but I liked this because I think the story came second. To me it felt as though it was more focused on the characters and them over coming the traumas they faced in their childhoods, rather than a who did it scenario. It did have some cool plot twists that were fun and the story definitely didn't disappoint. Would really recommend to watch it!

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I never thought my first official 10/10 would be a non-LGBT drama

I had only watched two K-Dramas (non -BL) and I was interested because I knew it wasn't a conventional show. This was so good. The story was impecable, the ACTING??? Flawless. I usually don't like it when a typical person portrays an autistic one, but just like in Attorney Woo the actors did a great job. I loved everything about it.
Let's start with the stop-motion animations, which were so well done and dark and beautiful.
I love how the writers actually knew about pathological/neural disorders. No one ever talks about how PTSD and autism can be similar, but they did. Also there's usually a pattern in which it's always a crazy woman and a "normal" guy who can "fix her", but this time they made sure we knew that he wasn't normal at all. They went through so much shit and we know that they couldn't actually heal each other, but fighting together is better than alone (and they made that very clear, they were not fixing each other, but embracing who they were and trying to live a happy life). I cried so many times because I, myself, am neurodivergent and have a personality disorder, so I could relate too much to all of them.
I loved that they managed to show the back story of the patients in the hospital as well, that just proved that the point of the drama was not only about the romance (actually a lot of things show that).
I also liked the plot twist a lot. I was expecting it, but I think my brain just thought "omg it would be so crazy if the mom was her, right? lol" it was a lucky guess, I think. I just thought she had too much screen time for a side character.
But for me, the best part was Ko Moon Yeon's books. Those were absolutely great. The way her stories were for children but in a dark way and they apply perfectly with life and were so INTENSE. I think I might've cried with almost every story they narrated.
What they did to Sang-Tae at the end got me very emotional, knowing he would get his independence (an he actually wanted this, he was the one who asked for it) and knowing that he would be in good care, even without his brother was very healing.
Watch it.

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Beautifully written & play

The story, animation, cinematography, soundtrack, and acting are amazing. Beautifully written and directed. It's a very thoughtful even for tiny little details like their costumes. This has been an entertaining and heartwarming story about learning how to live with one’s scars without them getting in the way of pursuing happiness and fulfillment. In that sense, the first and last fairy tales really sum up the theme. Obviously not typical K-drama. Every episode gave a roller coaster feeling, its funny, scary sad, and happy. Agree with SooHyun that its a human healing drama. The best drama ever, worth every second. The chemistry is amazing! Sangtae Oppa deserved awards.

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Wondrously Unique Story with a Few Bumps at the Start

For me, this show was hard to get into at first because the female lead, Ko Moon Young, starts off as a grade A b*itch -- though there are reasons why, she starts off as being unrelentingly selfish, manipulative, and even obsessive over the male lead, Moon Gang Tae. However, this ends up a little forgiven as the show quickly picks up its stride and turns out to be about the healing power of human relationships, especially as it pertains to mental health.

This kdrama is famous for portraying mental health in a positive light and its easy to see why: psychological problems are treated semi-realistically and handled by the fictional psychiatric hospital staff in a respectful, therapeutic way. Underlying these character-driven stories is a fairy tale backdrop, where the individual stories end up being an allegory for the main story. It's a very clever and unique formula.

Ultimately, it is a great show, but for me personally, I think Ko Moon Young's character really took it down a few notches for me. In particular, I felt like the show sort of started her off as having some kind of diagnosable mental illness, but then pivoted to the source of her personality and her issues being trauma that she faced. For me, I think this revelation made it just a little more unforgivable to me that she acted so self-centered and immature in the beginning of the story.

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Episode 5 the motel scene is hilarious between the male and female lead. Let just put this out in the open am a SUPER-MEGA fan of the female lead like bruh her character is priceless. I love the FL character Ko Moon Young . This is what females are like they have a backbone and they are crazy like I am glad that they don’t give a weak FL. I like the harsh and cool FL that was created in this show. I also like the chemistry between the ML and FL like they almost Complement each other. I am quite curious about the storybooks cause i like them like i seriously like dark fairytale it’s like so good. Hat off for the creator for this Kdrama and those storybooks like they were very creative for this Kdrama. Movin on, let me tell you the bromance is amazing between Kang Gi Doong (Jo Jae Soo )[Gang Tae's friend] and Kim Soo Hyun (Moon Gang Tae) . I really ship to the point I wish that this drama was a BL. oh i almost forgot about the baby sound effect anytime the ML save one of the ML side characters heck even when he sometime talk gay like i am cracking uo with laughter.another hilarious scene is when the ML is jealous when he see othe men with the FL that can also be said for the FL too when she jealous too. Now almost closing into the end of the show it legit made me cry buckets of Tears. Oh and I almost forgot the deer that always cries or makes noises when the ML and FL are going to make up as in going in for the kiss that always gets intercepted by the deer noise. I can see they put a lot of effort in this drama because the did animation on the stories that was being told.

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A Delectable Mash Up Of Tim Burton Wes Anderson & Rainman °Flutters Superior°

Bring your own smores.

I won't try to describe this. Just get in the camper and journey with these characters.

This review, and the show itself is not about splitting hairs over the level of accuracy vis-a-vie certain mental ailments or whether the plot is plausible. Trust me, I understand the pain mental illness brings home. The show creators are giving us a little therapy and laughter in the hurt. It's entertaining enough to mute outside interference and provide a safe space for a little escape.

Every element is a win: Acting, costumes, characters, character arcs, sets, plot, dialogue, writing, directing, and soundtrack. (I want to jump in and have my own nice, long, cathartic, airing-out-my-lungs argument with this gang. What an emotional high-colonic that would be.)

It all comes together to make something that is truly stylish, sad, sagacious, sanguine, and... SUBLIME. It is way better than just okay.

IMHO〰

Directing 9
Acting 9
Romance 8
Flutters 6
Warmth 7
Art 9
Action 6
Thought provocation 7

Age 14+

Re-watch? Absolutely

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A fantasic drama that is truly one of a kind

Recently in some of my online groups I’ve seen people bashing on It’s Okay to Not be Okay, so here we are, because I will defend this show until my dying breath. It’s been months since I’ve finished it, I’m definitely not over it and it remains one of if not my favorite K-Drama I’ve ever watched.

It’s Okay to Not be Okay is truly a one-of-a-kind show. I only started watching K-Dramas in early 2023 and I’ve watched twenty or so since, and for every other show there’s at least one other that I can compare it to. But there’s not a single piece of media that I have ever consumed that I could compare to this.

The story of It’s Okay to Not be Okay mainly follows three characters, Ko Mun-Yeong, Moon Sang-Tae, and Moon Gang-Tae. And as the title of the show would suggest, none of them are in any sense of the word, okay.

One of the things I’ve seen most people complaining about is Ko Mun-Yeong’s character. Particularly the fact that both herself and her relationship with Gang-Tae are toxic. I won’t refute that. She is, it is. But that’s kind of the point.

Mun-Yeong doesn’t care about anyone else, and Gang-Tae doesn’t care about himself. Throughout the course of the show, they both grow individually and together, allowing them to go from some of the reddest flags I’ve seen in a K-drama, to green flags for each other.

And while I loved the romance portion of the show between Gang-Tae and Mun-Yeong, I may have enjoyed the friendship between Sang-Tae and Mun-Yeong even more. They go through many phases, from Sang-Tae idolizing Mun-Yeong, to being friends with her, to hating her, to developing a relationship reminiscent of siblings. And it was an absolute delight to watch.

The pseudo family formed between Sang-Tae, Gang-Tae and Mun-Yeong was incredibly wholesome and pretty much made the entire drama for me.

None of that would have been possible through without the phenomenal cast. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a better cast show. I can’t imagine any other actor or actress taking these roles, it was like they were made for them.

The child actors that play the main trios childhood counterparts for flashbacks were also perfectly cast. I don’t know how they managed to find kids that not only looked like the adult character, but were also able to capture the character.

Some of the flashback scenes and the parallels to modern day were my favorite scenes in the show. And they get bonus points for the stunning cinematography in those scenes, which by the way is a constant throughout the show.

The best episodes though were the ones where one of Mun-Yeong’s books is read over a scene. The books are all well written and are always a beautiful metaphor for whatever is going on at the time.

The OST is also amazing. The songs always fit the tone perfectly, and Janet Suhh who does some of the tracks ended up being my top artist on Spotify because of how often I got back to listen to the soundtrack.

In addition to all that, the set design is amazing, as well as the costuming. Every single one of Mun-Yeong’s outfits were on point.

I could write a ten page essay detailing everything in the show that I love, but I wanted to leave this review mostly spoiler free and not too absurdly long, so I'll end it here.

It's Okay to Not Be Okay is a phenomenal show that covers a wide array of topics, mostly involving mental health. It’s funny, sad, serious, beautiful, wholesome and thought provoking all in the best ways.

If you haven't watched it, I would highly encourage giving it a shot.

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The best kdrama I have ever...

I just finished It's Okay To Not Be Okay one day ago and I decided to try watching something else. I ended up starting Move to Heaven but all I can think about is It's Okay To Not Be Okay. I think I might re-watch it even though I finished it yesterday! I am craving that feeling it gave me that Move To Heaven just isn't giving me.

I cried so hard for the entire last episode but cried hardest at the end! I watched it in a library and I was a sobbing mess with snot leaking out of my nose and tears pouring down my cheeks regardless of people being around.

The character development is amazing! The ML and FL have such amazing chemistry that you actually believe that they're in love! Not only did i cry for the entire last episode but I cried throughout the entire series. I also laughed, felt sad, angry, and everything in between!

What a beautiful story of two people who experienced trauma that lean on each other to get better and become better people! This will forever be my all time favorite series! I feel like it's equivalent to a drug! I am now chasing that feeling it gave me! It's definitely going to be hard to find something better than this! I doubt I ever will !

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This is one of the best drama I have watched this year. From the first episode to the last episode I was hooked. The thing I love the most was the character development, story telling and the animation which was used in the drama.

Casting: The people who did the casting I really want to give them huge round of applause. The actors were amazing. I was able to connect with characters and their emotions.

Music: The timing and the use of the music was really great in this drama . For example the music which was used when Munyeong confessed GangTae made that clip even more funnier.

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