Lily Lam:

I've been researching the disorder since watching the show. Moon young certainly has some traits but it doesn't seem like she actually has that specific mental issue to me.  I know the description says she has been diagnosed with it but some of her actions seem to say otherwise. Descriptions can be rather misleading, and they could always claim she was misdiagnosed. 

The actress said in one of her interviews that her character had ASPD.

 sayaraohara:

I don't think she has it too I think it's like the case in "Hello Monster"

The character in Hello Monster has ASPD.  He’s capable of deep emotions for his brother.  Not everyone who has ASPD has psychopathy but everyone who has psychopathy has ASPD.  I think the main character has both, she showed callous disregard for others, lack empathy and is impulsivity.  She’s what psychology researchers call Factor 2 psychopaths or what colloquial term “sociopath”.   

ASPD is diagnosed based on behaviours while psychopathy/sociopathy  are enduring “traits/personality” which involves callous disregard for feelings/boundaries of others, shallow emotional experience and lack of empathy.  Factor 1 psychopaths have good control so they plan out their violence/aggression for an end (power, sexual gratification or wealth).  Factor 2 psychopaths are impulsive and lack control so they act without thinking of outcomes without planning.  These types usually land in jail and not become CEOs or spies like Factor 1 psychopaths (ie. James Bond)

People with ASPD doesn’t necessarily lack empathy, they sometimes have it and sometimes don’t but it isn’t an enduring trait but more expressed behaviours that lands them in jail.  

(I wrote a  comprehensive research paper on ASPD and psychopathy two years ago and worked with clinically diagnosed psychopaths and people with ASPD). 

Just based on what I'm reading about this right now it seems like this disorder and related disorders are still highly debated with psychiatric circles, so us trying to armchair diagnose a fictional character based on a few symptoms we found on online feels pointless given that most of  us probably aren't in the field. 

I don't think there's really a wrong answer here because it's a fictional representation of a complex disorder.  And given that this is a romcom that's also going to effect how this disorder is portrayed.

You missed the obvious!  It’s just a fun exercise in discussion about a drama... that’s the whole point.  

Besides, if they can diagnose Trump based on what they know of him on the news. Having a little fun with a fictional character isn’t a huge stretch.  It’s much ado about nothing... after all.

Oh I'm not saying we shouldn't do it, just that there's really no wrong answer here. 

I don't think she has antisocial personality disorder as it is very clear she feels and feels deeply - she has just put up extremely tough walls due to her upbringing.  I think she has PTSD from her upbringing and that her behaviour is learnt as a survival instinct as a result of that awful upbringing.  But only time will tell  - i am definitely not a mental health professional!

I also think Borderline Personality Disorder suits her symptoms.  It used to be a catch all diagnostic phrase the way bipolar is today.  Most people aren't ONE dx, but a mixture and the dx depends on the era and what might be the most helpful in treatment. 

I mean... Seo Ye Ji herself said in interviews her character has anti-social personality so... we can't argue here when the actress herself states how it is. 


As for borderline... she does not match majority of diagnostic criteria. Tho, I'm writing this statement based on 6 episodes I have seen as I dropped the show. One of the most "obvious" symptoms is the unstable and intense relationships. She does not have this at all. With how cold, calculative she is, I cannot see borderline personality in her. She controls herself too well, she does not use emotional manipulation (like crying, saying she will kill herself is someone she loves leaves her). As a child/young teen she would NOT be able to control her emotions so well in front of her mother if she had BPD. This is vastly different from how people with BPD behave. 


DSM and ICD are not detailed on how to read them. It's not enough to read them but to also understand them and know how they apply to certain disorders. There is difference between manipulation of others being symptom in BPD and APD. There is a difference between risk taking as a symptom between BPD and APD. If you take all that into consideration, she does fits APD more.