Review: It’s Okay To Not Be Okay

Our body is honest. When you’re in physical pain, you cry. But the heart is a liar. It stays quiet even when it’s hurting.”

This one dialogue has touched so deep within my heart that I had to pen down my thoughts. I recently concluded watching a Korean drama, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay. I would rather love to call it as a series with “deep life lessons”, a series that has taken a bold stand on the Mental health and varied Human emotions. This Korean drama, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay, is airing on #Netflix .

The storyline:

It features, Ko Mun-Yeong, a children’s book author who struggles with anti-social personality disorder and orphaned brothers. The elder brother, Moon Sang-Tae, is autistic and a budding artist, whereas the younger one, Moon Gang-Tae, works as a caregiver.

Moon Tae, has a feeling of a troubled past, as he thought his mother was always biased towards his autistic brother and loved him more. Orphaned when they were young, they do have warmth in their relationship. Gang-Tae, always felt that he has to sacrifice most of the things, as his brother couldn’t have his own happiness (being an autistic boy). This further ladened him with the emotional burden and he developed negative feelings against his own brother.

But was it the real truth? Did he had only selected memories and never saw his mom’s love for himself? Did this leave him full of jealously for his own brother?

Personally, I loved the character of Mun-Yeong, a brilliantly written and portrayed character. It was interesting to see her varied attitudes, right from being confident and unapologetic to being a person, who runs by her own rules. Though she is haunted by her past, the way she tries to develop a bond with the brothers is so heartwarming.

The series moves towards the journey of personal healing of Moon Gang-Tae and Ko Mun-Yeong. Their journey towards self-realization is something that creates a big impact and poses as a life’s learning. Their chemistry and the overall cinematography is incredible, that makes it a series, not to miss on Netflix.

Is It’s Okay To Not Be Okay worth watching?

• This K-drama has taken a daring stand on mental wellness, sharing varied nuances of human emotions. I simply couldn’t stop my tears, when Gang-Tae accepts, that his mother loved him unconditionally, after a bout of crying. (Yes, it is okay to cry your heart out, even if you are men)
• We humans, need to stop portraying ourselves as victims or feel trapped by the circumstances life throws as us. Most of the time, we do that just to gain love and sympathy. Gang-Tae always though himself as a “caretaker” who always had to sacrifice his own happiness. But, we need to come out of this self-designed trap.
• It reflects the real human nature, a combination of good and evil. Can you really say that you have no selfishness or don’t feel jealous at all? Acceptance is what matters instead of putting on a mask, and creating a misleading truth for our own lives.
• Perfectionism is something, we all need to STOP running after. Express your emotions, accept your shortcomings (we all have), release your internal stress and then you’ll be able to love yourself truly.
• It is wise, to speak out our problems, something that is deeply bothering us inside. Speak up your emotional issues, coz it is okay to not feel Okay! Only if Gang-Tae would have understood the real importance of speaking up his concerns, his life would have been much sorted. It is important to speak out our problems loud enough.

Concluding thoughts:

Overall, I would rate this story and the performance of the characters as 5/5. An incredible watch, it will redefine the true meaning of family and what place it holds in our lives. It very subtly showcases the real meaning of self-love and the journey towards self-healing.

Have you watched this emotional healer, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay? If not, watch it here on Netflix .

Also, watch Bebaakee on ZEE5, read my review here.

Love and Light,

Jhilmil