In this day and age, it’s almost impossible to find someone who does not know of BTS or about the Hallyu Wave that has recently swept across the globe. From little kids in 2nd grade to men and women in their 60s and above everyone has engaged in at least some form of Korean entertainment consumption. Korean Dramas to are watched excessively all over and have a huge fan base. Its very rare for someone to have not watched a single Korean drama or its better-known K-Drama.
There are many well-known Korean dramas like Squid game and Physical 100 that are very famous but there are also many underrated K-Dramas. many K-Dramas deal with various topics of mental illness and they do a very good job at portraying it as well. There are may times when the media portrays mental illnesses in a way that is not completely true however most Korean dramas do an amazing job at portraying the illness as close to how it is felt in reality. When social media showcases certain mental illness in the wrong manner it often downplays the struggles that people who are clinically diagnosed with those illnesses actually undergo however that is not the case with K-Dramas. Although it too has its share of bad media portrayals it is comparatively better at portraying mental illnesses.
A few Korean dramas that deal with mental illnesses are – its okay that’s love, it’s okay not to be ok , rain or shine , attorney woo young woo and clean with passion. It’s okay that’s love showcases schizophrenia and it does an amazing job at it. It showcases the way people may not know of the signs even when someone close to them might be undergoing it and also showcases how they deal with it. Overall, it does an amazing job at showcasing to the watchers the true reality of schizophrenia and how even those around them deal with it. It’s okay not to be ok and Attorney woo young woo both deal with autism and portray it wonderfully. Attorney woo young woo showcases autism in the sphere of law and is about an attorney and showcases the brighter side of autism but it also showcases the harsh reality of prejudices that they undergo and also about those around them and the struggles faced by them. Rain or Shine talks about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which is better known as PTSD. It showcases how two young people who undergo trauma come to terms with their trauma and is a beautiful portrayal of the struggles they undergo and how they finally come to terms with it. Clean with Passion shows in great detail the concept of obsessive-compulsive disorders which is most commonly known as OCD.
Terms like OCD and PTSD are commonly used very loosely among people today however it is not right to do so. Just because you don’t like to be messy and prefer your surroundings to be neat doesn’t imply that you are suffering from OCD and likewise just because you have undergone a traumatic incident doesn’t mean for sure that you will suffer from PTSD. Using these terms loosely may not seem problematic or like a big deal to some however it is very wrong to so as it discounts the struggles faced by the people who are actually undergoing theses symptoms and are diagnosed with these illnesses.
Living with mental illness and disorders is not something to look down at. It is not a choice and it is extremely hard to adjust in a world where there are so many prejudices against people who are different than what we consider normal. Although nowadays there is more awareness about these illnesses and there is lesser prejudices as compared to before and people are able to come out and ask for help way more than they could have even said a decade ago, it still is a very sensitive issue.
There are many ways to educate people about mental illness and often social media tends to portray medical illnesses in a negative light and send out lots of false information and not showcase the true reality however there are also times when they portray it amazingly well. It is important for us to figure out these shows and movies that portray mental illness as close to reality as possible so as to spread awareness on what the illness actually is and in doing so, we can make sure to not discount the struggles faced by those undergoing illness and those around them and their struggles. There are many shows including many Korean dramas which one can watch to understand the illness including those mentioned above.
Let’s watch more K-Dramas and movies and let us be more sensitive to those suffering from mental issues in this world full of various kinds of people, lets us choose to be kind.
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