[Drama 2020] It's Okay not to be Okay, 사이코지만 괜찮아

[ponderings]

Spoiler

As a whole I find her quite fleshed out probably more than the stereotypical kdrama bad girl or optimistic good girl. She's a rather complex figure it seems to me that knows that she's broken and needs help. While she can be demanding and rowdy, she has her moments of vulnerability, lucidity and insight as well. To me she is probably the first person in Gang-tae's life who is trying to show him a mirror of what his life is like. His life is not all it should be. It doesn't appear to me that the show condones her anti-social behaviour because there are always consequences to what she does especially with regards to bad publicity, poor book sales and blackmail threats. Furthermore she's just one of many characters in the show suffering from a wide range of disorders. I seriously doubt anyone who watches the show would automatically assume that her behaviour is somehow representative of all sufferers of mental health issues . If they do then they seriously need a crash course in the realities of the world. I was really impressed at MY's self-control during her altercation with the delusional ajumma. At one point I thought she was going to hit her but she didn't. (Maybe that's low-hanging fruit but I'm not looking for perfection here. :D) She's a work-in-progress.

 

In an environment populated by people suffering from serious mental health issues, it doesn't come across to me that there's a whole lot of violence occurring. Aside from Ko Dae-hwan trying to throttle MY, many of the patients seems to be fairly docile and actually quite social. Violence seems to be very specific to the Ko family.  And it wouldn't surprise me, based on the Bluebeard allusions that Dad and/or Mum was/were involved domestic violence. This is more than just about mental health I suspect. Mental health is merely symptomatic of larger social problems.

 

To be fair, this isn't supposed to be a documentary on mental health disorders. I imagine the intention of the showrunners is to open up the windows and dust off the cobwebs on this very difficult subject by making things somewhat more palatable using the fairytale/folktale motif. It's a skeleton in the closets of many families. In a shame and honour society, it's practically taboo. That's why the Bluebeard analogy has such a great deal of relevance. Everybody has secrets that they would prefer not to be widely known. Things they would rather lock away and throw away the key forever on. But the thing about secrets is that they have a habit of arousing curiosity and often have a way of being found out. (Take Kwon Gi-do as another example) I don't know that KDH was necessarily a serial killer but that family has plenty of secrets. Why else would you build something this big in the middle of nowhere unless you're wanting to hide from the world? No one can see what you're doing or hear what's happening. You're not only keeping things in from going out but you're keeping things from coming in.

 

I also think that applies to secrets hidden in the mind and the soul. The cursed castle can also refer to MY who has within her memories many secrets. Look at her wardrobe (which I love by the way) but it's part of the princess, prima donna persona. It's not exactly practical wear and it's overdressing for running workshops at a psychiatric facility. On top of that Manager Lee has a history of desperately trying to keep a lid on MY's erratic behaviour with bribery and PR damage control. 

 

Perhaps the larger business of the drama, in line with the cursed castle metaphor, is to say that in SK society mental health is one of the country's biggest secrets that's being allowed to fester like a gaping wound.

 

I read your post on the day of and I had to re-examine how I was viewing this drama. I think I needed to break down my perception because I am still working on freeing myself from internalized stigma. I have been to therapy sessions and unfortunately I have not been treated well due to the institutionalized racism in America's mental health system. 

Because I'm in a rift of freeing myself and understanding the atrocities of the world, I have probably viewed MY's character one sidedly and thought this will be another unrealistic portrayal of mental health and a failure of fully giving a narrative of the Kdrama female character. As I immerse myself into the episodes and think back to your description of MY's character, I see her in a different light. Initially, I found her controlling and thought it was a harmful portrayal of how she is as a person who has antisocial personality disorder. But this thought comes from my perception and I wasn't fully empathizing MY's character and seeing her as a person. Your understanding of why and how her actions come to be has helped me to see her in another light. I will continue to deconstruct my thoughts and refer to your post in order to view this drama with a more open mind. 

Lastly, I love how you connected the cursed castle to the real business world of the drama. It is quite powerful. Thanks @40somethingahjumma

 

[blademan]

A handsome fool is what he is.

 

Cred. owner

[40somethingahjumma]

Hi @ponderings

Thank you for your response.  I'm always appreciative that we can have these open-minded discussions on the forum. I certainly don't take that for granted these days. I wasn't expecting to change anyone's mind but it's gratifying to know that I am capable of writing my perspective persuasively.

 

Frankly I don't think any system anywhere in the world does mental health very well for a whole range of reasons. It is a complex label that encompasses a variety of conditions that can't be solved by a one-size-fits-all approach. When I was an undergraduate student many many years ago, I worked off and on in an aftercare facility as a cleaner. It was an eye-opening experience to say the list. I also spent time with people suffering from PTSD in my previous job. I'm always struck by how varied the outcomes are and I can see why policy makers struggle to get it right. On top of that some of the latest thinking in nutrition seems to suggest a link between diet and depression in some cases. Anyway... I digress.

 

The only thing that I was worried about this show was that it seemed to come down quite hard on parents at one point. Goodness only knows how hard parenting can be so I was hoping that they weren't implying that all mental health issues were related to bad parenting.  I didn't think they would and they didn't thankfully.  There's a fascinating balance written into the show with regards to KMY and that comes from the fact that her bad behaviour does have negative consequences. Also, her relationship with the people around her seems to be evolving so her story is still being told. It feels to me that everyone in the show has a different story and so there's an attempt at least to try and avoid stereotyping individuals under the umbrella of "mental health".

[Amirr]

That’s really interesting. The fact that I have not given much attention to the head nurse helps this theory greatly.

[YongZura⁷]

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Credit to tvN

[hwonhwon_stv]

Psycho is okay also popular in bookstores

 

Aladdin  NO 1 and NO 10 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes24 NO 2

 

 

[hwonhwon_stv]

New pics

 

 

 

 

 

[YongZura⁷]

 

 

 

 

 

Credit to the owner

 

[Valhad]

13 hours ago, Msgreentea said:

OMG hahaha I can see that. The Moon brothers have turned into such gangsters because of MY. 

 

But ST, how could you?! Aren't you guys the 3 brothers? And he used to eat your nightmares for you. 

 

 

 

If it was indeed ST hanging MT as a signal to MY, I can totally see MY repaying him in kind and have ST's dinosaur doll run through with some pointy object, maybe that tiny sword from ep2, lol. They are two vicious fighters but I can't wait to see how they resolve that little problem that is KT! 

[Dramafreak]

13 hours ago, Nodame said:

Cool for sharing the jjampong recipe @choilicious, got to check it out later.

Please invite me if anyone is cooking

 

i want to watch episode 9 so can do with some company and good food while we wait 

 

hope everyone is well and that Mang Tae gets beheaded temporaryily (only) .

[rocat]

Did someone post a recipe for jjampong? Yums!

 

I am enjoying this show loads for the perspectives on mental health from the patients and caregivers; but mostly love it for the highlight on such messages from picture books for children.
 

Good picture books if one takes the time to read them (especially the award-winning ones) contain very powerful messages distilled to such a concentration that tend to pack a punch for the gut; for children, they maybe about kindness but for adults who (usually) have better inference skills, they are about humanity.

is there a name for the Tim Burton-ness of the drawings? I like them. 
 

I also think Seo Yeji has outdone herself. My eyes are drawn to her every time she’s on - so enigmatically volatile ... wicked good!

 

[Yinye]

Now looking at the photo stills of ep 8, I really like MY’s hair cut and that lovely sheer puffy sleeves and light green dress. If we ever do another fashion poll for the second half of the show, this must be an option.

 

 

[Not Me]

other stills from Tvn twitter.

 

we got to see different angle opposite the beach..well i prefer the beach scenery

 

 

 

[shazai]

12 hours ago, hwonhwon_stv said:

Psycho but it's okay gallery

 

https://m.dcinside.com/board/tvnphyco/13350

 

 

The script set will be in July,  Pre-sale starts on the 16th 

Open pre-sale in online bookstores, such as yes24

7/16-26 Participate in the pre-sale during the period, and present a mask printed with Gang Tae cartoons 

In addition, there are 5 postcards drawn by the painter Jamsan and 3 fairy tales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I want it..... "
"Handsome script set" 

.... in MY's voice.

 

[TRaNz]

Just caught up with the new 2 eps.....this bit was a bit odd to me hahahahaha.

Like OK, im a guy, but im pretty sure most girls dont wear high heels at home when they wake up or are having trouble sleep and go out of their room etc. LMFAO

 

And here we see the flamboyant Mun Yeong in emerald green high heels right after she cant sleep.... hahahahaha

 

 

 

I like this light blue outfit though.........Legs

 

 

Spoiler

 

[demarchelier]

W Korea magazine interviewed designer, Kim Min-ju, who designed Moon-young's infamous pink dress. 

http://www.wkorea.com/2020/07/16/서예지-패션-비하인드-스토리/?utm_source=naver&utm_medium=partnership

 

Designer Kim Min-ju  was surprised how the pink dress became a hot topic showing up in entertainment articles, and she was thankful that people found out it was her collection and posting it on social media. She had to resize the dress because SYJ is very slim. 

cr: W Korea

 

The designer also resized her collection for the young Moon-young. <Moon-young has always been a fashionista!. This drama amazes me with its attention to detail!>

cr: kim soo-in SNS

cr: W Korea/minjukim collection

[milkypeony]

3 minutes ago, demarchelier said:

W Korea magazine interviewed designer, Kim Min-ju, who designed Moon-young's infamous pink dress. 

 

omg thanks so much for this article! i followed next in fashion and was rooting for minju so when i saw SYJ wearing the pink outfit i was so excited to recognise it as one of minju kim's pieces! the beautiful clothes add so much to moonyoung's character 

[libra22]

New BTS with eng sub, 

 

[hwonhwon_stv]

So cute

 

 

 

[lolly84]

Among many comments on TVN's Youtube channel about ITNTBO there's one i liked...

This is really one drama that I'm so hooked to it, where I kept searching for contents about it, rewatching the scenes while waiting for new epis... The storyline, characters, actors, crews are all so awesome! I like that the story is well paced so far- to allow development of the characters. The latest epi allowed us to see that GT/KT has finally decided not to keep bottling up his feelings and give himself some lax. MY has finally realised GT/KT's actions for her are LOVE(recall that she does not know what love is and only cares about herself, her desires) BUT, our girl learnt to observe GT/KT's actions and expressions- Sheltered him with an umbrella, distracted him from sad memories of his mother while having jjampong (so proud of her here!)~~ In next epi, we will see both of them helping each other to overcome fears? (MY seems to be driving at an extremely fast speed, where GT/KT can't accept it and GT/KT appears to challenge MY's fears of heights) I think to have a kiss scene in this drama will be a bonus- and that's when both characters are able to be happy and to love with no boundaries. The kiss will then be a true reflection of their love for each other. Let's patiently wait for that magical moment I'm hoping the plot will be where everyone has a happy ending, including ST oppa who will find someone who accepts him and be his friend(or a gf) since he also hopes to have a friend. The mystery about MY's mother is srsly a hard one to tackle. But, I'm hoping through MY's mother's written stories, we can eventually find truth for GT/KT & ST's mother's death. It'll be epic if MY's the one who solves it (secretly hoping that's why she's the one meant for GT/KT. Like how he helped her to overcome her nightmares) and they can't live w/o each other- like a bomb and a safety pin!

Credit to Staywithyu