Top K-Dramas Addressing Mental Health Issues

Writer: Isha Singh (Delhi, India)

Editor: Arpita Jena (Baripada, Odisha, India)

K-Dramas are cherished by people worldwide because of many reasons, like relatability with real-life experiences, a wide variety of plots, no lengthy format, and the ability to make a deeper impact on someone by either breaking stereotypes or giving a different perspective to see a situation.

But who says popular K-dramas are all about romcoms or cliche genres? South Korea, a country that is suffering from a mental health crisis due to a lack of services, has a series of psychological dramas that are responsible for breaking the taboos regarding mental health. Also, due to its higher viewership, the series has the opportunity to make an impact globally.

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Psychology is the study of the mind and human behavior. Gaining psychological knowledge is important to understand a wide range of mental illnesses, human reactions in various situations, their emotional behavior, and their relationships with people around them. Some of the K-dramas that focus on mental health are:

GOOD DOCTOR:

Park Shi-on‘s role played by Joo Won gets diagnosed with autism and savant syndrome as a child. In congenital savant syndrome, the extraordinary savant abilities surface in early childhood and usually coexist with developmental disabilities.

The story focuses on the criticism he faces while working as a surgeon in one of the prestigious hospitals and spreads the message of how people with disabilities need appreciation, not pity.

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IT’S OKAY, THAT’S LOVE:

The story revolves around many mental illnesses like schizophrenia, Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder. Jang Jae-yeol’s role played by Zo In-sung suffers from OCD and has undiagnosed schizophrenia. While Park Soo-kwang’s role played by Lee Kwang-soo has Tourette syndrome due to which he often suffered from panic attacks.

^{Picture Credit: THE KOREA HERALD}

SOUL OF MECHANIC:

Lee Shi-joon is a psychiatrist at Eun Kang Medical centre and is known for his unconventional yet successful ways of treatment. Han Woo-joo, a musical actress suffering from borderline personality disorder is Lee Shi-joon’s patient.

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The story focuses on various mental disorders suffered by the people at Eun Kang like eating disorders, delusion disorders, social anxiety, etc, and normalizes the idea of having a mental disorder.

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KILL ME, HEAL ME:

The main lead Cha Do Hyun role played by Ji Sung suffers from dissociative identity disorder due to which he manifests 6 different personalities – Shin Se Gi, Perry Park, NaNa, Mr. X, Ahn YoSeob, AhnYoNa.

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HYDE JEKYLL, ME:

In another drama Hyde Jekyll, Me, Hyun Bin played the role of both Hyde and Jekyll. Hyde is a cold-hearted, insensitive personality while Robin on the other side is charming and kind-hearted. While the message regarding mental illness is delivered, it’s fun to watch how the main leads of both the dramas played their different characters so professionally.

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SKY CASTLE:

This drama doesn’t talk about a specific mental health disorder but describes the most important issue of teenage depression, which is led by immense anxiety, stress, and societal pressure. The drama shows 4 rich families living in Sky Castle who are obsessed with admitting their children to the top universities of South Korea.

The sky here represents the 3 top universities of Korea – Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University. The children of these families have to face extreme pressure to accomplish their family’s expectations and the fear of not satisfying them kept on chasing their soul. 

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CHOCOLATE:

This K-drama deals with childhood trauma, specifically Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Lee Kang, a neurosurgeon has to give up his dreams of being a cook while Moon Cha Young ends up being a Chef. The chocolate here symbolizes a sense of connection they both faces as they reunite. These two characters are seen healing and embracing each other through their love for food.

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Unlike other genres, psychological k-dramas have led to a normalization of talking about mental health in daily life conversations, which is still considered taboo in many Asian countries like South Korea. The viewer also gets aware of the importance of mental health in one’s life and encourages others to freely talk about it.

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Which psychological K-drama impacted you the most? Do let us know in the comments.