By: Raisa Islam
“It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” is an unconventional 2020 kdrama. The three main characters Moon Gang-tae, Moon Sang-tae and Ko Moon-young all face heart-rending and traumatic wounds in their childhood which affects their behavior in the present times. The characters Ko Moon-Young played by Seo Ye-ji breaks the stereotype of the female lead in kdramas. The fearless and outspoken woman is always dressed glamorously in an ostentatious way. A fairytale writer with dark fantasies and plots in children’s books could be a little contradicting and this lands her in trouble at one point. Her writing is a reflection of her disturbing childhood and she is the psychopath of the drama who ends up healing everyone, including herself later on. Moon Gang-tae played by Kim Soo-Hyun is a caretaker at hospitals who keeps changing jobs due to his older brother’s childhood trauma. Even though he is compassionate and understanding towards all patients and people, he fails to have compassion for himself and locks himself up in hardships and tiresome life. Moon Sang-tae played by Oh Jung-se is the older brother who suffers from autism spectrum disorder. He has been taken care of by his younger brother all his life which develops a close and loving bond between them although Moon Gang-tae is tired as has no room to think about anything other than his brother. Plot Their childhood is interlinked in mysterious ways and plays a huge part in shaping them in the person they are today. They have not found closure from their past traumas and their emotions have not been dealt with which proves to be a barrier in their daily lives. Ko Moon-Young is an obsessive and emotionally unavailable woman who does not stop until she gets whatever object she finds attractive, whether it is a knife or our very own Moon Gang-tae. Her stalker-like and aggressive behavior unexpectedly leads them to fall in love. She feels no empathy and emotions towards Moon Gang-tae and is only drawn towards him for his charming looks. Her psychotic behavior causes difficulties for Gang-tae both mentally and physically including his hand being cut in their first meeting by our female lead. Gang-tae’s older brother is a huge admirer of Ko Moon-Young and she uses this at her advantage. They have endless obstacles in their way of being together, the first being actually loving each other and not just treating the other as their property and healing mechanism. Then comes Sang-tae’s jealousy and protectiveness towards his younger brother who fears being abandoned if Ko Moon-Young enters his life. The struggle to leave his fears behind which caused them to never settle in one place and embrace Ko Moon-Young and make her a part of their family is a difficult one which Sang-tae must succeed in. But will he? Aside from these hurdles, there comes the main issue where their past traumas are revealed which puts them in a dilemma. Ko Moon-Young seems to be the reason for Gang-tae and Sang-tae’s dreadful and traumatic childhood. Will these star-crossed lovers be able to forgive one another and themselves to find their way back to each other? Will Sang-tae ever approve of his brother’s relationship? And why was Ko Moon-Young the root of all troubles? My opinion This is a must-watch for all the kdrama fanatics and even for those who are newly getting started. The emotional, unconventional love between two people equally broken and alone in life who find their way to each other only to heal the other in the most surprising manner is a new concept. The plot was well executed and visually stunning which added to the unbelievably good performances of the actors. We fall in love with the female lead even though she was not the typical good girl and more of an obsessive sociopath. Each character has their own share of struggles and miseries they need to overcome and their journey of finding peace and stability all together was an incredible plot. Lastly, this drama is available on Netflix and you should definitely give it a watch!
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