Some of the taboo subjects that K-dramas directors typically avoid are mental illness and handicaps. It's extremely difficult to show disabled persons on television, and it's much more difficult to make it plausible for the audience.
Some Korean dramas, meanwhile, have proven an exception to this format. Fans would have desired more Korean dramas like this after watching Extraordinary Attorney Woo. With that in mind, why not construct a list of K-dramas that deal with mental illness, autism, and disabilities?
1. It’s Okay That’s Love
Three diverse personalities with varied mental health challenges are portrayed in this 2014 television series. Known for his best-selling novels, Jang Jae Yeol is also a well-known radio DJ who battles schizophrenia and OCD. Ji Hae Soo, Jae Yeol's love interest, struggles with anxiety and xenophobia. Park Soo Kwang, a cafe waitress with Tourette syndrome, is Hae Soo's housemate. These three, together with Jo Dong Min and Han Kang Woo, are the primary protagonists in the story.
2. It’s Okay To Not Be Okay
The protagonist of the novel is Moon Gang-tae, a young guy who looks after his older brother, who has autism while working as a caretaker in a mental health facility. He meets Ko Moon-young, a well-known children's book author who is coping with an antisocial personality disorder, at the hospital. While battling their mental health issues, the two fall in love and support one another's healing.
This popular program highlights the various dimensions of mental health, the realities of being a primary carer, and overcoming the preconceptions that go along with facing such difficulties. There is no one "correct" method to cope, as "It's Okay To Not Be Okay" sensitively addresses the numerous mental health issues.
3. Kill Me Heal Me
Cha Do Hyun, a wealthy man who suffers from multiple personality disorder as a result of a terrible event he experienced as a youngster, is the subject of the movie "Kill Me Heal Me." He has seven identities in total, one of whom is in love with the lead actress Oh Ri Jin.
This television show does a fantastic job of not just revealing Cha Do Hyun's mental condition, but also doing so in a manner that is occasionally humorous and lighthearted. Despite the relatively somber subject matter, Cha Do Hyun's persona demonstrates courage and tenacity in the face of his afflictions. He is willing to identify the cause of his disease and work toward finding a solution. He is a valiant and fearless person who doesn't give up easily.
4. Extraordinary Attorney Woo
The focus of the 2022 drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo is Woo Young Woo, a 27-year-old lawyer who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. She won first place in both the undergraduate and law schools at the famous Seoul National University, though, thanks to her high IQ and good recall. To succeed in her new career as a lawyer, Woo must get over her aversion to other people and the outside world.
5. Hello, My Twenties! (Season 2)
Hello, My Twenties!, which has a second season, follows Jung Ye Eun as she battles her demons after being abducted by her abusive ex-boyfriend Go, Doo Young. Ye Eun isolates herself completely from the outside world as she battles an eating issue and PTSD. The story follows her attempts to emerge from the shadows and gradually come to terms with her history.
6. Good Doctor
Pediatrician Park Si-on has a savant condition and autism. He enters the fiercely competitive field of medicine and faces challenges in becoming a productive physician. Despite having unmatched medical knowledge, his icy social skills offend both his patients and colleagues. His path through being misunderstood, dealing with prejudice, and eventually striking up talks about acceptance with other characters are all explored in the program.
"Good Doctor" does a good job of capturing life with high-functioning autism. It exposes the difficulties, dispels misconceptions about the disease, and normalizes it to show that having autism is not necessarily what the media portrays it to be.
7. Brilliant Legacy
The plot of Brilliant Legacy develops throughout the episodes. The tale centers on the life of Eun-Seong Ko, who discovers that her father had wed Seong-hee Baek after losing her mother. Eun-Seong Ko is distraught when her biological father passes away and realizes she has nothing left to live for as the family gradually disintegrates. She is given a second shot in life when Woo-Han Seon, a wealthy man, enters her life at Fortunealyt.
8. Be Melodramatic
Three 30-year-old closest friends navigate life's challenges together in this 2019 K-Drama about their friendship. Among these three, documentary filmmaker Lee Eun Jung suffers from persistent complex grief disorder (PCBD), also referred to as traumatic sorrow or prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Even though Eun Jung almost always seems to be hallucinating, she still manages to find the motivation to go back to her job.
9. SKY Castle
Living in the same neighborhood are four wealthy families with complicated relationships, murky secrets, and lofty goals. This program focuses on the lives of the kids in these four households and the tremendous pressure their parents and classmates place on them to succeed academically and socially. It examines the problems of stress, toxic relationships, and mental health that come with leading such a remarkably wealthy life.
Even while this show doesn't specifically address mental health issues, it does demonstrate how despair and anxiety can flourish in tense, confining environments. In "SKY Castle," the long-term ramifications of the many pressures adolescents experience are also discussed.
10. Hyde Jekyll, Me
This K-Drama, which stars Hyun Bin and Han Ji Min, is a romantic comedy adaptation of Lee Choong Ho's webcomic Dr. Jekyll Is Mr. Hyde. Chaebol Gu Seo-jin suffers from dissociative identity disorder and is cold-hearted. Audiences see the male lead's battles with his condition as the plot delves into the love between Seo Jin and Ha Na.
