Starring
- Jo In-sung as Jang Jae-yeol
- Gong Hyo-jin as Ji Hae-soo
- Sung Dong-il as Jo Dong-min
- Lee Kwang-soo as Park Soo-kwang
- Do Kyung-soo (D.O.) as Han Kang-woo
Acting: 9
Storyline: 8.5
OST: 8
Overall: 8.5
Grade: A
Despite the viewership rating of this show being just average (3 or 4 popular dramas showing around the same period), I just wanna say, I simply Love it! Love it Love it! Not just cos there’s Jo In Sung or his chemistry with Gong Hyo Jin (They are both natural actors). The 题材 is slightly different from the usual idol dramas. That’s the reason why i like watching more experienced actors & actresses’ collaboration.
I like the topics being openly discussed in this drama on mental illness, views on modern day relationships. But its kinda NC16, so I guess not so suitable for young teenagers. I have always been interested in the area of psychology and this does make me feelike reading up more. Mental disorders/issues/ illnesses seem to be the latest trend in Kdramas. I like how they can bring out serious topics in a light hearted manner, yet don’t deviate much from how modern people would be dealing with it on a daily basis.
It also gives u more knowledge on what mental disorders are & how ignorant we may have all been all along. So we should all look at it in a different way & seek professional help if need be. It’s something that the Korean society has always swept under the table, just like depression. It’s also the 1st light-hearted comedy drama by In Sung Oppa.. Songs in the OST are kinda soothing too. It does have a nice summer feeling. The type of falling in love in summer feel. Some of the phrases or quotes that the leads say, do linger on in ur head for a while.
One such phrase was when Jo In Sung’s character said to Lee Kwang Soo…
“It’s not the one who gives more in a relationship that lose out.
U lose out only when you lose urself in the relationship.”
It’s heartbreaking to see how the families, loved ones and friends have to find strength to deal with this. There’s also the open discussion on the new generation’s take on love, relationships and sex. Yes, quite openly and well, Call me conservative or old school minded, much as I understand what they are trying to bring across, I’m still not supportive of casual relationships (速食爱情) or 2 timing（劈腿）. Its kinda sad to see how lightly the young generation takes relationships nowadays. Well I think the teasers were bit too NC16 so a lot of critics even before the show started screening haha.
If u think “My Love from the Star” is way out of this world, then “It’s Okay, It’s Love” is very 贴切 to our everyday lives. Some of the cases can be a little exaggerated, but anything to do with the brain can be diverse since the sub-conscious state of everyone is different.
Hope that with this & upcoming dramas, the society can start to take this issue more seriously, esp in a country like Kimchi Land, where the suicide rate is really high.
Mental disorder is as common as the common flu that affects the modern generation. Many people may be suffering from such disorders, arising from stress, trauma or life-changing events, but they may not be aware of it. Or they choose to avoid it. Yes, there r very heart wrenching moments.
But how they can bring out serious topics/issues/ problems regarding mental disorders that the modern day people are facing everyday, in a more light hearted manner?
No doubt abt it, there’s the great teamwork and coordination between all the backend crew and the actors/actresses. The director and many of the backend crew were from his previous drama “That Winter, the wind blows”.. Gong Hyo Jin also collaborated with the director before so that probably explains why the entire setting and atmosphere of the drama shoot seems to be on a more cordial and comfy level.
It can be felt somehow and the actors’ energy levels have been high and elude a lot of positive energy and vibes. That’s why the audiences enjoy it much as well.
Nice color coordination and nice scenery.. They even took the set out to Okinawa. Gong Hyo Jin had an accident during filming and they incorporated her fractured arm in the drama.
OH yes, what is interesting abt this drama is, not just 1 character has got mental disorder but almost all the leads in the show have some form of mental obstacles. I wouldn’t say it is mental illness but maybe some kinda 心病 that has been aggravated due to childhood drama or some major life changing event.
So what are the leads suffering from?
Jo In-Sung (Jang Jae-yeol) – A bestselling mystery fiction novelist and radio DJ, who can only sleep in his bathtub and has very serious obsessive–compulsive disorder and undiagnosed schizophrenia (人格/精神分裂）
Gong Hyo-jin (Ji Hae-soo) – A compassionate doctor but not very affectionate, Hae-soo self-diagnoses herself as having insecurity/anxiety issues, a fear of commitment and sex phobia.
Lee Kwang-soo (Park Soo-kwang) – A cafe waiter with Tourette syndrome. He will get panic attacks and twitch nonstop and mutter a lot of noise and sneeze too.
Jo In Sung suits such playboy roles actually, esp with that smiky smile on his face. haha.. But what is he best at? The inner struggles being shown out like so effortlessly. That’s what makes him different from many model-turned-actors. He’s more than just a pretty face.
Okie, he may not be good looking to everyone, but he does elude his own charisma and in my opinion, he is attractive. That 眼神 especially.
Well, In Sung Oppa has always had a good reputation. Very good natured guy, except that he is a heavy smoker. Not many scandals all these years.
Just like what 1 reviewer said, one reason why I like Jo In Sung’s acting is that, there are many layers to his characters. In my depiction, he is like an onion, whereby you will see how his acting intensifies as u peel the onion off layer by layer. He just gets better & better and you get drawn to his character more and more. Jae Yeol has a very painful past that he couldn’t get away from, which is totally opposite of his current bright and humorous personality.
I like how he portrays his character. U don’t need to have a very grey personality just cos u suffered from some trauma. Sometimes, it’s in the most optimistic & seemingly happy people who have suffered big setbacks.
Like he said, he was trying to play the role as light heartedly as he can, so some funny moments here & there. Despite him being a playboy, its hard not to fall for him in the drama.. Just way too charming. He has a very nicely renovated toilet cos he can only fall asleep in his bathtub due to childhood trauma of being physically abused by his step father and brother.
And then, it has come to our awareness that wearing only certain colors and rearranging ur stuff by colors etc, is also a form of OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Things like washing ur hands repeatedly is also part of 强迫症．
Despite his bro abusing him in this manner and inflicting so much wounds to him mentally and physically, he can still be good to his brother/ It’s something that probably we will not be able to come to terms with initially. But he can actually analyse that his bro is not like this by nature & would have killed him if he really wanted him dead.. It’s more of nobody believed in him he dint kill the stepfather and he was in jail for so many years.
Yes, the brother is very extreme. According to the psychiatrist, it is some disorder with taking revenge.
Ah well, u will empathise with him but won’t find it soapy. This is so much better than “That winter, the wind blows”. .
He has a very doting mum and likewise, he tried to give her everything that he could. But there are more underlying reasons to why he is so protective of his mum, which you will need to watch to find out for yourself.
The best part is, he dint know he has schizophrenia of cos. Nobody knew till slowly they started to see some weird traits & behaviour in him, So he can act like he is very normal talking to a non-existent person and yet inflicting physical wounds to himself, to how he realised that he has such an illness… It dint happen overnight.
Everything that he suffered from stems from long time ago.
N the hardest part is to have to let each other go, so that u can all heal from your innermost heart wrenching injuries… For hopes that this will in turn bring you back together.
Lee Kwang Soo can be comedic but for normal day-to-day acting, he probably needs to have more goes at it. But the way he handles the rendition of his panic attacks are quite well done. The way he keeps twitching his head and face and sneeze nonstop and mumbling alien language..
Then he actually fell for a high school gal who only wanted to squeeze his money out of him and who has a boyfriend.
In some sense, I wonder what the society will become in time to come, when everyone is taking all these things too causally and lightly.
Sung Dong-il ( Jo Dong-min) – Hae-soo’s senior colleague at the hospital, who also happens to be her first love. But I wonder how he can still keep an amicable friendship with his ex-wife who is also a doctor? He has already remarried with kids. Yes I do quite like him haha he is very funny as per other dramas as well. Ｔｈｅ 搞笑 ｔｙｐｅ．
There is this young lad, Do Kyung Soo, from EXO, who acts as Jae Yeol’s younger self, a manifestation of his schizophrenic break. Still very green in acting and it wouldn’t be easy for him to bring out the character’s pain to the fullest but he is indeed lucky to act alongside Jo In Sung. I’m sure he would have gotten some pointers that would be beneficial to his acting in future.
The final scene together was good I would say, for the both of them. I almost cried, almost. It’s tough to bid farewell to your other “self”, but you know that you are always there when u look into the mirror.
The morale of the story is that… Love can bring you hope, happiness, faith & so on and so forth.. But it will bring you sadness, pain, despair too. And yet, love will give u enough strength to overcome obstacles together no matter how weary life can be.
That’s true love, if you manage to find one.
Be it love between 2 persons, family or friends, it does create some form of positive aura and help patients to be more motivated and they do recover faster.
我不知道，爱到底能不能战胜一切，但肯定的是，它能让你克服许多障碍．
N yes, I’m still loving In Sung Oppa’s acting. It’s a pity he didn’t act much after 2005. Maybe after all the awards bagging, he needed some fade out time. It is never about the quantity, but quality of his drama works.
Much as the cast enjoyed acting in the show for 6 mths, I love what they have brought to us in that 16 hours of drama too. U can see how closely-knitted they are from all the photos with the backstage crew, director, PD, scriptwriters… and among themselves. It’s not those environment whereby the cast vie for popularity. It is a combined piece of artwork…
One of the last scenes in the final episode is one of them throwing tomatoes at one another, to vent the frustrations they have of one another. Haha.. i think it also refers to in their realife selves too. If they have any unhappiness or grievances towards one another, it will end within that room.
Yeah, It’s Okay, IF It’s Real Love.
It will take u through every ordeal and hardship…… if u can sustain long enough and triumph over it.
There may be many people who stray and all, but do not doubt love…
For one day, when you meet that right one……. Everything will fall into place.
Yes, without hardships and obstacles, u can’t forge that bond. So take it as a challenge.
What makes love special is, it is never a bed of roses…… yet you still want to be with that someone no matter what happens.
You won’t regret watching this drama.
It is definitely one of the better ones in 2014!
