The Korean drama It’s Okay to not be Okay attempts to neutralise the negative perceptions and misconceptions of mental illnesses by telling the stories around the protagonists. In both Hong Kong and Korea, the stereotypical images of people with mental illness are influenced by the media, and are always depicted as hard to communicate, dangerous, and even committing criminal events.
However, according to the findings of the Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey issued in 2015, one in every six persons in Hong Kong suffers from a mental disorder of varying degree of severity. Even though mental illness is common in Hong Kong, our society has overlooked its stigmatization. This not only makes the patients reluctant to face their problems and receive appropriate treatment, but also makes it difficult for the ex-mentally ill persons to reintegrate into society. In fact, understanding that mental illness is only one sort of illness is already a kind of support to the patients. It is like what the play’s psychiatric hospital advocates, “There is no such thing as normal or abnormal. There is only discovery, no prejudice”. You may search for detailed explanations on Google regarding “Why is the sky blue?” No matter what’s going on, looking at the azure sky still brings us calmness.
