K-drama for mental health? Binge on, one expert says

The Manila Times

K-drama for mental health? Binge on, one expert says  If you've ever binge-watched an entire season of a K-drama like Squid Game or Crash Landing On You, one Korean-American expert has good news: it's likely improved your mental health. High production values, top-notch acting, and attractive stars have helped propel South Korean TV shows to the top of global viewership charts, but therapist Jeanie Chang, says there are deeper reasons so many people are hooked.  AFP VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes  #worldnews  #kdrama  #mentalhealth

Transcript

00:00The messages in Korean dramas are universal.

00:19You take out, obviously, the traditional Korean norms, but you still have a family that you're

00:25seeing.

00:26We all have families.

00:27You still have family pressures.

00:29We all have family pressures, family expectations, family conflict, trauma, hope, you know, successes

00:35and sorrows and grief and loss.

00:38Those are universal themes across the world.

00:41People have told me they love watching a Korean drama and know they're not going to see a

00:45graphic scene.

00:47That is actually very good for our mental health, just to see something comfortable

00:49and that our five-year-old kid can watch by and we're not worried about, oh, there's a

00:53bad scene.

00:54And so that's pleasant, too.

00:55And I think the mental health is how you're feeling, how you relate to others, psychologically,

01:01how your brain has been impacted by things.

01:03That's mental health.

01:04We see that in a Korean drama.

01:06Anybody can do a tour, I'll be honest.

01:07Anybody can do a K-drama tour, K-pop tour.

01:10But I like to add, because I'm a clinician, I'm a mental health expert, I have to add

01:14that mindfulness aspect.

01:16So we start asking from the get-go, why are you here?

01:19And even from day two, I know people's stories.

01:21I'm here to celebrate a divorce, or I'm here because I'm grieving the loss of my husband.

01:26You hear these stories, but how else would you get that on a tour?

01:29And so that's part of what I want to bring out, where they come here, they discover Korea,

01:35and they discover the K-dramas, but then they discover themselves.

01:38There was something about it.

01:40The way that this culture dealt with trauma, mental depression, just really struck a chord

01:50for me.

01:51And I started to grieve when I had not been.

01:55And so it was a lot of tears during that drama, but it also made me see that there's a light

02:01at the end of the tunnel, and there's hope.

02:03And the acting is so, it's so phenomenal that you really believe that they're going through

02:11maybe some things that you've gone through.

02:14And you really, you just feel like you have a friend, and it's okay.

02:19It's okay to be happy, ecstatic.

02:21It's okay to be sad, angry.

02:24There's just something that's different about them.

02:49It's okay.

02:50It's okay.

02:51It's okay.

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