It's Okay, That's Love

The Best Healing Drama

This is actually a drama with a very heavy "Theme".

But, Hold on.

This is a Rom-Com drama!. How could that be?

This drama takes a humorous route to explain mental illness. However, with the humorous and witty tone of the story, there is hidden sadness and suppressed emotions in the layers of the story.

Like a human who goes out wearing a mask to meet other people. This drama uses a mask of cheerfulness to tell the story of sadness and the hardships of mental disorders.

Because of this storytelling technique, the layers of the scene between sad and happy have almost no boundaries. Emotions change quickly even within one scene.

And even though this is a Rom-Com Drama. This is clearly an "adult drama" not in terms of "age" but "mentally". You must to go through several points of events mentally in your lives. At least to enjoy this drama "meaningfully".

Even though the setting of this drama includes hospitals and psychiatric clinics, the depiction in this drama is only superficial.

Aspects of mental health terminology and therapy in this drama use a literal approach rather than a practical approach with some dramatization.

But, yeah, I forgive that. Almost all hospital dramas are like that, even high-budget western dramas are like that, practically it's quite difficult to do, that's how it is.

Wow, such a journey.

Its drama from 10 years ago. But I dare to say, this is the best healing drama. Oh wait minutes, 10 years ago there was no such thing as "healing" term.😂

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Wow!!! A drama that should not be missed♥

Wow!!! A drama that should not be missed even though it is already a decade old.
It's a perfect drama, it's been praised here in the past over the years, (a decade!!) and I thought to myself what can I do to innovate and still express my opinion..so what doesn't/does it have that makes it so good, successful and addicting. (Full disclosure, I did not read all the comments)
There is no trace of evil/corruption/chaebol vs middle class/jealousy or a love triangle to be fought over (as is customary in classic dramas)
It has beyond perfect casting and talented and beautiful actors who are so natural and not made up on a plastic level) depth, witty texts, wise sayings, it has healing and recovery, unconditional love between spouses and friends, inclusion, openness in the discourse about sexuality/love/traumas/health mental/sacrificing. I cried more in it than in Queen of Tears (Don't Kill Me), (it's in the style of "Kill me, heal me", "Hyde Jackal, I", "It's okay not to be okay") Don't panic, It also has funny (witty) parts. 10/10 and if possible even more..

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"It's Okay, That's Love" is a beautiful story about mental illness, about how people suffer from trauma and how it affects their ability to deal with reality.

Hae Soo is a psychiatrist who has a boyfriend, but has never been able to have sex because of a childhood trauma. She saw her mother with another man and this affected her in a way that she associates sex with something wrong. Jae Yeol is a famous writer who also has traumas in his past. His brother was arrested for killing his stepfather and when he got out of prison, he tried to kill him too. In addition, Jae Yeol was physically abused as a child and on one of these occasions, he ended up hiding in a latrine and developed an obsession with cleanliness and also he can also sleep in the bathroom.

The relationship between the two is very good, because you can see that it is not a simple romance, they created a bond from their traumas, their scars, their experiences, they were able to comfort each other... The big twist in the story is something I was already expecting, you could see that Kang Woo was not real, because he was almost an identical version of Jae Yeol, from everything he went through in his childhood and a coincidence like that is very unrealistic. The scene in which Hae Soo finally understands this, how much it broke her heart, is very sad, as is the moment in which Jae Yeol accepts the truth, that Kang Woo does not exist. The dramatic charge of the story at this moment is very intense.

In addition to the main couple, we also have the adorable Soo Kwang and So Nyeo, our adorable couple with Tourette's and kleptomania <3

The message that the drama wants to convey may seem cliche, but it is the greatest truth of all: love does not cure any disease, but it helps you move forward, gives you strength to keep fighting. Having someone by your side is priceless, someone to support you, to pick you up when you fall and that is the essence of this drama.

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MOST REALISTIC HEART WRENCHING SH**

THE ONLY REASON I'M NOT GIVING A PERFECT SCORE IS THAT I WANTED MORE, I WASN'T READY FOR IT TO BE OVER.

The tears I've shed over this drama...I could swim in.

It starts with nice albeit cliche twist, a cocky lead getting a rude awakening from a badass female. At least that's what you'd think but nooo... Zo In Sung...or in this case, JJY is not at all he seems. He stands up for himself, his morals and beliefs, while keeping boundaries already set intact. You don't see that a lot in Rich Alpha male leads.

This man outdid himself acting his role, so much that I was so shocked when I saw he was running alone on the highway, and not with Kang Hoon. I totally believed the guy was real!!!! And his conditions, the OCD...the schizo, this is one of the best portrayals of mental illnesses in dramas.

Anyway, enough about the man, the rest of the cast was fantastic too; a little crazy and dramatic but it made the whole experience wholesome.
The doctors played their roles perfectly and I learned a lot from some of the other patients. Kudos to the writers for creating the masterpiece.

The romance between the leads was painfully relatable and incredibly mature. The kind of romance portrayals you learn from.

Would I watch this again?
Probably, but after I've 'healed' from the emotional rollercoaster it took me on.

Should you watch it though?

DEFINITELY!!!!!!!!!

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"It's Okay, That's Love."

I have so much love for this drama. Despite first watching it when airing 10 years ago, my love for this drama never changes. It remains a timeless classic and one of it's kind, despite it being already a decade old. Writer No Hee Kyung never disappoints, but out of all her works, IOTL will forever stay snug in my heart. It's just so raw, so tender, and so genuine.
We Koreans that love this drama like to say that, "괜사 계절이 왔다." which means "The season of IOTL is here." AKA A drama where it's just a mandatory rewatch every summer.

There are complaints time to time about how frustrating some of the characters can be, but to me, it is what makes this drama this drama. I don't necessarily blame anyone for not being able to see past the character's flaws, but for those who are able to, I think there is an unspoken understanding and love for these characters and why they are the way they are.

Hae-soo is a flawed character. In a way, she is written like a character that isn't asked to be liked. She is just simply Hae-soo. That's what I love about her. She isn't asking to be liked. She's headstrong, she's prideful, and she isn't necessarily someone that everyone would get along with. She is simply just a human being, who has been through shit, has ideals and virtues that were shaped by her past, and isn't simply just black and white like most humans are. Jae-yeol, our ML, is also a flawed man but there is more to him than being a cheeky asshole at times. Throughout the drama, you learn that these characters are not simply what you see at the surface, but people, that are just trying to navigate the world like the rest of us. I like to say it is a drama about people, just being people, that were once deeply hurt by the world around them.

There is a line I love from this drama that I feel like well portrays the characters and the drama.
"..Because this is everyone's first time living, it's inevitable that we aren't perfect. That's why we are pitiable, and that's why we can make some mistakes.."

This drama's primary theme focuses on mental health, which is often rare in an East Asian context. Mental health is often something that is brushed over and never deeply discussed in Korean culture and to think that this came out in 2014.. It has and always will be ahead of its time.

There are two main things that come to my mind when I think of this drama:
Chemistry and OST.

I've watched my fair share of dramas throughout my life, but no couple will ever do love like Jae-yeol and Hae-soo. You can feel so much love and tenderness between the two as their love progresses, no matter how many times I watch it, I always think it's just crazy how GHJ and JIS manage to portray being in love that transparently. I always am reminded, "Oh, that's right, that's what love is."

Second part, OST. The soundtrack for this show, just absolutely insane. Hero, Ship and the Globe, It's Okay, That's Love, Sleepless Nights, etc... It's just so so so good and there is no Korean drama to me that does OST like IOTL.

I also really love love the title. (As you can tell, I... just love the drama.)
"It's okay, that's love." or "It's okay, it's love."
I think it's just a beautiful title. That is what just love is sometimes.

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All of the accolades.

This show, its cast, crew and everything about it deserves all of the amazing things every single person is thinking when they've finished it. I started to watch this because I had just finished Moving and simply fell in love with In Sung. Oh, maybe I should thank Disney for introducing me to the best drama I have ever watched. The writing, the plot, the taboo themes that are talked about here, it all makes for a very, very, very special experience.

Zo In Sung and Gong Hyo Jin portray their characters with such ease and depth that you can not help but be immersed in the story. Supporting cast: GENIOUS. I went into this without any expectations whatsoever and it paid off in a way I can't explain. There's the me before this and the one after.

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Deeply moving story of love and resilience

This drama is criminally underrated. Don’t let the title or the picture fool you into thinking this is the usual romcom, it is so much more. At the center is the relationship between author, Jang Jae Yeol (Zo In Sung) and psychiatrist, Ji Hae Soo (Gong Hyo Jin) both eccentric and prickly personalities. Add in housemates Jo Dong Min, Ji Hae’s fellow psychiatrist and Park Soo Kwang, who has Tourette’s syndrome, and you have a chaotic but loving household. This is a deeply moving story of mature love overcoming trauma and mental illness. There is humor, tragedy, heartbreak, mystery and ultimately a story of the ability of the human spirit to triumph. The characters are well developed and real, not idealized cutouts. The writers did a masterful job crafting a compelling story with thoughtful and realistic portrayals of the aftermath of trauma and mental illness. The entire cast was wonderful but Zo In Sung as Jang Jae delivered an incredible and moving performance.
Warning: there are scenes of domestic abuse and violence.

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Absolutely loved it!

This is going to be a short review but one word that may encourage you to watch this drama is 'mind-blowing'.

At first i wasn't even sure if i was going to like it even if it got great reviews from others but now i can totally relate to the other viewers as well. The way the drama deals with mental issues is great. This makes me realize that even if someone looks normal on the outside, it doesn't mean that s/he is normal inside as well. Some people don't even know what are mental illness and they are mostly called a 'name' for having those issues. Those suffering from it even get depressed as people can't understand them or they are pushed to a corner.
So this drama is a way to make us realize that.

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