Jeanie Y. Chang on Why There is a Lot to Keep in Mind While Watching K-Dramas

Let me explain why I got hooked on to K-dramas in the first place. They hit my life like a breath of fresh air, not only during the bleak time we’ve lived in for the past few years (that could be one of the causes), but they also became my retreat during a rough patch in my life. I stumbled across Boys Over Flowers (as a matter of chance, you may say). And that one story changed everything for me; it restored my faith in far too many things, but most importantly, in myself. Subsequently, I became more invested in the genre than ever before.

Now, it’s almost as if, if you offer me anything noteworthy about a K-drama, I’ll be all ears. So, recently, while I was casually scrolling on Instagram, I chanced upon a user named Noona’s Noonchi! “Wait, what?” I thought. “That is an intriguing name!” (The expression translates to an elder sister’s sense of understanding or power of observation in Korean). I went to the profile and was surprised to see the posts. Jeanie Yu-Gin Chang (aka Jeanie Y. Chang) runs the page, a second-generation Korean-American mental-health expert who creates unique content on K-dramas from a mental-health perspective. I promptly texted her, expressing my desire to conduct an interview concerning her creative process and how she employs K-dramas to inspire and educate people about its profound influence on mental well-being. To her credit, she was sweet enough to react quickly with a “yes.”

By profession, Jeanie is a licensed clinician, bestselling author, global speaker, executive coach and, of course, a therapist. For me, most essentially, she is an amazing content creator who makes amusing YouTube videos and Instagram reels on the cathartic components of K-dramas. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that I was eagerly awaiting our conversation. On D-day, it was raining cats and dogs in my city, Kolkata, and I was just hoping for the interview to go smoothly. Zoom can act funny at times, you know, especially when inclement weather conditions disrupt Internet access. Fortunately, despite some minor technical glitches when we connected, things eventually worked out.

We switched on our cameras, and in a jiffy, I noticed that she has a dynamic personality. Her friendly demeanor and warm smile made it easy, and we were soon raving over our common interest: K-dramas. “How would you explain a K-drama to someone new to this universe?” I ask, and she goes, “When people ask me, you know, ‘I don’t watch K-dramas, why do you watch them?’ I say literally, ‘I watch it because, first of all, I enjoy it.’ So that’s number one, right? And then, second of all, I also realized that because they helped me, I’m thinking that they’ve got to help other people. And then I brought it to work to share.”

Jeanie’s passion for K-dramas may easily be attributed to something very personal. She tends to be the type of person who, when she is passionate, everyone notices. As a result, if she likes something, she will share it. “And I’m sure many people are like that, but I think I’m a little more so in that sense.” This perhaps drives her to share the joy and comfort of experiencing something that has enabled her to evolve as an individual and be truly content with herself. “I didn’t start watching K-dramas thinking, ‘Oh, let me see how it helps my mental health.’ No, I began because I enjoyed it,” she explains, adding, “When I run into people who don’t understand K-dramas, I just tell them, ‘Go ahead and watch one like Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha or Crash Landing on You since they went global. But depending on the person, I’ll recommend stuff like a thriller, like Kingdom.”

Her observations became apparent as we spoke. She aids individuals to see the greener side of the grass through an outlet that entertains, helps, and heals. I was already aware of the effectiveness of K-dramas in overcoming anguish, something I gained from personal experience. But her explanations heightened that sense. She kind of resonated with what Moon Sang-tae said in a scene in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay: “You can never get out once you’re trapped in the past because you can’t even see the door. So don’t forget any of it. Remember it all and overcome it.” It was so gratifying to hear similar thoughts and similar words from her. The next half an hour was enlightening.

Read our entire exchange below. I sincerely hope that it will be reassuring to every K-drama fan and might also encourage those who aren’t fans.

So, when was it that you felt K-dramas are way more than just pieces of entertainment? Any personal experience that led you to embrace and sample K-dramas?

Back in 1992, I was a college freshman. I graduated from high school, and I spent that summer at Yonsei in Seoul. That was a very crucial summer because I was, you know, kind of going in between being Korean and Korean-American. I live in the US, but I’m Korean. And I went to Yonsei for the summer and I got exposed [to Korean culture], so that is actually when K-pop slowly started with Seo Taiji and Boys. Back in 1992, it was all new. I watched a K-drama called Jiltoo (‘Jealousy’) and it was a huge hit, first in Korea and then globally. There was a very famous actress who I saw, and I went, “Okay, she’s cute. Does that mean I could be cute?” Does that make sense? Oh my goodness! Look at what she’s experiencing. She has this gift, and then this guy likes her, and she’s going through all this [it was like a love triangle]. I saw that it looked very trendy back then, and it looked cool. And so, I think that was the first time I fell in love with K-dramas, and it changed me, it changed my identity.

So that’s a lot of what K-dramas can do. How you relate to them is very important. It’s not just that you know you love seeing all the cute guys, but you identify in some way that makes you feel a certain way, and that’s what this Jiltoo K-drama did for me. That was the beginning, and then I went through college with a stronger sense of identity and confidence. That was the beginning, and then as I grew into, you know, getting married and motherhood, it was still part of my life and it was always very personal. So, for many years, K-dramas and my love for them and enjoyment of them were very personal. I loved watching them and also watching them with my husband. Then, even being a mom, a Korean mom, and looking at my kids and just seeing what it was like on K-dramas, I just felt this strong sense of self. But it wasn’t until later, when I became a therapist, that I realized I had to share this love, and that’s what happened.

A lot of people dub K-dramas as melodramatic and cringy; they say, “Oh, K-dramas are all about K-drama tropes, sometimes either too graphical or too theatrical.” And I say to myself, “Dude, you don’t know the expertise with which these dramas imagine life, the ways in which they navigate through emotions and handle relationships.” What is your opinion on this?

Now let me tell you something; we like the tropes, even if we don’t know we like them. Do you know that those tropes help you, in the sense of anticipating what to expect? Yeah, but then you know what’s going to happen; they’re going to fall in love, and I’d go, “Yes, but that is what the making of a K-drama is and that is why they’re popular. Because the minute you go off the trope – for instance, Twenty-Five Twenty-One is the classic recent K-drama that did not follow the trope – sorry to talk about it, but a lot of people were disturbed. See, you like the trope, and you like the classic ending, right? And I’m going to share this with your mental health, your brain, and your emotions.

You do need predictability. Predictability helps you feel comfortable and safe, and it helps you deal with adversity and trauma. So, when people have a predictable schedule for instance, that’s very good for their mental health. So, the K-drama tropes, believe it or not, you may think you don’t need them, but you do. And the minute the predictable does not occur, you will exclaim, “Oh my gosh, I’m so upset,” right? And that is actually why K-dramas are so popular.

I came across this piece where it was mentioned that in South Korea several people commit suicide every day, which is kind of a big number compared to many other countries. It is something that’s born of a rigid, traditional society where people with mental issues are viewed as social outcasts. Is this a reason why K-dramas often feature storylines centered on the subject? How do you analyze this?

Yes, Korea has the number-one suicide rate in the OECD. Those are the organizational development countries. That’s a big deal. And you see suicide in almost all the K-dramas, [it’s] some sort of theme, right? Even if it’s just one episode, someone dies by suicide or they talk about someone attempting suicide. So, if you’re seeing it in the stories of K-dramas, it means it’s very much part of Korean society, which has a rigid culture. We do have very high standards. I think, as real as it is, we see it in the K-dramas, and actually, I think that’s why I think K-dramas are beautiful: they help you understand mental health and well-being. I think what’s happening is that Korean society witnesses suicides because they’re used to it, but what I want them to see is, why is it happening? They’re just going, “Yeah, we’re used to it,” which is sad, right? But it’s understandable. But I don’t see a lot of “whys” and the “why” is what I look at because that’s what I do for a living. “Why are you not well?” “Why are you anxious?” “Why are you depressed?” And then, “What to do about it?

In Korean culture, what I think needs to happen [and it’s happening slowly] is more conversations and education on mental health and mental illness. They’re very different things. You know, Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a global hit but is also a hit in Korea! So, it shows me that Korea is starting to watch it and go, “Oh, okay, what’s going on here? Someone who has autism is also a lawyer.” And sure, it drew some criticism, but the whole point is to get you to question things. “Wait, why don’t we talk about mental health when [this is what I say a lot] it is normal?”

Your mental health affects every part of your life. You need to talk about it. You have to talk about it. So, when we see these K-dramas and I see India, the U.S., Malaysia, and all other Asian countries talking about it, I want [the conversation] to translate back to Korea. But the truth of the matter is that we’re talking about history. It’s going to take some time to, I guess, see some change happening, but I see it happening slowly. But I am very understanding, in the sense that you can’t change overnight and I do want to see and I do think that in our Asian culture, we lack education and mental health, and that’s a lot of my work.

So, when did you – rather why did you – feel the need to share your thoughts on social media about how K-dramas can educate and engage people about mental health specifically?

K-dramas were personal to me, and I was already watching them for my self-care. And because it works for me and I’m a therapist, I’ve slowly put it in different pockets. I use them as examples to show mental health and mental illness in different scenes because it helps people see a story [like, for example, Boys Over Flowers] and realize, “Okay, it’s not just about me. Oh, I see this pretty girl struggling or this really good-looking guy having problems with his family; I relate to them.” I help them talk about mental health in an easier way. Does that make sense? How to break through stigma? That’s how it happened, and then Noona’s Noonchi came about in the middle of the pandemic, in the middle of COVID, when everybody was stuck at home and was depressed or anxious.

For a while, I was thinking about it: “How can I share the mental-health benefits of K-dramas?” And then Noona’s Noonchi came about, and it just came about naturally. I was like, “I’m just going to start a YouTube channel. Let me just share this stuff.” And then Instagram came along, and obviously, you got to add all the social media, and that’s how it happened. It really was very organic and out of my own love, my own love for K-dramas, and my passion for bringing them into my work, to give examples of mental health and to help people understand mental health better.

If I request you to outline some of the most essential healing elements in K-dramas that impact mental well-being, what would they be?

First of all, people ask, “Are there specific K-dramas that show mental health?” To be honest with you, every K-drama has mental-health examples.

So it’s not just It’s Okay to Not Be Okay and not just the ones that talk about mental illness; it’s all of them. So, when I suggest K-dramas, I’m saying number one, don’t binge-watch all the time. Maybe watch a couple of scenes or maybe one episode a day to help you relax because you’re going into another world. Okay, you left work. You’re watching a story. You relate to the characters because you’re seeing their emotions. They’re crying, they’re yelling, screaming, they’re angry. They’re being hurt, they’re feeling challenged, and then they’re experiencing happiness too. You’re feeling it with them, right? It’s because you get very invested in the story. When you’re anxious, you need a chance to decompress. That’s number one. So, K-dramas do that.

Number two, let’s just think of a crisis as an example. Let’s just use Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, a very healing drama. Mr. Hong hit something and then it blew up, right? People sort of found out about this thing that happened, that was devastating for him, and you saw that he had to process it, cry it out, and he thought about hurting himself – dying and jumping off the bridge, because he was so devastated. We relate to all of those emotions because we’re seeing it on screen and then we realize, “Wait for a second,” and this is where I’m going to say to people, how do you see what’s in a K-drama and turn it back to you and make a change? That is my whole point.

I just saw Mr. Hong share his trauma with somebody. Maybe that’s what we need to do. So, that’s what tends to happen. You watch something and you go, “I need to have a conversation with my mom. I just saw something in True Beauty that helped me. Oh my gosh, Moon Ka-young’s character was telling her mom through tears, ‘You need to believe me, you don’t trust me,’ and then the mom talked.” So, you see pockets in every scene, and there’s something teachable. I can guarantee that you’ll find something. What can you do after watching something like My Mister or The Red Sleeve? There are examples in there of leadership, resilience, diligence, how to manage through a crisis, and also how to speak for yourself.

A lot of folks go, “K-dramas are unrealistic, their relationships are unrealistic.” Well, here’s what I will say [this may be a little unconventional], “Go for it. Go find a girlfriend like Yoon Se-ri [Crash Landing on You]. Go try to find a boyfriend like Kang Tae-moo in Business Proposal.” Yes, you can. Now ignore the fact that they drive these Ferraris and have all these fabulous things, because those are all dramatic. But look at the person. Look at the character. I want you to take out the unrealistic part of the drama and just go with the fact that this person can love you unconditionally. That is all true.

What are some of the K-dramas that have helped you cope with circumstances? Any specific memory you’d like to share?

I recently had COVID. I was in bed, and I watched the classic K-dramas to cheer myself up. So, what I did was go to Viki to see a 2010 K-drama, Greatest Love. I decided to rewatch “The Greatest Love” and I highly recommend it. It is a classic trope. But I needed to watch a K-drama with a classic trope to cheer me up. The other one I tend to turn to is Reply 1988. I use that drama a lot for family dynamics. I use it for relationships and friendships. I use it to show culture. It’s a wonderful K-drama.

My Mister, in recent years, has played a role in a lot of my workshops. People will be like, “My Mister is depressing,” but you don’t need to have a happy K-drama to learn something from it. My Mister is a very good example of transformation – how two people who have nothing in common heal each other, literally, through friendship and attachment. Believe it or not, I re-watch it when I’m most sad. It is a classic case of how a K-drama can help your mental health. I use Our Blues in some family workshops. I’ll also have Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha on loop, and I had to rewatch Twenty-Five Twenty-One because I was working on something and I was like, “What a great example of friendship!”

Who are some of your favorite Korean actors?

Oh my goodness, so many. Gong Hyo-jin from When the Camelia Blooms, Greatest Love, Master’s Sun and It’s Okay That’s Love. She is beautiful and I think she does a good job in everything she is in. I also love Shin Min-ah. I’ve always loved her. Ignoring the fact that these actresses are all beautiful, I love the way they appear on screen and get me absorbed in their characters. I also love some of the side characters. They do a phenomenal job of telling the story. I love Kim Ji-won. She was really good in My Liberation Notes and she was great in other ones like Descendants of the Sun. But in My Liberation Notes, she showed maturity and she did a great job. I also like Lee Bo-young and Park Eun-bin. Eun Bin as Woo Young-woo is excellent. I mean, she was good in The King’s Affection and Hello My 20s. But I kind of noticed her in Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

Many of the men… gosh, I do love Lee Byung-hun. He was in Our Blues. He’s like an older actor, but he’s like my age – a little bit older than me, so I kind of go with the older actors, to be honest. I really like Ji Jin-hee. There’s something about his acting that’s good. Now let’s go to the younger ones. My favorite is Kim Seon-ho. He just won me over in Start-Up and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. I think he comes across as very authentic. Jun Ho in The Red Sleeve is a good actor too, besides being an idol. I also admire So Ji-sub and love his work a lot.

Which K-drama character do you kind of relate to the most and why?

Sung Deok-sun [played by Hyeri] in Reply 1988. Believe it or not, I was a lot like her. Yeah, I was sociable and well-liked. I believed some guys liked me, you know? I stood out in the sense that people noticed me. It’s just that I didn’t stand out academically as she did, though I worked hard. But she stood out in every other way, too. She’s lovable and she really makes other people feel good, and do you know that example where the teacher suggested she help an epileptic student? That, to me, really stood out. That was kind of like me. So, Deok Sun is somebody who really resonates with me in that sense.

Moon Ka-young’s mom in True Beauty is another character I relate to, as a mother. She is like me. We see her as someone who is very hard on her daughter. I can, honestly, be a little bit like that. She’s the type of person who is very hard on her children, but then she’ll do anything for them. As a mom, I’m a lot like her.

That aside, just like Bae Suzy’s character Seo Dal-mi in Start-Up, who starts at the bottom and then gradually moves up – and then towards the end, looks at her success – I kind of started that way as I was starting my own business, and then I grew into it.

You are a Korean who has spent a significant amount of time in a foreign country, in a different society, in a different culture, and surrounded by people from a different country. I’m sure there were times when you felt lonely and alienated. So, how has that changed over time, and how has watching K-dramas helped you feel truly happy with who you are and where you come from?

I even wrote a book on it. It’s on Amazon, you can get it. I talk about loneliness and stress. Living in America, you know, I’m still Korean and also Korean-American. I want to say that I’m 100-percent Korean and 100-percent American, but not everybody sees me that way. I grew up in the 80s. So that was a long time ago, and back then, Korean culture was very foreign. People saw Korean foods like kimchi, and a lot of the reactions were, “Oh, kimchi smells.” It does smell, right? It does smell funny. But now it’s so common. But back then, when I was growing up, nobody knew about kimchi.

The Koreans were pretty great, especially where I grew up. I grew up in a very Americanized white suburban town. I love where I grew up, but I was the lone Korean. So, when you stand out and you don’t look like everyone else, and your parents speak a different language, and maybe they have an accent [even though my parents are very, very well educated, my mom had a little bit of an accent], they make fun of you, right? And then I also had a Korean middle name, Eugene. I’m very proud of my Korean name. But as I grew up, people would make fun of it. There were microaggressions, you know, those little things here and there that were said to me, about my race, about me being Korean, and you do feel a certain way.

I did experience feeling depressed and stressed out. So, I wrote about it. But that was, you know, let’s just say years ago, though how it affects me today is why I’m doing what I’m doing. I know the youth in America still experience that. I know some folks in Korea experienced that, folks in India, wherever you are. There is loneliness. There is sadness and anxiety. That is all part of our lives, right? So, a lot of my passion stems from my own experiences. That’s why I wrote a book to tell you that at one point I felt really alone, even within my own family. I thought, “What’s wrong with me? Oh my gosh, I hate being Korean.” There are times when I think being Korean stinks, but when I think back, I see people today who adore everything about Korea, and I’m like, this is weird.

But I am very appreciative of where I am now, and want to stay true to the hardships that I experienced to get here. That is why I’m doing what I’m doing. I’m sharing my own experiences. I hope that Noona’s Noonchi is about being authentic. You know, I do the best I can to teach something but also be like, “Hey guys! Being Korean wasn’t all that while growing up.” You know, people didn’t know about K-pop back then. If they heard the Korean language, they would be like, “What? What’s that language?” Whereas people tell me now, “Jeanie, you know, I’m an African-American woman in the south of the US, I’m learning Korean.” When I hear that, I hope you guys know that it boosts my mental health.