“It’s Okay To Not Be Okay” aired its final episode and boy was it full of heartwarming scenes. It will take some time for me to get over this drama so I’m sharing with you some of my takeaways from this beautiful production.
1. Blood doesn’t make family, love does.
It was a bit funny how Ko Moon-young convinced Moon Sang-tae that taking a family portrait together can make them a real family. But if you think about it, being in a family also means making an effort to show up when needed, just as Moon Kang-tae, showed up in time for the photoshoot.
The troublemaker trio Moon Sang-tae, Moon Kang-tae, and Ko Moon-young may make a bizarre family but their sincere love for each other and efforts to stay together make them the family anyone can hope for.
2. Leaning on each other makes us humans.
Their shared tragedy brought them together but despite their tragic past, the Moon brothers and Ko Moon-young are lucky enough to have friends who support them.
The drama portrays weakness not as a handicap but something that is a part of our DNA. The only way to survive is to acknowledge our weaknesses and to lean on others. Dr. Oh Ji-wang couldn’t have said it any better. “People stick together because they’re weak. We lean on each other like this. That’s what makes us humans.”
3. If you can’t erase a bad memory, replace it with something better.
We may not have a nightmare of a mother like Ko Moon-young’s but we all know that bad memories are hard to erase. In the end, Ko Moon-young refused to have those bad memories dictate her future. Instead of living alone miserably, she chose to be happy with Moon Kang-tae and Moon Sang-tae.
4. You belong to no one else but yourself.
One of the touching character developments in the drama is Moon Kang-tae finally acknowledging that he belongs only to himself. He started off as someone whose main purpose in life was to take care of his older brother but as the story progressed, he realized that his own happiness mattered too. He recognizes this when he tells Ko Moon-young that he doesn’t need her permission to pursue his lifelong dream to go back to school. Moon Kang-tae finally belongs to Moon Kang-tae.
And finally…
5. It’s okay to not be okay.
We are sometimes too preoccupied at what people think about us, just like Ko Moon-young who worried that Moon Kang-tae’s mom would hate her if she were alive. Kang-tae tells her off and asks, “Why do you want to be liked by others? Just be good to me.” In the end, both of them learned to accept each other.
All the characters in this drama are flawed, which make them so endearing and close to home. Just like the characters, we go through stages in life where we may not always be at our best. But not being okay is just okay as long as we have people to lean on.