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2.3 - Episode 3 of It's Okay to Not Be Okay

In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 3 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix from 2020. Meun Young shows up at OK Hospital because she misses Gang Tae. Her father is at the hospital, but she doesn’t seem to care about him. The hospital director asks Meun Young to teach a literature class and Sang Tae to paint a mural at the hospital. Meun Young kidnaps a manic patient at the hospital, who turns out to be the son of a famous assemblyman. They stop at a campaign event for the assemblyman. The son gets up on stage and tells the residents that he is the assemblyman's son, that he is mentally ill, and the ugly duckling of the family. 


We do a recap of the show, and then we dive deep into the episode. We discuss:


  • The song My Tale by Park Won

  • Our impressions of episode 3

  • How it’s clear that Meun Young and Gang Tae have known each other since they were kids

  • This episode’s children’s story of Sleeping Beauty and the theme of destiny

  • The many times that Gang Tae seems to have changed his mind about Meun Young and being with her

  • How we see another side of Meun Young, the vulnerable side

  • What we think of the OK Hospital Director

  • The story of the assemblyman’s son, Min-seok

  • Mental illness in South Korea and the US

  • The K Drama elements in this episode

  • Our favorite Meun Young outfit

  • Our favorite lines from the show

  • Brene Brown’s work on fitting in and belonging

  • Seo yea-ji’s background and acting career


References:

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K Drama Chat is a weekly podcast where we take one Korean (K) Drama each season and and recap and analyze each episode. K Drama Chat is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.

Comments

  1. JustineJanuary 4, 2026 at 8:27 AM

    Did you notice the sunglasses that she was wearing driving to the OK psychiatric Institute? They were shaped like butterflies in episode three

    ReplyDelete

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