It's Okay to Not Be Okay

• Kim Soo-hyun as Moon Gang-tae[1]
  • Moon Woo-jin as young Moon Gang-tae

An orphaned caregiver working at OK Psychiatric Hospital. While he is empathetic to everyone around him, he struggles with self-esteem as a result of his past experiences and avoids having close relationships with anyone other than his older brother. He has never lived a normal life and seems to be carrying all the weight and pain in life.

• Seo Yea-ji as Ko Moon-young[2]
  • Kim Soo-in as young Ko Moon-young

A popular children's book author with antisocial personality disorder. She had a troubled childhood and a turbulent relationship with her parents. She develops a romantic obsession over Gang-tae after a coincidental encounter and often goes to extreme lengths to get his attention.

• Oh Jung-se as Moon Sang-tae[3]
  • Lee Kyu-sung as young Moon Sang-tae

Moon Gang-tae's older brother, who is autistic. He is a fan of Moon-young, as well as an aspiring illustrator. He was the sole witness of his mother's murder, which resulted in his irrational fear of butterflies. This fear develops into nightmares every spring, and forces Gang-tae to move towns with Sang-tae in order to "run away from the butterflies".

• Park Gyu-young as Nam Ju-ri[4]
  • Park Seo-kyung as young Nam Ju-ri

A nurse and Gang-tae's co-worker at OK Psychiatric Hospital. She has an unrequited crush on Gang-tae, and is shown to be shy and easily jealous of others who are close with her romantic interests. She dislikes Moon-young, with whom she had a brief friendship in elementary school.

• Kim Joo-hun as Lee Sang-in[5]

The CEO of SangsangESang Publishing Company, which publishes Moon-young's children's books.

• Park Jin-joo as Yoo Seung-jae

The art director at SangsangESang Publishing Company who assists Sang-in.

• Kim Chang-wan as Oh Ji-wang[5]

The director of OK Psychiatric Hospital. Despite his use of unconventional methods, he genuinely cares about his patients and often succeeds at helping them get better.

• Kim Mi-kyung as Kang Soon-deok[5]

A skilled chef at the hospital and Ju-ri's mother.

• Jang Young-nam as Park Haeng-ja

The head nurse of the hospital.

• Jang Gyu-ri as Sun Byul

A nurse with three years of experience who is Ju-ri's friend.

• Seo Joon as Kwon Min-seok

A psychiatrist at the hospital.

• Choi Woo-sung as Oh Cha-yong

A young and careless caregiver who often sleeps at work.

• Lee Eol as Ko Dae-hwan

Moon-young's father who is a patient at the hospital. He suffers from dementia and is bedbound. He was an architect who designed the Ko's family house, which is nicknamed the "Cursed Castle" after Do Hui-jae's disappearance.

• Kim Ki-cheon as Kan Pil-ong[6]

A kind-hearted yet troubled Vietnam War veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Jung Jae-kwang as Joo Jeong-tae[6]

A patient content with life who was originally admitted to the hospital for alcoholism.

• Ji Hye-won as Lee Ah-reum[6]

A shy patient who was admitted for anxiety after escaping from her abusive ex-husband.

• Kang Ji-eun as Park Ok-ran

A mysterious fan of Hui-jae who torments Dae-hwan.

• Joo In-young as Yoo Sun-hae
  • Ko Do-yeon as young Sun-hae (Ep. 13)

A patient with dissociative identity disorder that she developed as a coping mechanism because of the troubled relationship with her father.

• Kang Ki-doong as Jo Jae-soo[5]

Moon Gang-tae's best friend, who follows him and Sang-tae whenever they move.

• Choi Hee-jin as Moon Sang-tae and Moon Gang-tae's mother

A single parent murdered over a decade ago under mysterious circumstances.

• Woo Jung-won / Jang Young-nam as Do Hui-jae

A best-selling novelist and Moon-young's mother. She was emotionally abusive to Moon-young and is a big part of the reason why she is the way she is. She disappeared under mysterious circumstances over a decade before Moon-young meets Gang-tae again.

• Kwak Dong-yeon as Kwon Ki-do (Ep. 3–4, 16)

A patient at the hospital with mania, who is the son of an assemblyman.

• Bae Hae-sun as Kang Eun-ja (Ep. 4–7, 16)

A patient at the hospital with psychotic depression, which she developed after losing her daughter to a car accident.

• Jung Sang-hoon as a love motel owner (Ep. 5)
• Choi Daniel as CEO Choi Daniel, who is a fan of Ko Moon-young (Ep. 8)

The five children's storybooks that appeared in the drama were written by Jo Yong and illustrated by concept artist Jamsan.[22] They were published (in Korean only) by Wisdom House in July and August 2020.[23] According to the Kyobo Book Centre and YES 24, all five books were listed in the top 20 bestselling books of the month.[22] Due to its popularity Kyobo Book Centre recorded a ninefold increase in the number of drama- and film-related books.[24]

The series' script, also illustrated by Jamsan, was published in two books; each covers eight episodes.[25]

The album It's Okay to Not Be Okay (Original Television Soundtrack) was executively composed by music director Nam Hye-Seung.[26] The vocals were performed by Janet Suhh, Heize, Sam Kim, Park Won, Lee Su-hyun, Kim Feel, Cheeze, Yongzoo and Elaine.[26] It was released on August 9, 2020, and contains all of the singles, special tracks and background tracks from the series.[27] The album debuted on the weekly Gaon Album Chart at number fourteen[28] and subsequently ranking tenth in the following week.[29] It also recorded the highest ranking in the sales rankings of various music malls and the initial production quantity was sold out within a week after pre-sales started.[30]

Tracklist

According to the big data analytics firm Good Data Corporation,[lower-alpha 2] It's Okay to Not Be Okay was the most talked about drama online in South Korea for eight consecutive weeks.[42][43] It became a hot topic on social media when actor Oh Jung-se spent a day with an autistic fan.[44] It also topped CJ E&M and AGB Nielsen Media Research's Content Power Index (CPI)[lower-alpha 3] report during its eight-week run[46] with its highest CPI of 373.2 in the first week of August;[47] it was the highest rated tvN drama of 2020 in CPI.[48] Smart Media Rep (SMR), which distributes VoD (video on demand) clips of major broadcasters to online platforms like Naver and YouTube, reported the drama had over 110 million cumulative views as of December 10, 2020.[49] An analysis performed by SMR found that the majority of viewers were in their 20s.[50]

Studio Dragon recorded its highest quarterly performance in the second quarter of 2020 with sales of ₩141.4 billion, which was attributed to the growth of overseas sales of major dramas including It's Okay to Not Be Okay.[51] CJ ENM, parent company of tvN, found that operating profits for the third quarter of 2020 increased by 17.9% when compared to the same period of 2019, due to an increase in digital-related sales as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[52] Following the popularity of the drama, the outfits worn by Seo Yea-ji garnered attention[53] and raised the profile of Korean fashion designers and brands of earrings, handbag and nightwear.[54][55] When the soft toys, nightmare doll (Mang-tae) and dinosaur doll that were used in the drama were put on sale, the site quickly sold out.[56]

The New York Times named It's Okay to Not Be Okay one of "The Best International Shows of 2020",[57] whereas the Chilean newspaper La Tercera called the show "one of the most popular Asian dramas" of 2020, and included it in its list of the most applauded Netflix series.[58] The magazine ELLE ranked it #2 on its list of "The 10 Best K-Dramas To Binge-Watch On Netflix".[59] Additionally, Teen Vogue included it on the list of "11 Best K-Dramas of 2020".[60]

It's Okay to Not Be Okay largely received positive critical feedback, primarily for its unique premise, visual storytelling telling, acting by the cast and importance given to mental health.[61] Joan MacDonald of Forbes called it "the most visually appealing drama of 2020" and said, "Not only are the actors beautiful, but the drama’s graphics, cinematography and costumes are also gorgeous."[62] Contributors to Manila Bulletin considered it "unafraid to introduce fresh elements" with necessary clichés in a romantic K-drama, and praised Moon-young as a "headstrong" and "independent woman".[63] However, when the series debuted, culture critic Chung Deok-hyun was concerned that Moon-young's "exaggerated words and actions" could decrease viewers' immersion in the drama.[64] Philippines Cosmopolitan's Jacinda A. Lopez found that the "messages the drama was relaying are where the beauty truly lies".[65] Rumaiysa M Rahman of Prothom Alo praised writing that "[t]his drama makes people realise, societies should stop looking at those who seem different."[66]

John Lui and Jan Lee of The Straits Times gave the drama a rating of 3.5/5 stars and said that Kim Soo-hyun "pull[ed] off a sensitive portrayal of a young man whose life has been derailed by tragedy".[67] The New York Times' Mike Hale called Seo Yea-ji's performance "mesmerizing" and made the drama work.[57] S. Poorvaja of The Hindu, though praising that Moon-Young is a character "excellently played by Seo Yea-ji", criticized the writing, saying that "the show could have gone into more nuance – especially after the character was marketed as someone having Anti-Social Personality disorder". Poorvaja also said that the show's portrayal of a person with autism spectrum disorder was good, commenting that "Oh Jung-se's Moon Sang-tae is perhaps the show's biggest victory."[68][5] Edmund Lee from South China Morning Post gave a rating of 3/5 stars, pointing out that the series would disappoint "detective fiction fans" because of the limited explanation of mystery surrounding the murder.[69] Kim Jae-Ha of Teen Vogue described the storyline as "vigorous" and said, "The series finale offers hope and a sense of peace. But it will also make even the most stoic viewers tear up."[60]

The series was criticized on social media and the KCSC received over 50 formal complaints, largely for a scene in which Moon-young overtly stares and touches Gang-tae's body as he gets dressed.[70] In another scene a male character, who suffers from manic depression and exhibitionism, reveals parts of his body, with his genitals being covered by a drawing of an elephant. Some viewers defended these scenes as ways of expressing the characters' personalities.[71]

On August 26, 2020, the broadcast censorship body issued a legal sanction to the television series for sexually inappropriate scenes in episode three, judging it to be against the broadcast deliberation regulations. It cited Article 27, on duties of integrity, and Article 30, on gender equality. The subcommission gave the reasoning: "Even considering the fact that they were meant to exaggeratedly express a character's personality, (the scenes in question) show how insensitive the drama's producers are to gender equality in broadcasting content that may belittle a certain gender and hold the possibility to justify sexual harassment and molestation."[72]

It's Okay to Not Be Okay was the most popular show of 2020 on Netflix in South Korea in its romance genre.[83] It was the most popular Korean drama series on Netflix in Taiwan,[84] and the "most enduring Korean drama" in Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia, being in Netflix’s top 10 list for more than 100 days.[85] The series was also one of the most popular Korean drama of 2020 on Netflix in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and South Africa.[86]

It's Okay to Not Be Okay aired on tvN, which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS). The series logged 6.1% in viewership for its first episode Saturday but dropped to 4.7% for the next one.[87] The series maintained its ratings in 4-6% range throughout its run, peaking at 7.4% for the last episode, entering the list of highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television.[88]