Morning Comes to the Mental Ward (2023)

I CRIED EVERY EPISODE

This was such a wonderful drama. Much like life it had its wonderful moments and it had its sad ones.
I watched this show for Park Bo-young, who plays the protagonist Jung Daeun, but stayed for the stories and characters
Dr. Dong was a complete goofball and I’m glad they made him a love interest. I hate when great characters like him are only utilized for comedic relief, it pisses me off. So much so, when it was revealed that Daeun’s best friend, Yuchan, also has feelings for her I was displeased. For one, I’m not the biggest fan of love triangles and I think they’re just filler content used to complicate the plot and make the story so dramatic. I literally swore that no matter how much I enjoyed the show, if Daeun ended up with Yuchan the show would lose a whole star on Mydramalist. But thankfully she ended up with Dr. Dong and I could rate the show a full 10 stars.
Besides the romances I really like the patients stories. If you’ve watched the show Tomorrow and enjoyed it, you would like this show too. I really liked how they dived into the patients backstories and showed what led up to their mental health issues, while also explaining what their sicknesses are and how it affects them in their everyday lives. It also talked about prejudice and stigma that lies around mental health issues which I think will really help change people’s minds. I didn’t even think I had any stigma or prejudice until I watched the show. So not only was it entertaining, but also informative.
I cried so much too. I couldn’t help it. The characters were portrayed so well and it just kept making me sad thinking that a lot of people go through things like what appeared in the show and are affected mentally. The show just helped show how ordinary people going through things many people can relate to can get sick. And I liked how there were always connections between the patients and nurses to show that we’re all similar, just some aren’t strong enough mentally to get through it by themselves. Like the working mother case. I didn’t even know pseudo amnesia was a thing! But when the doctor made her write about some important events in her life and how she felt during those times and then highlight all her negative emotions that made me cry. You could really see how she realized what her life has been for a while. She noticed that she’s felt a lot of negative emotions and a lot of it was from balancing being a mother and having a job. After that she saw the similarities in Nurse Song and gave her advice. And it was really nice seeing although she was the patient, she was giving insight into Nurse Song’s life so that she did that end up like her. I think the reasons I cried so much in this show was because it was hard to see ordinary people change so much mentally because of the world around them.
Lastly I want to talk about Kim Seo Hwan. OH HOW I CRIED!! I actually loved this patient so much! I just knew his story would be a big deal seeing as he was Daeun’s favorite patient, I was just dreading it. Thinking back on it I think it only made sense that his character died. Not just because it helped move along the plot and further played into Daeun's plot line, but because it was important. I think it was important to show how not everyone wins the battle. Seo Hwan’s story was a story that I’ve heard/seen in so many South Korean dramas and true stories. I think the feeling this character felt is something a lot of people can relate to, and seeing his death might help someone out there like him. I really liked how they focused on how much his death affected others. It might help someone who’s considering the same path that he did to not make that choice because the people around them might be just as sad. I’m not that good with my words but I think overall this was an amazing show that dealt with some real world topics and can help a lot of people become more familiar with mental illness and those that suffer from it.

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YOU Must Be the First Priority!

Most everyone has been told that you should always think of others first and yourself second. To do otherwise is considered “selfish.” However, this is putting the cart before the horse, for what good can you possibly be to anyone if you don’t take care of yourself? It took me 30 years to realize this truth, and I saw much of my old self in Jung Da Eun.

The series focuses on mental health and the illnesses that many people suffer, and sadly, suffer in silence. Much of the world still has many stigmas and dogmatic beliefs in those who suffer from mental illnesses. Psychiatry is still a relatively new science, and like a fledgling science, it’s still trying to work out many of the kinks.

Jung Da Eun is a very capable nurse who’s transferred from Internal Medicine to the Mental Health ward. This is partly because she’s a nurse with a big heart. She loves caring for others. However, when a patient she is closest to ends his life in suicide, she blames herself for not doing more. This event is only a catalyst to something much deeper that has been festering within Jung Da Eun for years. She’s always been a pleaser, sacrificing her own desires and needs for someone else’s. While this may seem like a noble way to live, it isn’t. Sacrifice means to give up something to gain something else. The ultimate goal is to help yourself AND the other person!

I, myself, was a pleaser for years. How people perceived me, from parents to teachers to friends and people in relationships meant everything to me. This is a losing battle because you never find what you truly need outside of yourself. It’s an impossibility. Once I learned how to love and appreciate myself, and make that my priority, only then did I learn how to set boundaries, to take care of myself, and then be able to help others. Set your own feet first. You cannot give what you do not have.

As Jung Da Eun goes through deep depression, she starts off denying that there is anything wrong with her. Why? Because to admit that something is wrong would mean that everything she believes herself to be (her whole identity) would be a farce. Of course, this is the mental story she tells herself, even though it’s completely untrue. This is something that everyone does. We identify so much with the mental projections of who we believe ourselves to be, that we feel as though we’re lost without it. Of course, this is all a part of the delusion; the lies we tell ourselves.

Just as the body becomes ill with diseases, so too, does the mind. All disease (dis-ease) stems from the same core problem: lack of love for yourself. Unfortunately, much of psychiatry attempts to deal with the symptoms rather than the cause. The same can even be said of physical ailments as well.

The series does a wonderful job of pulling back the layers of mental illness and shining the spotlight of awareness on them. We see parents refusing to believe that something is wrong because they take it as a negative reflection on themselves. Children in the west believe that parents owe them everything. Parents in the east believe that children owe them everything. Both are wrong and equally abusive and unhealthy. What you end up having are spoiled children and overbearing parents. And yet, some parents have the courage to admit that they cannot help their children, and out of love, they find someone who can. Just as when your car breaks down, you don’t deny that there is something wrong or even that your level of “expertise” prevents you from fixing it. So, you find an expert; a mechanic.

We see some intriguing storylines involving the staff of nurses at the hospital. Dr. Song has a sister who suffers from schizophrenia, and the prejudice involved when she tries to move into an apartment building. Nurse Min suffers from extremely low self-esteem, largely due to her mother’s abuse. It takes a tremendous amount of persistence from Dr. Hwang to start viewing herself differently and to also take a stand and end the cycle of abuse from her mother. Remember, if you remove either the abuser or the person being abused from the equation, abuse can no longer exist.

Another component of the show is finding and doing what you love. Most people don’t realize how vastly important this is, and why it’s also a necessary one when demonstrating how much you love yourself. So many people are told what they can do or what they can’t do, largely by those who have no clue themselves. It’s the blind leading the blind. Never let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do. Ignore and refrain from listening to anyone who attempts to meddle with your life. After all, it’s YOUR life, and whenever you give your power away, you cannot blame the other person for why your own dreams didn’t work out.

This series was on par to some degree with “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” which in some ways, was a better show as it seemed to delve much deeper into the psyche of people. However, that doesn’t make this show any less powerful or compelling as we see that a mental breakdown can literally happen to anyone at any point in time. The key, however, is to recognize that most events are nothing more than catalysts for revealing something that has been festering within. Again, this is why loving and taking care of yourself MUST be your number one priority! Only then will you be far more likely to recognize when something is off within yourself, and you will be in a far better position to deal with those events when they occur.

Bo Young Park continues to be one of my favorite actresses. She is a master of tapping into any emotion or feeling that the role requires, and she really does give us a complex character who may be glowing on the outside but is quietly suffering within. We also feel her despair as she finds herself a patient, and why hitting rock bottom is always a blessing. There’s only one way left to go: up!

This an important series to watch, not only for people to hopefully begin to prioritize themselves but also to recognize that most people with mental illnesses are not a threat to others, any more than someone with cancer or some physical disease. While the world has a long way to go, this series demonstrates that a daily dose of sunshine provides us with hope.

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One of best kdramas

I really love how this drama choose mental health topic that is very needed and it's really a topic especially in sk. It gives you brief education about mental health, mental disorder, what they feel and the medical solution for it, and how the society treat them. I love Jung Da Eun's character who is ready to work hard after some mistakes she did. I got many lessons about life and some simple psychological support for myself when I feel down too! But I really recommend everyone who watch this is in a good mood, because this serial also has s e l f h a r m and s u i c i d e as a topic (we dont want people who's in bad condition to imitate it whatever). And the soft romance between the nurse and doctor is just so cuteee.
This drama can be an explanation for some misconceptions about some mental disorders (since people take them too easy, ignoring it or self diagnosed it). Big appreciation to all people who worked for this serial.

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Great First Episode

What a first episode! This one surprised me. I was anxious going into this episode because I was expecting a heavy watch, but I was pleasantly surprised at the balance of humor the episode had. The show doesn't shy away from heavy topics, but they don't overtake the episode. I also appreciated how they delved deep into the illnesses and what leads to them and how they tie into the episode and the other characters. It all flows together nicely. Park Bo Young is great here as the new psychiatric nurse and radiates a likable charm while also carrying her own baggage. The supporting cast also surprised me, as they were all likable, and I never felt annoyed when a side character appeared on stage. I am wary of the show heading towards a love triangle or square and hope the show doesn't take that route, as there are so many positives here that going that route, I feel, will hurt the show more than help it. Overall, I really liked this first episode and look forward to seeing where we go from here, and I would give this episode an 8.5/10.

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