There’s nothing like binging on a favorite Korean drama at the end of a long, hard week to lift your spirits! Korean-American therapist Jeanie Chang embraces the opportunity to explore mental health issues in a relatable way through the lens of Korean dramas, promoting wellness through her passion. Jeanie Chang is the Founder and CEO of Noona’s Noonchi®, LLC, a global wellness company providing mental health education and resources and is also a global tour operator offering Korean cultural tours including K-drama and K-drama venues. pop, hands-on cultural activities and wellness experiences.
After sharing her reflections with people around the world in recent years, Jeanie Chang has captured them in the book “How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life: Powerful Lessons on Belongingness, Healing, and Mental Health”, which will go on sale on May 7th. Ahead of the release of her book, Jeanie Chang spoke with Soompi about Noona’s Noonchi and her book, Korean dramas, and her future goals.
The origin of Noona’s Noonchi
Jeanie Chang explained that Noona’s Noonchi emerged at the height of the pandemic, in late 2020, when the anti-Asian hate movement also occurred. “At the time I was working with a lot of college students and young professionals online, leading support group sessions, and I introduced K-dramas into our sessions to encourage them and find a different, more fun way to talk about mental health, which historically “It has been quite stigmatized in Asian culture.” Encouraged by students to share her content more widely, she founded Noona’s Noonchi, which provides mental health education and is also a global tour operator.
Jeanie Chang’s book on Korean dramas and mental health
Jeanie Chang’s book “How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life: Powerful Lessons on Belongingness, Healing, and Mental Health” is intended for fans of Korean dramas and Korean culture, of course, but Chang explained his desire to reach a broader audience as well. “My hope is to also intrigue those who haven’t seen any K-dramas or have only seen ‘Squid Game’ to read my book because they are interested in how K-dramas benefit mental health. In that sense, my book is for anyone and everyone who wants to transform their life for the better and for the sake of their mental health.” And she added: “I hope my book sparks the interest of those who are fascinated by the global impact of pop culture in general.”
What sets K-dramas apart
Jeanie Chang presented seven aspects that differentiate K-dramas from other dramas:
- “K-dramas are of the highest production quality, and it shows.”
- “The writing in Korean dramas is second to none. It focuses on the development and growth of the characters, which makes them very close and immerses us fully in their story. “That’s why we get so emotionally invested in K-dramas.”
- “As they are usually written by women, Korean dramas show the story from the female point of view. This represents a change from the historical male gaze, which makes them refreshing and globally attractive, because the vast majority of K-dramas viewers are women.”
- “The themes of Korean dramas focus on the heart of Korean culture, which is based on jeong (Korean affinity, connection, kinship) and is outlined in the relationships within Korean dramas that people find endearing.”
- “Korean dramas are aspirational and inspiring, emphasizing messages of resilience and hope.”
- “The narrative of Korean dramas has a formula that is honestly predictable, but we actually like tropes (whether we know it or not) because predictable things are a good mechanism for dealing with stress and trauma.”
- “Korean dramas encourage belonging. Because of their global appeal, K-dramas are building interracial and cross-cultural bridges around the world, making the world a more welcoming place in the face of the epidemic of social isolation.”
K-dramas that positively influence mental health
When asked about dramas that had a positive impact on her mental health, Jeanie Chang mentioned many titles, such as “If You Wish Upon Me,” “Twinkling Watermelon,” “Seo Yeong, My Daughter,” “Reply 1988.” and “My Mister,” and revealed that “My Mister” even inspired the title of his book. However, the drama that started this whole journey for her was the 1992 series “Jealousy,” starring Choi Soo Jong and Choi Jin Sil. “It changed my life because I discovered that my culture, my heritage and my Korean origins were valuable and therefore I found confidence in my identity and came to love who I am. Here I am decades later talking about the intersectionality of mental health and identity using Korean dramas in my work, analyzing them from the perspective of mental health.”
Jeanie Chang’s K-Drama Recommendations
Soompi asked K-drama expert Jeanie Chang to reveal her recommendations for people in various situations, and she shared the following answers:
- You feel depressed and just want to cheer yourself up: “Coffee Prince,” “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo,” “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon,” “Mr. What in”.
- You want to cry your eyes out: “Thank You”, “Master’s Sun”, “Uncontrollably Fond”, “My Mister”.
- Do you want to watch a romantic K-drama with a healthy relationship?: “The Greatest Love”, “Healer”, “Fight For My Way”, “Her Private Life”, “Twinkling Watermelon”.
- Do you want to watch a drama with the family: “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God”, “My Father is Strange”, “Once Again”, “Bravo, My Life”.
Jeanie Chang’s Future Goals
In conclusion, Jeanie Chang discussed her future goal of continuing to expand her company Noona’s Noonchi in Korea, especially helping to shape the country’s mental health infrastructure. She said: “To this end, I hope to continue developing my wellness tours in South Korea, transforming the tourism industry, and leave my mark on Korean society as an expert clinical speaker, executive coach, and author in promoting mental health resources for improve the mental health of Koreans of all generations.”
Find out more about Jeanie Chang’s upcoming book here!
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