In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 11 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the children’s story is The Ugly Duckling. Family comes up a lot in this episode. Jae-soo is upset that Sang Tae doesn’t consider him family, even though he’s been following the brothers around for ten years. Gang Tae wants Sang Tae to be the adult in the family, able to accept others, including and especially Meun Young, who he says is the loneliest person he’s ever known.

This episode opens with Park Ok-ran visiting Meun Young and the two of them getting into a confrontation, which leaves Meun Young with a cut on her hand. Gang Tae rushes to the cursed castle and is relieved to find that Meun Young is okay. When he tries to go after Park  Ok-ran, Meun Young gets upset. Gang Tang tries to calm her down, tells her to count to three, then gives her a long, passionate kiss.

Gang Tae tells Meun Young the story of Sang Tae’s traumatic memory, tells her that he must stay by Sang Tae’s side, and she must stay by his side. Meung Young tries talking to Sang Tae, urges him to come home and be her illustrator, threatens him with breach of contract for moving out, and ultimately asks him to be her older brother. In the end, Sang Tae becomes the older brother to both Gang Tae and Meun Young. 

At the end of this episode, a dark figure enters the cursed castle, sits at Meun Young’s dresser in the basement, and looms over the sleeping figures of Meun Young, Gang Tae and Sang Tae. Who is she? What is the butterfly pin that she pulled out of the dresser? Is it related to the butterfly that Sang Tae is so afraid of?

In this episode, we also talk about the Korean family register and the multi-balms that Korean women put on their faces and necks to make themselves look dewey and glow.

Reference:

• How multi balms became Korea's biggest beauty trend in 2022