Cultural Post # 6

[Tanjila Islam]

I have been watching more Korean TV shows. One of the shows that I started watching is "The Good Doctor." There is an English version of the show based on the original Korean version. The shows follows a surgeon with autism as he starts working at new hospital. It has been interesting to see how mental disorders are treated differently in the U.S. and in Korea. The Korean version on the show focuses more on the humor and the medical issues that patients in each episode presents. Whereas, the English version focuses more on the difficulties that the main character faces when interacting with the patients and his colleagues. The show has actually helped to start a conversation about mental disabilities in Korea; in the past, they did not have a lot of programs that support individuals with mental disorders and did not provide help that was targeted towards young kids with autism. Even in the earlier episodes of the Korean version, most of characters talked about autism as an illness that could be treated and not a condition that individuals have to live with their entire lives. As the show progressed, it was very evident how the writers changed the storyline to focus more on autism awareness.