Heal yourself with ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’

Cha Do Hyun suffers from DID, with 7 different personalities

Mental and cognitive disorder-based Korean dramas have been rising in popularity since the success of the drama, ‘It’s Okay to Not be Okay’. ‘Kill Me Heal Me’ is yet another one that explores this type of topic to spread awareness. If you’re looking for a Korean drama with a lot of life lessons to learn, romantic comedy, medical elements, and something to watch with your family, then, ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ is perfect for you.

This 20-episode K-drama is about Cha Do Hyun (Ji Sung), the wealthy inheritor of a family corporation. He struggles with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), better known as Multiple Personality Disorder as a result of a traumatic experience he had as a child. To be more specific, he has seven personalities. To hide his situation from his family, he was living in America. But an incident took him back to Korea. As he is forced to confront his traumatic past and face the responsibilities he has to fulfill as an heir in Korea, Do Hyun enlists the help of psychiatrist Oh Ri Jin (Hwang Jung Eum), hiring her as his personal physician in an effort to cure his disorder.

Nana represents Cha Do Hyun's childhood fears

DID or Dissociative identity disorder is actually a serious problem for some. DID is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process that produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. It is thought to stem from a combination of factors that may include trauma experienced by the person with the disorder. A person with DID has two or more different and distinct personalities, the person’s usual personality and what are known as alternate personalities, or ‘alters’. The person may experience amnesia when an alter takes control over the person’s behavior. Each alters has distinct individual traits, a personal history, and a way of thinking about and relating to his or her surroundings. They may be of a different gender, have a different name, or a distinct set of manners and preferences. Stress, or even a reminder of the trauma, can trigger a switch of alters.

Petty Park is a genius who can make a bomb out of rice

A history of trauma is a key feature of dissociative identity disorder. About 90% of the cases of DID involve some history of abuse. The trauma often involves severe emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse. It might also be linked to accidents, natural disasters, and war. An important early loss, such as the loss of a parent or prolonged periods of isolation due to illness, maybe a factor in developing DID. Instances of true DID are very rare. When they occur, they can occur at any age. Females are more likely than males to get DID.

Main poster of 'Kill Me, Heal Me'

In the drama ‘Kill me, Heal me’, Cha Do Hyun portrays this rare illness by playing 7 different characters of different gender and age with his amazing acting skills. His seven characters are Shin Se-Gi, Ahn Yoo-Na, Ahn Yoo-sub, Perry Park, Nana, Mr. X, and Cha Do Hyun himself. Shin Se-gi is the exact opposite of Cha Do-Hyun. He is dark, bad-tempered, and is somewhat violent. He is a personality created to deal with Cha Do Hyun's painful personality as he remembers the childhood memories which were 'forgotten'.

Ahn Yoo-na and Ahn Yoo-sub these two alters are siblings. 17-year-old girl Ahn Yoo-Na is obsessed with boys. Her top priority is to go after cute boys and fawn over them. She comes out when Cha Do Hyun is under a lot of stress and causes all sorts of trouble for Cha Do Hyun to fix. Her parts were hilarious. On the other side, Ahn Yoo-sub is the suicidal alter. He’s a depressed teenager and keeps trying to kill himself. The suicidal personality as having to deal with Cha Do Hyun's depression. He is the quiet one who rarely comes out but when he does, he puts Cha Do Hyun's life in danger.

The healing process takes a lot of time, courage and effort and so needs immense patience

Then there’s Perry Park who is carefree, would rather drink away his days, is very into fishing, and is really fun to hang out with. He is also a genius who knows how to build a bomb out of a rice cooker. Nana is a young and innocent alter who is stuck at that age. She was revealed to be Cha Do Hyun's representation of his childhood fears. And lastly, Mr. X presents himself as a magician and was a mystery.

There are various life lessons to learn from this K-drama. It perfectly depicted few societal issues, family, and self-love. First, this highlighted mental health and awareness with care and perfection. Many people have less knowledge when it comes to this matter. The journey and struggles of Cha Do Hyun will teach you to be kinder to other people as we know little about others. Saying that we should also avoid being judgmental to individuals who are diagnosed with mental illness. What we can do is to be aware of it and be understanding likely to what Oh Ri Jin showed.

Second, the importance of good family relationship. Children need love, care, deep understanding, and guide. Never hurt a child whether it’s physically, mentally, or emotionally. Instead, treat them well and teach them in a good way. Third, healing process takes time, courage, and a lot of effort. Some people needs reconciliation, an apology, or genuine love and support. No matter how hard it could be, Cha Do Hyun made us realize that it’s worth it— you’ll have your happy days too. Furthermore, the characters also taught as how unconditional love looks like, how we shouldn’t be greedy, and how we should pursue and work hard for our life goals.

A complete drama that can take the viewer on an inward journey

Although dissociative identity disorder and child abuse are both sensitive topics, these were well handled and the message was delivered clearly. There’s no offending lines nor even gestures seen; the writer, cast members, and every staff took the topics seriously, avoiding misinterpretation and alike. Aside from that, the plot twists related to the past of the characters and their secrets are mind-blowing. You’ll surely be left in awe. One of the best things you should look forward to it is the roller coaster ride of emotions. “Kill me heal me”, is one of those rare shows that is packed with almost all kind of emotions you look for in a good show. Suspense, mystery, romance, comedy and what not?! You will laugh, cry, smile, scream, and go like "what" throughout your journey with this show. However the humor in this drama will appeal universally.

Many love “Kill Me, Heal Me” because of its content and message. This will make you realize that everyone experiences different battles in a day that you do not know. So, always be kind because your words and actions have a great impact on others. Kill Me Heal Me will never bore the viewers because the suspense maintains itself until the last episode. The audience will also fall in love with each personality and in the end the build-up is more than worth it. This series' title is also explained to the audiences through messages, which makes the viewing experience more worthwhile. The casting is perfect and the storyline is thoroughly enjoyable.

Overall, this series is a complete package which allows the viewer to relate with every moment and enjoy a refreshing story.