I was perusing my favorite local bookstore as I am wont to do and the colorful cover and title of this book intrigued me. And THEN my eyes shifted to the top of the cover where it reads “The South Korean hit therapy memoir recommended by BTS’s RM” and I audibly gasped in the aisle. I love all of those words! Kim Namjoon, otherwise known as RM, otherwise known as the ultimate artsy smartsy genius/boy wonder/best leader in the K-pop industry, has exceptional taste in all things so if HE recommends it?? Hunny, you better believe I will devour it. And I did! Joonie: if you are listening could you please share more book recommendations? I would simply dieeeee if I had access to your TBR list !!! tysm bb <3
PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you?
ME: I don’t know, I’m— what’s the word—depressed? Do I have to go into detail?
Baek Sehee’s memoir was a massive hit in South Korea and later translated in English by Anton Hur last year. The book is comprised of the dialogue between the author and her psychiatrist over the course of 12 weeks. Sprinkled throughout the sessions are micro-essays by Baek Sehee to accompany each conversation with her psychiatrist and the topics they delved into together.
The thought of not only recording my therapy sessions, but then publishing said sessions into a book is *MORTIFYING*, so I was blown away by the author’s candor as she shared these intimate conversations with her readers. Even if you do not currently go to therapy, it addresses several topics that are worth exploring for anyone finding themselves struggling with their mental health in any capacity, or for anyone willing to work on themselves. Think of it as a jumping-off point to help outline conversations you may feel like you should have with yourself, with loved ones, or maybe a professional in the future. You may not fully relate to all of the author’s struggles, but I know that almost everybody deals with at least a few of these problems, simply because we are all living in this dumpster fire world together :) Maybe that is why Kim Namjoon recommended it to us: he understands the importance of mental health and wants ARMY to recognize that for themselves too. Nothing but respect for my president !!!
Baek Sehee writes of her experiences dealing with dysthymia, or persistent depressive disorder (a state of constant, light depression). “It’s also full of personal and sometimes pathetic details, but I’ve tried to make it more than just a venting of my dark emotions,” she writes in the prologue. I am not a healthcare professional, nor have I been diagnosed with any of the same disorders as the author, so I am by no means an authority figure on the subject matter. So! I reached out to two of my friends who are licensed therapists for their insight. Luckily, one of them had also read it and shared her thoughts on the book which I found quite helpful. She is a fellow ARMY so it was doubly helpful to hear her perspective as both a professional and fellow fangirl since we were both drawn to it for the same reason: Kim Namjoon. He is the reason. He is always the reason!
I especially wanted to know what she thought because I read a negative review written by a therapist on Goodreads after I finished the book, which intrigued me since my initial thoughts were mostly positive. So then I thought… ‘oh maybe therapists HATE what is happening here.’ We discussed one review in particular, written by a non-Korean. They went on and on about how they hated the book because they hated the therapist. Both of us felt that this reviewer was judging this therapist pretty harshly, perhaps because they lack the understanding of the language. As we know from watching K-dramas and tons of subtitled BTS interviews, so much can get lost in translation. While I believe the translator did an excellent job, the translation will not always give the full breadth of meaning from the native language. My friend also pointed out that the reviewer did not take into account the cultural and relationship dynamics in Korea, which naturally differ from the dynamics one would be accustomed to in America. We don’t all have the same societal problems globally, so not every therapist in the world would go about addressing problems in the same way.
As a professional, my friend agreed with the reviewer that she would not have said some of these things to a client of her own, but the therapist in the book even mentioned that themselves! The second to last chapter is called “Psychiatrist’s Note: From One Incompleteness to Another.” I appreciated the addition of this chapter because I think it was important for the psychiatrist to weigh in, given their crucial role in the book. They claim that after reading the published book, they were more embarrassed than they expected and regretted some of their counseling choices, wishing they were a bigger help to the author. Both of my therapist friends related to this, as they sometimes leave sessions thinking “Oh, I should have said that differently!” The psychiatrist ultimately praised Baek Sehee for writing this book and the power of its potential:
“For a patient to brave societal prejudices and reveal in such vivid detail all the experiences that led her to seek treatment and the difficult process of treatment itself - this is perhaps not something that is as easily googleable as the name of an anti-depressant.”
It is important to remember that “this is a record of a very ordinary, incomplete person who meets another very ordinary, incomplete person, the latter of whom happens to be a therapist.” I think it is pretty common to put therapists on a pedestal because they seem to have all the answers. They must be doing everything right in life and are the most well-adjusted people out there! Even though it may sometimes feel like that during a session, we are all human. We all make mistakes on the job and we all have room for improvement. It is also important to keep in mind that therapists cannot control what their clients do after they leave. They can only help us so much, but it is up to the individuals to actually implement those changes in their life.
Many of the passages resonated with me, to the point that I probably would not feel comfortable lending out my copy to others due to my excessive highlighting on some of the anecdotes the author shared LOL. It was giving this meme:
Which is ultimately a good thing! It was validating to know that I am not the only one who has these thoughts about myself, even though it feels like it most of the time. I would still be too embarrassed to ever admit some of them out loud tbqh. However, the thoughts and feelings that are the hardest to confront are probably the ones you should confront. Quite a few times I found myself thinking “oh no, maybe we need to unpack this at a later time!” LOL. All that to say: therapy is health care. Literally every single person I know would benefit from it. I am grateful I have the means to see a therapist regularly because it has truly helped me so much over the past year. THERAPY IS COOL, PASS IT ON.
In K-pop news…
Earlier this week, I wrote about the Tannies taking over the fashion world and the very next day Yoongi attended his first-ever Paris Fashion Week — as newly-minted Valentino ambassador — for the maison’s Spring 2023 haute couture show looking like this:
MOAs rejoice: TXT’s 5th mini album entitled The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION is out now! The music video for the single “Sugar Rush Ride” has some stunning visuals and exceptional choreo, but my personal favorite track on the EP is “Devil by the Window.”
My friend Kev’s annual music zine: Right Now Magazine (Vol. 9, 2022 Issue) just dropped and it is siiiiiiick as per usual. You can read the full zine HERE and listen to the Spotify mega-playlist HERE. 300+ artists, 30+ hours of new music, every genre, new releases only. Naturally my list consists of all pop songs, and there are plenty of K-pop selections from other contributors too! I am always honored to be included alongside some v cool peeps in this zine and the visuals never cease to amaze. Plz enjoy!