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As the world opens up and becomes a more unified space, it’s easy to think that understandings and perspectives meld together, although opinions may remain individualistic. But there remains a large cultural influence on how we interact with each other and the media available to us. My dissertation explored this from the perspective of Autism Spectrum Disorder as understood and talked about in South Korea and the western world (primarily UK and USA). It uncovered many differences in the way that individuals and cultures interact with ASD, and that in South Korea there was more resistance to diagnosis and discussion about ASD. As a result of this, honest representations of ASD in Korean media were often overlooked as there was not really much discussion on these representations. One such example is the case study of my dissertation, It’s Okay to Not be Okay (2021). Outlined in my dissertation, the character of Moon Sang-Tae lives with ASD, and the exploration of his life and how others interact with him is one of the best parts of the series as it portrays both the positives and negatives of living with ASD, and how the people around him come to understand who he is and don’t try to change him.
With this in mind, it's important to discuss that this has reflections on international interactions with charities and advocacy of things like ASD. With cultural barriers in place, it becomes difficult to forward understandings of ASD by applying the same methods internationally. By furthering cultural understandings of ASD, it could lead to better advocacy for not only more honest and accurate representations of ASD on screen, but also a move for being more open to discussing ASD. in the next article I’ll be discussing what charities can do to better understand and advocate things like ASD as well as looking at some of the figures and facts about ASD and charities. Read my previous article for interviews with those with ASD and survey results to learn more about the individual experiences of how ASD in the media has affected those in the community.