Noona’s Noonchi began with a simple idea: K-Dramas can do more than entertain. They can help us understand ourselves and connect with others.
In 2020, while the pandemic was ongoing, licensed therapist Jeanie Y. Chang, LMFT, started using K-Dramas in her online sessions concerning mental health issues for college students and young professionals. Having experience as a clinician, she found it easier to talk about subjects such as mental health, relationships, identity, culture, and a sense of belonging through familiar characters and stories. The students she was working with asked her to spread these kinds of conversations to a wider audience, which is why she launched Noona’s Noonchi on social media that year.
The route that Jeanie took to her present career was not a direct one. She began her professional career as a broadcast journalist in Washington, D.C. Before going on to study at a business school, where she then took on a number of different roles, including those in corporate operations, marketing, and customer success. It was her background in storytelling, along with her clinical experience and her connection to Korean culture, that ultimately led to the creation of Noona’s Noonchi.
Starting with just a few conversations, it has now developed into a worldwide wellness brand. Noona’s Noonchi has received recognition from Forbes, CNN, the BBC, SELF, Rolling Stone India, and Arirang News TV, together with other organisations. Jeanie has also written a book published by Wiley, given a TEDx talk which appears on the official TEDx YouTube channel’s Editor’s Pick Playlist, and hosts K-Talk, a live YouTube programme in which fan-favorite dramas are examined from a mental health point of view. Since 2023, as the original provider of K-Drama Healing Tours, Noona’s Noonchi has welcomed over 250+ travellers on its Meet You In Korea healing tours.
It goes beyond K-Culture; it provides a sense of being understood, one K-Drama, one conversation, and one connection at a time.
Noonchi
"Noonchi" is a special Korean idea which involves reading the situation, understanding people, sensing their emotions, and responding with awareness.
Noona
"Noona", which means "older sister", expresses the friendly and approachable atmosphere that Jeanie wished the community to have.
To provide a transformative experience to our global community as they travel to S. Korea and open up candid dialogues about the impact of K-Content and K-Culture on their lives. We aim to give them an opportunity to experience jeong (정), which is innate to Korean society.
Noona’s Noonchi invites K-Drama, K-Pop and K-Culture enthusiasts from across the globe on a journey of being and belonging.
From modern to traditional, individuals are introduced to S. Korea’s rich history, culture, and the warmth of jeong (정) through an all inclusive tour across South Korea. Our tours are an invitation for people to ‘meet’ themselves and travel on a journey of self-discovery while visiting the iconic locations. Our community gets all the feels experiencing in real life what they have only seen on screens until this point. This has moved them beyond their comprehension.
To act as a global link between Korean culture and those who appreciate it, creating a reliable environment in which storytelling and emotional well-being can come together. This can happen in all kinds of places, such as living rooms, classrooms, and workplaces across different countries.
We see a world in which K-Dramas and K-Pop are not merely watched but instead serve as routes for people to discover South Korea, its culture, and its history as well as themselves. In this world, fans do not simply experience stories of healing and resilience when watching them on screen but live those stories out in their own communities, being supported by connections rather than feeling isolated.
We aim, in all our experiences, to spread the warmth of Jeong (정) around the world and to create a global community in which people from all backgrounds feel that they belong.
Jeanie Y. Chang, a licensed clinician and LMFT, started to use K-Dramas in her virtual mental health support sessions during the pandemic. She linked Korean storytelling with discussions on mental health, identity, and a sense of belonging, and launched Noona’s Noonchi on social media in the same year.
What started out as discussions in support groups eventually developed into a more extensive platform. The Noona’s Noonchi created a space in which a global, English-speaking audience could explore K-Drama, K-Pop, Korean culture, identity, and wellbeing.
Jeanie’s work was made available to a broader audience through her speaking engagements and appearances on various media and educational platforms, such as those involving features and interviews with Forbes, CNN, BBC, SELF, Rolling Stone India, and Arirang News TV.
Noona’s Noonchi started K-Talk, a live YouTube programme that explores popular dramas from a mental health point of view, and in the same year it launched Meet You In Korea, the experience behind its K-Drama Healing Tour and thus became the first provider of K-Drama tours, with the inaugural tours taking place in September and October.
Jeanie published her book, How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life: Powerful Lessons on Belongingness, Healing, and Mental Health, with Wiley Publishing on 7 May 2024. She also gave a TEDx talk on K-Dramas and mental health, a talk which was subsequently included in the Editor’s Pick Playlist on the official TEDx YouTube channel.
Noona’s Noonchi received more than 250 tourists from all over the world and introduced a number of new experiences, such as K-Drama Healing Tours, K-Pop Healing Tours, K-Food experiences, trips to Seoul and Jeju, and tours in cooperation with community partners throughout South Korea.
Today, the brand is still producing immersive experiences all over South Korea, linking together K-Drama, K-Pop, famous filming locations, Korean culture, wellness, and community via its expanding range of healing journeys.
Jeanie is the Founder and CEO of Noona’s Noonchi®, LLC, a global wellness company born from her extensive social media influence as Noona’s Noonchi. As a clinician, speaker, and coach, Jeanie delves into K-Dramas from a mental health perspective. Noona’s Noonchi®, LLC provides mental health education and resources for organizations worldwide and operates global K-Culture tours, including visits to K-Drama and K-Pop sites, cultural activities, and wellness experiences.
In addition to promoting various aspects of Korean culture, Jeanie excels in fostering a sense of belonging within her community, both online and offline. She guides her community on transformative journeys where they can truly experience belongingness and embrace jeong (정), a core value of Korean society and culture.
Her book, “How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life: Powerful Lessons on Belongingness, Healing, and Mental Health” is the first of its kind. Her insight and the stories outlined within her book represent her impact; especially her aspiration to see lives transformed through shared experiences where one feels belonged, a direct correlation to one’s wellbeing.
