Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Netflix series 'Daily Dose of Sunshine' to offer fairytale for adults
Actors Jang Dong-yoon, Park Bo-young, Lee Jung-eun and Yeon Woo-jin pose during a press conference for the Netflix series “Daily Dose of Sunshine,” held at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square in central Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Netflix
By Lee Gyu-lee
Netflix’s new Korean original series “Daily Dose of Sunshine,” directed by Lee JQ of zombie apocalyptic series “All of Us Are Dead,” aims to deliver a heartfelt fairytale story for adults.
“When you deliver stories about people who are mentally suffering and emotionally hurting too realistically, I thought it would be hard to watch. ‘Daily Dose of Sunshine’ is a vibrant, funny and touching story,” the director said during a press conference for the series, held at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square in central Seoul, Wednesday.
“You'll laugh and cry while watching this series. I remember crying my eyes out while filming it too. I wanted to create a fairytale-like feeling for adults.”
Based on the webcomic of the same name, the new series, which will be released on Nov. 3, revolves around a kind-hearted nurse, Jung Da-eun (Park Bo-young), who is newly transferred to the psychiatry department. Despite the challenges, she remains committed to providing exceptional care to her patients.
The director said he hoped this series would offer comfort to those who feel the need for psychiatric assistance.
“When I read the original webcomic, I liked the pure essence of it and the message the creator wanted to deliver to the world. I would often talk with my family and friends about how half of the people nowadays have mental illnesses and the reality is psychologically harsh. So I wanted to tell a story that provides emotional comfort,” he said.
“When you break your bone, you go to orthopedics, and with a cold, you take medicine. But when you are mentally ill, no one tends to seek help or take medication. I created this with the idea that getting someone's help is actually a good thing.”
A scene from the series “Daily Dose of Sunshine” / Courtesy of Netflix
Actor Park also expressed hope that the series will encourage a more open dialogue around mental health.
“I hope that the threshold for seeking psychiatric help will lower. I firmly believe you should seek professional help when going through struggles. And I believe our series can help this process become easier and more accessible," she said, adding she also learned a lot from her character.
“She's really a warmhearted person who always gives her best to the patients. She learns to be more considerate of others, going through trial and error … Through this work and the character, I feel like I could grow more as a person.”
The director added making this series was a healing process for him as well.
“They say it’s important to be aware of your own feelings, and this series helped a lot in that aspect. I actually found a lot of comfort and healing. Every day of filming this project felt like getting therapy,” he said. “'Daily Dose of Sunshine' is like chocolate. You can enjoy it all at once, but can also savor the bitter and sweet gem of the story one piece at a time.”