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A Mental Health Ward Takes Center Stage
“Daily Dose of Sunshine,” a South Korean Netflix drama about the patients and medical workers inside a psychiatric ward, won best drama at the third Blue Dragon Series Awards in 2024. Lead actor Park Bo-young also received the ceremony’s best actress award.
Released Nov. 3, 2023, the series follows Jung Da-eun, a nurse in her third year on the job who transfers from internal medicine to the psychiatry department at the fictional Myungshin University Hospital. Across one season and 12 episodes, Da-eun encounters patients living with a range of mental health conditions and learns their stories while adjusting to an unfamiliar ward.
Park plays Da-eun, while Yeon Woo-jin appears as colorectal surgeon Dong Go-geun. Jang Dong-yoon portrays Da-eun’s close friend Song Yu-chan, and Lee Jung-eun plays head nurse Song Hyo-shin. The ensemble also includes Jang Ryul, Lee E-dam, Lee Sang-hee and Park Ji-yeon as members of the hospital staff.
Stories Drawn From a Nurse’s Experience
The drama is adapted from a Kakao webtoon of the same name by Lee Ra-ha, a former nurse who drew on her own experiences. The patients depicted include a trainee with panic disorder, a woman with bipolar disorder, a man with an anxiety disorder and another patient who believes he is living inside a game called “Lost Valhalla.” One storyline follows a man struggling after the deaths of his wife and child.
Lee Jae-kyoo and Kim Nam-su directed the series, with scripts by Lee Nam-gyu, Oh Bo-hyun and Kim Da-hee. Lee Jae-kyoo’s previous work includes the Korean television dramas “Damo” and “Beethoven Virus,” the films “The Fatal Encounter” and “Intimate Strangers,” and the Netflix zombie series “All of Us Are Dead.”
Award Recognition and Global Streaming
Other cast members also received recognition in 2024. Gong Min-jung, who plays a psychiatrist treating Da-eun at another hospital, won a drama acting prize at the Seoul International Film Awards. Roh Jae-won received best new actor honors at the APAN Star Awards.
For American and other English-speaking viewers, the series is available through Netflix under the English title “Daily Dose of Sunshine.” Rotten Tomatoes listed all six critic reviews as positive, with an average rating of 7.9 out of 10. The Movie Database recorded an 8.3 rating based on 141 votes.
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