This review may contain spoilers
Kpop exploitation explored.
NB If you choose this drama because it has a comedy genre I think this is misleading. This is not a fluffy romance. It explores the very unhealthy actions of the victim rescuer dynamic.
This drama highlights what happens when a young girl, who due to earlier neglect by her money grasping mother, decides to become an idol. She is groomed by her manager and eventually becomes a money making product. Along the way she begins to experience crippling anxiety. This is conveniently ignored by her manager until during a concert she collapses. He then bundles her off to live in an apartment that is part of a shared household.
An insight Doona gets later in the story is that the managers deliberate ghosting of her during this mental breakdown is to force her to suffer loneliness and isolation and drive her back under his control.
FL Doona is an emotional red flag mess.
she has no close friends, anger issues, abandonment issues and severe anxiety and depression. She acts out aggression in very inappropriate ways (using glass bottles as a weapon) and has never experienced love.
ML Won Joon enters the story as a student studying for his engineering degree who moves into the share house to be closer to college. He has left behind his single parent mother and a chronically ill younger sister. He has also had an unrequited love with a former childhood female Jin Joo whom he perceived to be out of his league due to her families wealth.
The story depicts the initial misunderstandings and then eventual curiosity and attraction between the two leads. Both actors represent their characters excellently.
The ending is left open for us to choose what happens next and this is very suitable after all the angst each character has faced in this relationship.
One thing I felt was that these two people needed to meet to help each of them to grow and heal. Both show more maturity and better boundaries in the end.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A very genuine introspection into the life of a K-pop idol
This is an artistic series, not a crowd pleaser. The characters are very well defined, however, the most impressive part is the psychology of the K-pop idol. This is not a "famous girl and ordinary boy" story. The series tries to make everyone understand what the difficulties of being a k-pop (or k-drama actor/actress, whatsoever) star in plenty of cases really are. I loved the miniseries to bits. It fits perfectly to my idea of romanticism as well as the idea of realism. To be a star, in all languages and on all meridians doesn't mean necessarily happiness. It may; but it may not. I am from Canada, but I really appreciate k-dramas. However, watching the weddings of some k-stars (Jang Na-Ra, Kang So-Ra, for example) and the fact that the non-celebrity spouse's face is hidden, as well as the most of them cannot really have girlfriends/boyfriends while young and working in this business, made me think a lot about the traumatizing life of idols. The movie is nice, but also realistic, doesn't matter what the others say. Plenty of people will complain about the ending :)) There is no other real possible ending! I strongly recommend it! It's beautiful, romantic and realistic.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A straightforward snapshot of life, career, and love...
/ Actual Rating: 9/10/- It is what I deemed to like about Netflix KDramas. They never tend to put stalling scenes of every character for them to show their development. The struggles of being an Idol and being an ordinary citizen, living under their decisions to stay together depicted the reality of respecting the balance of life, career, and love. Despite all those, I think Doona and Won Jun had the right balance of their relationship. It's just an intimate yet very welcoming (and patient) to understand their feelings and their mental fortitude.
/- Aesthetically, I like the skybox filtering and cinematography!
/- This must be the best Netflix have ever done for a KDrama. Well-made!
Was this review helpful to you?
Breakfast at Tiffanys's inspired k-drama
Doona is a slice of life drama with a very carefully built slightly melancholic ambience. Fantastic acting from Suzy and Yang Se Jong. This reminded me of Age of Youth, which I like a lot. Especially the second couple. Maybe it was somewhat difficult to relax bc from the beginning it was kinda clear there would be no happy ending. But all the time I when I was watching I was getting Breakfast at Tiffanys vibes. There were definitely similarities, but that just made me appreciate this drama more. Especially Yang Se Jong's character was very similar to Breakfast at Tiffany's male lead, outsider-ish, ordinary and rooted. Suzy's character was unconventional and slighly unbalanced like Audrey Hepburn in BaT. Also, both were tied to a man from their pasts. I really enjoyed this a lot and I think the writer and director created a very good, unconventional k-drama. I'd give a Daesang for Suzy for her role. I know more trashy and popular dramas will get the awards make the headlines, but I guess that's okay, since this was just right for me.Was this review helpful to you?
intimista, ousado e real.
achei intimista, ousado e real.É muito difícil ter doramas tão próximos da nossa realidade, cenas de intimidade e tão atuais. Achei profundo mesmo com o final em aberto, e espero que tenha uma continuação.
Agora, os esteriótipos do Brasil me pegaram desprevenida, achei engraçado mas cringe demais, a forma como eles nos vêem de uma forma tão caricata.
enfim, eu vi um review em que disseram que é um ótimo dorama pra se ver em um dia nublado, frio ou ameno e concordo, é um daqueles doramas em que você facilmente pode pegar para relaxar ou apenas mergulhar em um drama romântico.
Was this review helpful to you?
Redflags, done well!
I wasn’t gonna write a review because i thought msnotes’ one was perfect already! And captured most of how i felt! But i wanted to rate it?here is what i can add:
-you will find many reviews calling for toxic relationship, redflags etc… and first episodes the mess is quite crazy and a bit overdone , but along the episodes i came to realize it was well done!! How ? What i mean is doona’s character and actions slowly reveal her fears & vulnerability behind her mess.
-both ML & FL go through their weaknesses and both evolve. (FL maybe more?)
-the ML character us so genuine, he really made me reflect on how kindness can be perceived as flirting, lol
-i loved the dialogues, the said & unsaid , the questions that echo a lot of imagery and deep conclusions about fame, ambition, loneliness, abandonment and love
- i dunno if it was binging the episodes that made it look so overdramatic at times, but towards the end i got that feel.
- i wish it was a longer show! The pace was nice, i rooted for the characters and i think their evolution/story was not yet complete
-Doona’s character suited suzy soooo well! I think this kind of drama makes her shine so much!
-the secondary stories were really a bore ( i dont know why ! They felt so disconnected… ) but i looooved their evolution.
Its a show that reveals itself slowly and keeps getting better n better w each episode. A highlight of 2023 so far for me!
Was this review helpful to you?
More enjoyable for male then female in my opinion
Doona ,Doona ,Doona; The toxic girl that every men can't resist.(First of all im not english and this is my first review, so be kind with me)
I write this review because i know why people put some bad overall review of this show and im here to bring so light to someone who would want something different from their usuall fairytales drama.
VERY IMPORTANT POINT : i've watched the anime of doona who is called the girl downstairs and cry near the last episode. So i was aware of what's was going to happen but they add a lot of differences so i wasn't spoil. Also doona have a manwha who is longer and have different ending (yeah they have 3 different ending for each media , the best one is the anime one )
So i kind of already like the story before even watching the drame, but i was shock by the quality of the acting in this drama. The chemesty between the two lead was awesome. the way they bring the romance was very realistic near the end of ep 1 (as a male) i had a little crush on doona playfull and teasing personnality (bae suzy is such a good actress)
the ost in this drama fit well the overall aesthetic of the drama with 3 ost that stand out ( "full moon" still could make me cry) the "opening" ost also fit very well the drama. Finally "rain and the bicycle" bring joy in my life to this day
also i think you would enjoy more this drama as male because for once it's on a male pov and all my male friend agreed that doona toxicity make them want to pursue her lol.
Now come the part on why everybody gave bad review to this drama.without spoiling the drama , near the end of drama the reality caught up on them and make their honeymoon bubble explode which was very emotional ( the subway scene :( ) everything end i a way that will definitely not satisfy your average drama watcher and leaving us with not a proper closure and question unanswered. But for me i loved that because it felt real sometime in life love isnt enough to be with someone. and the ending doesnt say no or yes to the question it just leave you their to imagine what happen.
i know the majority of people forgot everything that happen before the ending because of that and gave it bad review but an ending that doesnt satisfy you doesnt mean that the show is bad.
So this very mature drama was breath of fresh air in the kdrama fairytales that was very welcoming i think i like more this type of drama then the fairytales happy ending with mariage drama. but i wouldn't say i didn't like it more because i've watched the anime , because i did especially for the development of the second girl who for me is done way better in the anime.
thank you for reading!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Clever casting transcends a great show into a masterpiece.
Doona is something special. Not just among K-Dramas but among all love stories.The plot line of a celebrity falling for someone remarkably normal is nothing new. Cue: Notting Hill and the Hannah Montana Movie. Doona, however, is something entirely different. Washed-up, abandoned, and functioning on a half-hearted nicotine addiction, we find this particular "Star" dimmed and burnt out. Inexplicably enigmatic - even without recognising who she is, Wonjun is pulled toward Doona. Her attitude and her body language imply she is both rude and defeatist, but there is something in her eyes that say otherwise. Behind the scorn and the evasion, something in Doona's eyes calls out to anyone who looks at them long enough; an ardent plea; "save me from myself". Wonjun can't help but do just that.
There is a lot to be said for the directorial style and the overall character development in this drama, but undeniably it's greatest testament is the performances. Whoever cast Suzy in this role was a visionary. Who better than an idol in a disbanded group to portray the ugliest sides of their industry. At times, based on Suzy's own experiences with Miss A, it was hard not to wonder how much of the acting was drawn from past experiences - particularly after a revealing cosmopolitan interview on that very subject - but I'll leave the speculation to rest. The key here is to say that Suzy's acting in this drama always feels raw and authentic, so much so that whenever she's on the screen, you can't tear your eyes away from hers. Like Wonjun, we are entirely consumed trying to work out exactly what pain it is that Donna isn't able to overcome. In the end, the answer isn't so simple.
As for Wonjun, although I feel that the Drama rather conveniently skipped over a few important plot points toward the end of the show, I am at least glad that they made sure to provide clarity and finality to the two leads in one particular aspect. We know that for Wonjun, he isn't a person who can cope well with things that are uncertain and precarious. He takes a gamble on Doona, but in the end he sees that she is still broken and dangerous; he doesn't have the courage to stay with her. Meanwhile, Doona is overly reliant on others. When she was confronted with the prospect of what her life would be like without her career, and, by extension, her fans - she spiralled. The anxiety became so bad that she ended up losing another pillar in her manager, and by this point, she was a shell of her former-self. Although it never becomes clear how she ends up becoming a woman who no longer needs to rely on men, by the end of the show she is independent and able to cope with life on her own.
Without Doona overcoming that flaw, the 'open ending' can't be a happy one. Although its mention is only brief, we know that Wonjun is altruistic. He moves into the room at Doona's house in order to escape the dire reality of his situation at home, having spent his first years of university commuting in order to take care of his ill sister. He mentions the relief he felt when the responsibility of looking after her was taken away from him, yet jumps right into another person dependent on him in Doona. Wonjun doesn't necessarily see it as his job to fix Doona. By contrast, her presence alone has been enough to calm him and comfort him through difficult moments. Yet, the fact remains that Doona is overly reliant on Wonjun, regardless of whether or not she's helping him.
This is the crucial point in the show's climax - while Wonjun is at military service, Doona must become a person who no longer practices over-dependency on others, just as Wonjun must learn to to so easily let others be overly dependent on him at the expense of his own happiness. This is, in my opinion, a factor which hugely contributes to his decision to break up with Doona when she returns to fame. It's too hard, it's too precarious, and there's a large chance he'll get hurt if they stay together. However this is also an example of Wonjun's hypocrisy. Jin-ju explains to Doona from the moment she first suspects that she likes Wonjun that he's not a person who can cope which a personality like hers in the long-run. Whether or not it came from a place of jealousy was irrelevant, because it was true. Although at first Wonjun believes that he doesn't mind what Doona does or how she feels about him he eventually realises that he doesn't like her to an extent that he can ignore his own jealousy and hurt. Even after admitting this to her, he does the same thing when he swears he won't mind if she returns to the spotlight. Doona, too, at first thinks that her newfound happiness with Wonjun is enough to fill the void left by her early retirement, however she harbours a deep need to be loved, and Wonjun's love alone was never going to be enough to satiate her. Neither one seems to truly understand their emotions, except for the fact that they truly love each other.
As for my sprinkle of negativity, even though this show managed to escape practically every K-Drama cliché of a celebrity falling for a normal person, it failed with it's side characters a little more than miserably. A seemingly random arsenal of side characters (save for an albeit-underdeveloped Jin-ju) served only as lacklustre comic relief or as devices to further the plot through causing jealousy or misunderstandings. Although the side stories and supporting characters aren't the worst I've encountered, compared with the addictive story of the two lead characters they are inevitably mundane. Doona's mother, too, although perhaps the most interesting of the parental “figures” seems to be entirely written off as someone who uses her daughter for money. Sometimes in life it really is that simple, yet with this character it feels more like two-dimensional writing than a purposeful choice. The same goes for Ira. She is no more than a device to make Doona jealous.
Despite its flaws, Doona succeeds in something that most shows cannot. Deceptively simple, its story engages you without ever throwing its quirks and messages in your face. Often in Dramas a character’s true feelings and thoughts are spelled out to the audience, but in Doona, when Wonjun looks behind Doona’s eyes and can’t figure out what really lies behind them, the audience find themselves doing the same. Even when he asks her to tell him she’s sorry, we are just as surprised as Wonjun when she tells him she loves him instead. These twists aren’t shocking, but they aren’t predictable either, which demonstrates perfectly the complexity and depth of the two lead characters, even if those same dimensions are lacking elsewhere in the show.
In the end, you can’t help but root for Doona and Wonjun. The same goes for the show. It’s perhaps one of the only shows I genuinely think has benefit in a second watch. Knowing from the beginning what we know from the end, it must be an entirely different experience, and an experience well worth it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Doon (aka Suzy Bae) appears at the opening scene with lots of applaud ad cheering and soon loops into water. The opening scene does not take time to plunge into the deep sorrow and impending loneliness that has been eating the shining star. Enters Woon Jun, a civil engineering student who does not seem to be bothered by her presence. He harbors a long crush for her childhood friend Jin Joo. Life would have been so easy if Won Joon and Jin Joo had confessed their feelings in time but we all know destiny always had a cruel plan in its sleeve.
Yang Se-jong portrayal of shy yet caring and determined lover- Woon Joon is like the melted butter we need on hot chips like Doona. She is eccentric, vulnerable and highly selfish. But there is a little child inside who is seeking a warm hug fir herself. You can scold her but cannot hate her. The brief kiss at the beginning which put the loner hearts at turmoil to steamy romance which deciphers desires of two young hearts touch today's love chords. We fall in love quick this days, but scares to live in it.
Jin Ju and Woon Joon reminds us how failing to understand what we want makes us lose the person we want most. The warmth that friendship shared throughout is something to be envious of. The vivacious Choi I-ra, one lovely piece of Woon Joon's childhood, her cute banter with other two house mates -Yun Tae and Jeong Hoon gives the much needed break needed in this poignant tale.
If you are looking for a mush romance, then this is not your room. Its a far away tale from Cinderella romance or "celebrity" set up. It is a reality check of hard life which even million heart winner celebrities faces.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Higher expectations for the conclusion of the story.
Doona" tells the story of a girl who was a K-pop idol but left the band due to health issues and started living in solitude. One day, a boy moved in next door to her in a building where the neighbors share a common yard. Living a solitary life, she often found herself in pain, and the boy would always help her. Gradually, she began to feel a sense of closeness toward him, and their love story began.I was eagerly anticipating a scene where he would stop her from smoking. The drama beautifully portrayed the internal struggle she felt about her feelings, which made her hesitant to open up to him. In one scene, she left him to be with another boy right in front of him, ignoring his calls and not returning for many days. His anger and frustration were understandable. Although they eventually reunited, the ending was ambiguous, leaving us to speculate that they were together and continuing with their lives. However, I had higher expectations for the conclusion of the story.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
What is behind K-pop
Such a great game with the audience. Doona's memory scraps heighten the viewer's curiosity to know more. It differs from classic k-dramas as we know them in terms of plot, visualization, and script. Suzy Bae was a surprise to me that she embarked on something more serious, more psychologically demanding. Yang Se-Jong was perfect. The last time I saw him was in 30 but 17, where he was fine, but here he exceeded my expectations. He can be funny, but also incredibly sensitive in serious scenes. That relationship / friendship and funny scenes are pleasantly entertaining, but it is Suzy Bae's character that hides secrets and a story. And it is here that you have to pay attention and watch why she lives the way she does and thus look into her past as a member of a K-pop group. And here we get to secret places that the common human cannot see. Anyone who knows a little about how K-pop groups are formed and trained is not surprised. And the fact that because of her small "misstep," she was actually put to the house where she was hidden and lonely, where no one knew about her, is also not new in the K-pop world. If you don't know anything about K-pop, I recommend that you find something out first so that you know that their life is no joke. And music industry agencies have everything in their hands. Most episodes in the series went slowly but smoothly. Only the last two had a rapid turn, so the viewer has to focus more on the plot because each shot can mean a jump in time. In the finale, we see a pair of ordinary people who have formed a normal couple and live together vs. the central couple, which ended indeterminately... the end is basically up to the viewer... what makes me anxious with such endings... so if there was at least some shot that after x years when her contract ends, what would it be... The series has an atypical 9 episodes. The creators didn't unnecessarily drag out the story, even though I wouldn't be against it. Finally, the best soundtrack songs for me are Daylight from BIG Naughty and Ordinary Day from Suzy. I wish I could see her singing this song live.Was this review helpful to you?
