Daily Dose of Sunshine (2023)

November 26, 2023

Our Take: A healing drama that explores mental health through the eyes of an empathetic psychiatric nurse.

Based on the book Morning Comes To Psychiatric Wards, Daily Dose of Sunshine centers on Jung Da Eun (Park Bo Young), a third-year nurse who transfers from Internal Medicine to the Department of Psychiatry at Myungshin University Hospital. Because this is her first time working in neuropsychiatry, she struggles to adapt to the new environment, and her inexperience leads her to frequently make mistakes. Nevertheless, Da Eun tries her best to help them, and she grows as a nurse with the help of Chief Nurse Song Hyo Shin (Lee Jung Eun) and her coworkers. 

Dong Go Yoon (Yeon Woo Jin) is a quirky proctologist with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) at Myungshin. Watching how Da Eun cares for her patients temporarily heals Go Yoon's OCD, and he gets increasingly drawn to her. Meanwhile, Da Eun's childhood best friend, Song Yu Chan (Jang Dong Yoon), works at his parents' fried chicken restaurant. He is goofy and outgoing but struggles with anxiety disorder. 

Drawing inspiration from real-life experiences, we witness Da Eun navigate the world of psychiatric care. Despite her initial missteps, she eventually finds her place amidst the ward's chaos and gains acceptance from her peers and patients. 

Mental health and the heavy stigma surrounding it have always gotten swept under the rug, not just in South Korea but across the world. However, South Korea, in particular, struggles with properly treating people with mental health issues, consistently ranking at the top for the highest suicide rates per capita. 

Daily Dose of Sunshine is a deeply empathetic and educational series that humanizes patients dealing with various disorders, ranging from panic disorder to depression and schizophrenia. The show opens the door to essential conversations about mental health and dives into the inner workings of the patients. Like everyone else, they are multi-dimensional people who are more than just their illness.

Anyone, no matter your occupation or background, can struggle with mental health issues. While mental illnesses typically do not leave physical wounds, they can still cause damage and wreak havoc in your life. And these disorders are not always black and white. There is a fine line between normalcy and abnormality. Unfortunately, in some cases, one incident is enough to push you to the other side. 

With each episode, we learn more about the experiences of the patients and the long road they have to recovery and some semblance of normalcy. There are no easy solutions or permanent cures, but there are ways to manage your symptoms and adapt. From learning to complement and prioritize yourself to finding ways to speak up when you need help, loving and taking care of yourself is key. If you or someone you love is sick, it's perfectly okay to seek support and find your way back. It doesn't make you any lesser, and you can still live a full life with both happy and dark times. 

As Jung Da Eun, Park Bo Young is the heart and soul of the drama. She is kind-hearted, gentle, and optimistic. Behind the walls of the psychiatric ward, Da Eun serves as our guide, reminding us of the importance of empathizing with patients and building a personal connection with them beyond their medical records.

Though Da Eun is renowned for her ability to connect with patients, she is not immune to having fears, doubts, and guilt. When things take an unexpected turn with one of her patients, Kim Seo Wan (Noh Jae Won), Da Eun herself ends up falling into a deep depression and becomes a patient. Her experience raises the question of who should care for doctors and nurses. Just because they seem fine on the outside doesn't mean they can't feel under the weather or face difficulties.

Go Yoon and Yu Chan regularly inject humor and lighten the mood. Like Da Eun, they are also susceptible to mental health issues and must find ways to manage their symptoms. Their friendship with each other separately and later together is heartening to watch. Despite their differences, they wholeheartedly support and root for each other's happiness.

As Chief Nurse, Song Hyo Shin is a brilliant and supportive leader. She treats all her nurses with respect and stands her ground to protect them from harm's way, including getting the doctors to treat the nurses with respect. Though she has her own struggles, Hyo Shin always does her best to help those around her and holds her head up high. 

While the show takes an earnest approach to depicting mental health issues, it is often naive in its diagnosis and treatment of different disorders. For example, Go Yoon has a habit of cracking his knuckles all the time, but the other doctors dismiss his OCD and tell him that all he needs to do is stop. Although there are treatment options available, there is no cure for OCD, like many mental illnesses. 

In the same vein, the doctors attribute the patients' conditions to environmental factors in most cases. This approach makes it easier to conclude the story for the patient in focus at the end of each episode, but it doesn't necessarily reflect reality. For instance, one of Da Eun's patients suffers from schizophrenia and manic episodes, yet she overcomes it by simply learning how to communicate her needs to her mom. Though this resolution creates a straightforward, feel-good moment, there are probably other factors at play and no cure for the illness.

Our Verdict

Despite taking place primarily in a psychiatric ward, Daily Dose of Sunshine balances out the show's more painful and emotional moments with lighthearted ones. Though the drama is imperfect, the stellar cast and riveting storyline work in harmony to create a heartwarming and beautiful series.