# Daily Dose of Sunshine (정신병동에도 아침이 와요)
**Daily Dose of Sunshine** (정신병동에도 아침이 와요; literal title "Morning Comes to Psychiatric Wards Too") is a South Korean streaming television series in which a nurse transferred to a hospital psychiatric ward learns to care for patients with acute mental illness. All 12 episodes were released on Netflix on November 3, 2023.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date) • [2](https://asianwiki.com/Daily_Dose_of_Sunshine)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 12-episode Korean healing drama, Netflix, all episodes released November 3, 2023[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date) |
| Source material | Webtoon of the same title by Lee Ra-ha, a former psychiatric nurse drawing on her own work experience[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date) |
| Creative team | Directed by Lee J.Q. (Lee Jae-gyu, *All of Us Are Dead*); written by Lee Nam-kyu with Oh Bo-hyun and Kim Da-hee[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date) • [2](https://asianwiki.com/Daily_Dose_of_Sunshine) |
| Lead cast | Park Bo-young as nurse Jung Da-eun, with Yeon Woo-jin, Jang Dong-yoon, Lee Jung-eun, Chang Ryul, and Lee E-dam[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date) |
| Setting | The psychiatric ward of Myeongsin University hospital in South Korea[3](https://about.netflix.com/ko/news/daily-dose-of-sunshine-date-announcement) |
| Reception | 100% Tomatometer (6 reviews) and 91% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; No. 1 on Netflix's Korean chart within a week of release[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/daily_dose_of_sunshine) • [5](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/korean-dramas-take-lead-in-raising-awareness-for-mental-health/11513077) |
| Rating | TV-MA; average episode runtime about 64 minutes[6](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63239/daily-dose-of-sunshine) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Jung Da-eun ([Park Bo-young](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-bo-young)) is a third-year nurse transferred from internal medicine to the psychiatric department of a hospital, and neither her new colleagues nor she herself knows why. Inexperienced and prone to mistakes, she nonetheless tries to understand the world from her patients' point of view, however bizarre or hallucinatory it may seem.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date) Her first day sets the tone: she is struck by a patient in a manic episode, slips on the floor, and returns home exhausted. Head nurse Song Hyo-sin (Lee Jung-eun) points out during orientation that the ward has no window curtains and warns her against carrying scissors or wearing shoelaces, anything a patient might use to cause harm.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
The series follows Da-eun, her patients, and her co-workers through individual cases. Each episode centers on a different disorder, among them depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, bipolar disorder, and delusional disorder, and the show treats suicide and self-harm as recurring topics.[5](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/korean-dramas-take-lead-in-raising-awareness-for-mental-health/11513077) • [7](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Daily_Dose_of_Sunshine) • [8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/delight-in-a-daily-dose-of-sunshine-and-other-korean-titles-this-november) TIME described the result as a procedural that is also informative, set against South Korea's mental health crisis.[9](https://time.com/6549115/best-korean-dramas-netflix-2023-2/)
### Cast and characters
- **Park Bo-young** as Jung Da-eun, the nurse newly assigned to psychiatry[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
- **Yeon Woo-jin** as Dong Go-yun, an eccentric proctology fellow whose name is Korean wordplay matching his specialty[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
- **Jang Dong-yoon** as [Song Yu](https://www.edgepedia.org/song-yu)-chan, Da-eun's best friend, who keeps one secret from her[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
- **Lee Jung-eun** as Song Hyo-sin, the psychiatric department's head nurse, brusque on the surface but gentle with patients; she tells Da-eun that mental illness is "a sickness, not a sin"[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
- **Chang Ryul** as Hwang Yeo-hwan, a psychiatric fellow who knew Da-eun and Yu-chan in high school and asks Da-eun to hide that fact[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
- **Lee E-dam** as Min Deul-re, a nurse in the department[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
The series reunited Park Bo-young and Lee Jung-eun on screen for the first time since *Oh My Ghost*, and paired [Jang Dong-yoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jang-dong-yoon) and [Yeon Woo-jin](https://www.edgepedia.org/yeon-woo-jin) again after the 2020 series *Search*.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
## Origin and adaptation
The series adapts a webtoon of the same title by Lee Ra-ha, a former nurse who drew on her own experiences in psychiatric care; the story is fictional but rooted in real cases.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date) The adaptation departs from its source in one visible way: in the webtoon, every character except the protagonist was drawn as an anthropomorphic animal, while the series visualizes patients' experiences differently.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date) Director Lee J.Q., previously known worldwide for the zombie series *All of Us Are Dead*, described the show as the story of people with mental illness and the people trying to help them colliding with each other, and said he wanted to demystify the grim impression of psychiatric wards.[3](https://about.netflix.com/ko/news/daily-dose-of-sunshine-date-announcement) • [8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/delight-in-a-daily-dose-of-sunshine-and-other-korean-titles-this-november) Production companies were Film Monster, KIMJONGHAK PRODUCTION, and SLL.[10](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81572595)
## Reception and reach
**Audience demand.** Within a week of its November 3 release the series reached No. 1 on Netflix's chart in South Korea and 10th globally, according to the streaming aggregator FlixPatrol.[5](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/korean-dramas-take-lead-in-raising-awareness-for-mental-health/11513077) The data science company Parrot Analytics named it Korea's show of the week for November 14 to 20, 2023, with more than 30 times the demand of the average show in that market.[11](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2023/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_27_Nov-10_Dec_2023.pdf)
**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a 100% Tomatometer from six critics and a 91% Popcornmeter score.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/daily_dose_of_sunshine) TIME listed it among the best Korean dramas of 2023 on Netflix, and a review in the same outlet quoted the protagonist's closing line, "All of us are standing on the border between normal and abnormal," as the series' thesis.[9](https://time.com/6549115/best-korean-dramas-netflix-2023-2/) • [12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/daily_dose_of_sunshine/s01)
## Scholarly discussion
The series has drawn academic analysis of how it represents mental illness. A 2024 study by Baek So-youn of the Catholic University of Korea argued that the drama's plot devices work consistently to dissolve the boundary between normal and abnormal, and that its episodic structure shows through multiple patients that no one is exempt from mental health problems, including the medical staff themselves.[13](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003094742) The same study identified a limitation: characters who lack personal resources such as relationships or capital do not achieve full recovery, and the show emphasizes individual effort rather than seeking alternatives to the social structural factors behind their conditions.[13](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003094742) A separate study used the series, alongside *Soul Mechanic*, to propose ethical guidelines for depicting mental illness in Korean video content.[14](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/mobile/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003343298) Korean media coverage placed the show in a broader wave of dramas raising mental health awareness in a highly competitive society.[5](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/korean-dramas-take-lead-in-raising-awareness-for-mental-health/11513077)
## References
1. [Rebecca Johnson (Nov. 9, 2023). 'Daily Dose of Sunshine': A K-Series Based on the Stories of a Psychiatric Nurse. Netflix Tudum.](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/daily-dose-of-sunshine-cast-news-release-date)
2. [Daily Dose of Sunshine, AsianWiki.](https://asianwiki.com/Daily_Dose_of_Sunshine)
3. [〈정신병동에도 아침이 와요〉 11월 3일 공개 확정, About Netflix (Korean).](https://about.netflix.com/ko/news/daily-dose-of-sunshine-date-announcement)
4. [Daily Dose of Sunshine, Rotten Tomatoes.](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/daily_dose_of_sunshine)
5. [Korean dramas take lead in raising awareness for mental health, The Korea JoongAng Daily.](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/korean-dramas-take-lead-in-raising-awareness-for-mental-health/11513077)
6. [Daily Dose of Sunshine, TVmaze.](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63239/daily-dose-of-sunshine)
7. [Daily Dose of Sunshine, DramaWiki.](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Daily_Dose_of_Sunshine)
8. [Delight in a 'Daily Dose of Sunshine' and Other Korean Titles This November, About Netflix.](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/delight-in-a-daily-dose-of-sunshine-and-other-korean-titles-this-november)
9. [The 10 Best Korean Dramas of 2023 on Netflix, TIME.](https://time.com/6549115/best-korean-dramas-netflix-2023-2/)
10. [Is 'Daily Dose of Sunshine' on Netflix?, New On Netflix USA.](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81572595)
11. [ContentAsia data, 27 November–10 December 2023 (Parrot Analytics).](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2023/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_27_Nov-10_Dec_2023.pdf)
12. [Daily Dose of Sunshine: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes.](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/daily_dose_of_sunshine/s01)
13. [Baek So-youn (2024). 포스트힐링의 시대, 치유의 (불)가능성 - 〈정신병동에도 아침이 와요〉를 중심으로, 대중서사연구 30(2).](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003094742)
14. [이지선, 안숭범. 정신질환 재현의 윤리적 기준 정립을 위한 영상콘텐츠 가이드라인 연구, 인문학연구 no. 67.](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/mobile/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003343298)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Medical, legal, and workplace series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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