# Doona! (이두나!)
**Doona!** (이두나!) is a 2023 South Korean romantic drama series on Netflix, adapted from Min Song-a's Naver webtoon *Lee Doona!* (published in English as *The Girl Downstairs*), about a retired K-pop idol who moves into a sharehouse with an ordinary college student[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article). It stars [Bae Suzy](https://www.edgepedia.org/bae-suzy) in the title role and [Yang Se-jong](https://www.edgepedia.org/yang-se-jong) as her love interest, and was directed by Lee Jung-hyo, whose earlier credits include *Crash Landing on You*[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article). All nine episodes were released on October 20, 2023[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 이두나! (*Lee Doona!*), adapted from Min Song-a's Naver webtoon, known in English as *The Girl Downstairs*[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article) • [3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/) |
| Premiere | October 20, 2023, all nine episodes on Netflix[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona) |
| Director / writer | Lee Jung-hyo (*Crash Landing on You*); screenplay by Jang Yu-ha[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article) • [4](https://www.studiodragon.net/en/works/portfolio/doona/) |
| Cast | Bae Suzy as Lee Doo-na, Yang Se-jong as Lee Won-jun; supporting roles include Park Se-wan, Ha-young, and Kim Do-wan[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona) |
| Production companies | Studio Dragon, Showrunners, and Studio N, with Netflix handling distribution[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article) • [4](https://www.studiodragon.net/en/works/portfolio/doona/) |
| Episode length | About 46 minutes per episode[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/66499/doona) |
| Ratings | IMDb 7.0/10 from about 8,400 users; Rotten Tomatoes 83% Tomatometer (6 reviews) and 78% audience score[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24245988) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story follows Lee Won-jun, a 20-year-old engineering freshman who has just moved to Seoul and into a sharehouse, where he meets Lee Doo-na, the former main vocalist of the fictional K-pop girl group DreamSweet who has abruptly retired at the peak of her career[3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/) • [7](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2023/10/suzy-takes-the-spotlight-netflix-announces-new-series-eduna). Their first meeting goes badly: Doo-na, a sweetheart in public, accuses Won-jun of being a stalker. She then begins drawing him into her daily life, and over nine episodes the two navigate mutual attraction alongside their own problems, Doo-na deciding whether to return to entertainment and Won-jun working to support his family while an old crush, Kim Jin-ju, reappears at his university[3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/).
The series treats the pressures of idol life directly. Doo-na is overwhelmed by the push-and-pull of meeting public expectations, and the show touches on the demands placed on young performers in the K-pop industry[3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/). Reviewers also noted quieter threads, including moments that address the class divide among South Korean university students, though the topic is not explored in depth[8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/doona).
## From webtoon to series
The source webtoon, *The Girl Downstairs*, is a weekly series by Min Song-a that ran for over three years beginning in 2019. It accumulated 41 million views on the WEBTOON platform, was published in eight languages, and its 150-plus episodes were compiled into three print books[3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/).
The adaptation condenses this material considerably. The webtoon keeps readers guessing for long stretches about which of several women Won-jun will fall for, and its tone is more comical, with side characters drawn as caricatures. The drama gives more screen time to the dynamic between Won-jun and Doo-na and adopts a slice-of-life tone with quieter romantic moments; director Lee Jung-hyo said the volume had to be condensed so he could focus on the two leads, emphasizing romance over romantic comedy[3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/). In the webtoon, Won-jun is caught in a four-way tension among Doo-na, his childhood friend I-ra, and Jin-ju, while the drama uses Jin-ju only as a brief early variable before centering the two leads[9](https://kr.economy.ac/news/2023/10/20231012320).
## Production and casting
Netflix commissioned the series in December 2022, announcing Lee Jung-hyo as director and the leads in the same announcement[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article). Casting of Suzy and Yang Se-jong had first been reported in July 2022 by the South Korean outlet JoyNews24[10](https://www.nme.com/news/tv/bae-suzy-and-yang-se-jong-confirmed-for-netflix-adaptation-of-webtoon-the-girl-downstairs-3280801).
Director Lee Jung-hyo wanted Bae Suzy for the role because of her own history as an idol: from 2010 to 2017 she performed with the Chinese-Korean group [Miss A](https://www.edgepedia.org/miss-a) under [JYP Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/jyp-entertainment)[3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/). Suzy told TIME that playing Doo-na sometimes made her reflect on her own years as an idol, and that she was able to express the raw feelings the character goes through[3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/).
The series was one of at least four webtoon-based K-dramas Netflix released in 2023, part of a broader pipeline from Korean web comics, which have amassed tens of millions of readers since the early 2000s and inspired hits such as *All of Us Are Dead* and *What's Wrong with Secretary Kim*[3](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/).
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds an 83% Tomatometer from six reviews and a 78% audience score[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona); IMDb users gave it 7.0/10[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24245988). Reviewers praised the production design, with Pierce Conran of the *South China Morning Post* noting the hazy visuals and atmospheric lighting but judging the story superficial and drawn-out[11](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3238958/netflix-k-drama-review-doona-bae-suzy-plays-k-pop-superstar-superficial-drawn-out-romance-series). Geoffrey Bunting of *Rolling Stone* wrote that the series "deftly navigates the complexities of grief" and is "surprisingly human" despite K-drama clichés[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona/s01), and Jae-Ha Kim highlighted its treatment of the darker side of the K-pop industry[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona/s01). Common Sense Media's review found the romance slow-moving and the title character hard to invest in, while calling the glimpse into South Korean university life the series' most intriguing aspect[8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/doona).
The show reached Netflix's Top 10 TV list in South Korea after release, amid divided viewer reactions[13](https://www.koreaboo.com/news/doona-wins-spot-netflix-top10-lineup-divided-reviews/), and appeared in the South Korean Top 10 overall TV rankings for the week of November 14 to 20, 2023[14](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2023/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_27_Nov-10_Dec_2023.pdf).
## Context within Netflix's K-content strategy
The commissioning announcement in December 2022 came alongside data showing that more than 60% of Netflix's global subscribers watched Korean titles that year, and that K-content had appeared on the platform's Weekly Top 10 in more than 90 countries[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article). At that time three of Netflix's most popular non-English shows were South Korean: *Squid Game*, *All of Us Are Dead*, and *Extraordinary Attorney Woo*[1](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article). *Doona!* was positioned within this slate as a romance adaptation pairing a top streaming platform with established Korean production companies[4](https://www.studiodragon.net/en/works/portfolio/doona/).
## References
1. [Netflix orders 'Doona!' from 'Crash Landing On You' director; reveals bumper year for K-content, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-orders-doona-from-crash-landing-on-you-director-reveals-bumper-year-for-k-content/5177394.article)
2. [Doona! | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona)
3. [How Netflix's Doona! Turns a Beloved Webtoon Into a Deeply Romantic K-Drama, TIME](https://time.com/6326170/doona-netflix-k-drama-bae-suzy-girl-downstairs/)
4. [Doona! | Shows | Studio Dragon](https://www.studiodragon.net/en/works/portfolio/doona/)
5. [Doona! | TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/66499/doona)
6. [Doona! (TV Series 2023) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24245988)
7. [Suzy takes the spotlight: Netflix announces new series 'Doona!', allkpop](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2023/10/suzy-takes-the-spotlight-netflix-announces-new-series-eduna)
8. [Doona! - Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/doona)
9. [평범한 청춘물을 판타지로 만드는 수지의 매력, 넷플 '이두나!', The Economy Korea](https://kr.economy.ac/news/2023/10/20231012320)
10. [Netflix announces new original K-drama 'Doona!', NME](https://www.nme.com/news/tv/bae-suzy-and-yang-se-jong-confirmed-for-netflix-adaptation-of-webtoon-the-girl-downstairs-3280801)
11. [Netflix K-drama review: Doona!, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3238958/netflix-k-drama-review-doona-bae-suzy-plays-k-pop-superstar-superficial-drawn-out-romance-series)
12. [Doona!: Season 1 critic reviews, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doona/s01)
13. ["Doona!" Wins A Spot On Netflix's "Top 10" Lineup Amid Divided Viewer Reactions, Koreaboo](https://www.koreaboo.com/news/doona-wins-spot-netflix-top10-lineup-divided-reviews/)
14. [ContentAsia data, 27 November–10 December 2023](https://www.contentasia.tv/eNewsletter/2023/ContentAsia_eNewsletter_27_Nov-10_Dec_2023.pdf)
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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 › Romance and melodrama series › Romance melodrama miniseries › Romantic comedy series › Youth and campus romance series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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