Doona!

Doona What!!

First you can never hang the whole drama on the fact that you have an Idol. Bae Suzy acting did nothing to enhance the drama . Doona character smoked cigarettes well, did sexy well, had zero chemistry with the lead & displayed the angst of stardom. Other than that unless you are a Bae Suzy fan could have left it. I watched because of the way Vang Se Jong performed in the series. He was awesome & the supporting cast did a great job as well. The ending was anti climatic but I found that the most believable part of the series. It did show well the angst between Doona & Lee Won Joon mostly because of Vang Se Jong's acting ability. Bae Suzy was very pretty & extremely sexy & that to me is where her character began & ended

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A quiet, bittersweet and deeply human love story

I know a lot of people were frustrated by Doona!, especially because of its slow pace, imperfect characters and ambiguous ending, but strangely, those are exactly the things that made me love it.

What I appreciated the most was how emotionally realistic the drama felt. The characters are not perfect, they do not always communicate properly, they make frustrating choices, their feelings change, and sometimes they realize things too late. It does not follow the idealized version of romance where love automatically fixes everything, and I think that is what makes it feel so human.

I also really loved the atmosphere of the drama. It has this quiet, contemplative and slightly melancholic feeling that made even the simplest scenes feel meaningful. There are a lot of moments where nothing dramatic is happening, but the silence, the music, the way the characters look at each other, or simply the way a scene is framed creates a very intimate mood.

I can understand why some people might find the drama slow because of that, but for me, the slower pace is part of its charm. It gives the story time to breathe and makes the emotions feel more natural. The drama often feels less like it is trying to constantly move the plot forward and more like it is letting us spend time with the characters and quietly understand what they are feeling.

Doona herself is definitely one of the drama characters who will stay with me. I loved how the story showed both the glamorous and painful sides of being a celebrity: the public judging her, people taking pictures of her without permission, the pressure surrounding her career, and the feeling that her life is never completely her own.

I also really liked the way the romance between Doona and Won-jun was handled. For me, one of the biggest proofs of love in this drama is the fact that Won-jun does not try to stop Doona from returning to singing. He knows that being on stage is something that makes her happy and is part of who she is. Loving someone does not always mean keeping them by your side. Sometimes it means loving them enough to let them follow the life that makes them happy, even if it hurts you.

I did have one moment where Jin-ju really annoyed me: not because she confessed her feelings to Won-jun, but because she basically told him that she hoped Doona would eventually leave him, that he would end up heartbroken and full of regret, and that even then she would not take him back. I found that incredibly selfish.

Outside of that, though, I actually liked the way she treated Doona. One of my favorite moments is when she comes to comfort her without even knowing exactly why she is sad. Despite being romantic rivals, she is simply there for her, and I found that genuinely touching.

And surprisingly, I really liked the ending. I usually love clear happy endings, but this one being bittersweet and open worked for me. Doona continues her career, Won-jun moves forward with his own life, and they finally acknowledge how much they missed each other and how much they regretted what happened.

I personally choose to believe that they found their way back to each other. The intros of some episodes seem to take place after the main ending, especially because of the clothes they are wearing and the fact that they are in Japan. To me, those scenes leave enough hints to believe that their relationship continued privately.

Doona! is not a perfect romance, and I think that is exactly the point. It is messy, quiet, frustrating, melancholic and sometimes painful, but also incredibly tender. It is a story about loving someone without possessing them, about choosing yourself without erasing what you felt for another person, and about how two people can deeply love each other even when life does not make things easy for them.

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With this one you will need to towel off.

Doona is an exquisitely paced romance rich drama, which will leave you needing to towel off after viewing. It is one of those Korean dramas which you do have to sit through to the very end, however. The Koreans always show you how to make a romance rich and sensually alluring drama without even showing much skin at all. The romance scenes never get above PG 14. However, with the great natural acting talents of Suzy Bae and Yang Se Jong and the fire hot chemistry of this physically attractive couple in this unique drama, you might feel that a rating of PG 14 is too low. (Scenes do contain smoking and some slight cursing).


The story centers around a college kid named Won Joon (Yang Se Jong) who becomes a tenant in this share-house near his College campus. One of the long term tenants in the share-house is a burnt out former big name K Pop Idol named Lee Doona (Suzy Bae), who is from a popular girl group. Won Joon is a 21 year old green kid, a young man who is more versed in books than life. Won Joon is not impressed at first by the credentials of this older woman named Doona, and he just finds her to be someone who seems always to be in his way. The slow evolution of this romance may leave some impatient, but this pace is meant to leave you irritatingly anxious and fully invested in the lives of this couple. Both actors give stellar and sensual performances, befitting of their characters as defined. Doona and Won Joon have close to 80% of the screen time in ‘Doona’. This is physically and emotionally challenging for actors.

Doona is actually a female Korean name. For me, the title is a play on words for the word noona (older sister). The drama is based on the Webtoon titled ‘The Girl Downstairs’.

Suzy Bae (While You Were Sleeping, Start-up) and Yang Se-jong (Still 17, My Country: The New Age)

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Doona: A cycle of emotional manipulation

Doona... 9 episodes that provide a realistic look at how someone can become emotionally manipulative after having suffered emotional abuse and manipulation themselves, much like how individuals who grow up in hostile home environments, suffering from physical and emotional abuse, end up becoming abusers themselves (get bullied at home > become a bully at school).

This show also demonstrated different life situations and relationship issues that we can all encounter. It took me until the 3rd episode to really get hooked, but overall, it was a decent show. This show definitely makes it clear how important it is to always be cognizant of red flag behavior.

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Who hurt You?

Sat with this on these thoughts for 4 days. Why did you at the end take this direction with the drama? I had to go back to the webtoon to understand the ending. This ending in this series was quite unfulfilling. I understand you wanted to be pretentious but you took something that could have a beautiful classic and made it into something we all want to forget.

Maybe this was a revenge or cry for help from the industry into how may of artist are treated. The goal was for us to understand the pain and path they walk mishaps requesting change? Suzy... I know you choose your roles carefully, but honestly why?

I personally blame Netflix for this. Anytime I see them as the distributor I know there is going to be heavy handed feminine ideology embedded. This drama hurt my heart and broke my brain.

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Unsatisfying

The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off!

I don't really care about the main leads' relationship. It was basic and predictable and it ended in the most unsatisfying way. What really makes my blood boil is how they treated the character Choi I Ra! That woman had a personality and strength and they left her with nothing. She was studying fashion and that was a part of her personality and the writers made her corporate black, with no ambition, a copy of her anal partner. That was so disrespectful and such a bad example for girls.

There could be several reasons for her to not be able to work in her area of study but that doesn't mean she needs to give up on her essence. Being loud wasn't the only thing she was. She was original, colourful and unique. The story implies she gave it up for her relationship with the control freak.

I feel cheated by that outcome.

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Everyone loves Doona!

Doona! has to be one of the greatest romance K-dramas out there. Both Bae Suzy and Yang Se-jong carried this show with incredible chemistry and delivered their roles flawlessly. I’ll never understand the hate this drama gets or the complaints about the ending.
If you’re not truly paying attention, you’ll never understand the ending and what a lot of scenes meant. That’s exactly what makes Doona! stand out out of all other dramas i watched.
It’s absolutely worth watching, whether you’re here for Bae Suzy’s unforgettable character, Yang Se-jong’s quiet intensity, or just looking for a romance. Check it out ASAP and you won't regret it.

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I am still wondering why I watched six episodes of this story

I started Doona! for its atmosphere and strong acting, and for a while I was drawn in by the mystery around the heroine. But her toxic behaviour made it hard to stay engaged, and by episode five I saw only heartbreak ahead. The tone shifted from intriguing to drawn-out and emotionally draining, with several women circling the same gentle male lead. Beautifully filmed, but not the kind of story I want to end my evening with. (Dropped after episode 5.)

Spoiler:
I did watch the final and I was right about the impossibility of their relationship. They both end up alone, each in his or her own world. And I ended up wondering why on earth I was watching this.

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Here for Softie Won Jun

Doona, an idol, is escaping reality and meeting an ordinary uni student, Won Jun who happens to live next door.

Won Jun, a male lead i wanna protect at all costs. Innocent, cute, reluctant but straightforward at the same time. When he cried, i also cried with him :')

I love his character development. I wish Kdrama writers write more male lead like him just like Ji Ho from One Spring Night (2019).

People debating the ending, it's happy ending for me. Just like we all know, idol is dating in private.

There are several drawback from the story

First, the transition was too fast from lovey dovey to their separation. I wanna see Won Jun happy and smile, not overwork.

Second, Doona got caught had jjangmyeon with Won Jun was not portrayed as "scandalous", i want something being exaggerated just like in real life when we find idol is dating someone.

Third, they don't have scene when Won Jun tells Kooksu that he has been dating Doona. Throughout the episode i wanna know his reaction, tho.

Overall, 8.5 from me. It was because Won Jun i stayed :D

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just lean into it

this was the perfect filler drama in my mind. not a ton of emotional commitment needed but moved and enjoyable pace.

sure you could say more episodes more context more explanations

but what we got STILL felt really good.

sure the ending is open ended but I choose to believe they are together in secret and not for public consumption... as it should be.

they're an electric couple to watch- Suzy is at her mesmerizing best (man that hair and the outfits) and the rest of the cast is perfection.

let's not forget we're here to be entertained, and Doona! it's exactly that.

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Love, Loneliness, and Light: Experiencing ‘Doona’

I was looking for something that could truly captivate me, and I happened to come across “Doona.” From the very first episodes, I was struck by the extraordinary subtlety of its atmosphere and direction: despite the project’s popularity, it seems to breathe with a unique, almost artistic life that sets it apart from other dramas. And this is hardly surprising — behind the series is a heavyweight of the Korean industry, the director of the famous “Crash Landing on You,” which also gave us some of the most beautiful and memorable on-screen couples.

In “Doona,” he chooses a more mature and daring path. Eroticism and sexuality, rare in Korean dramas, appear naturally, at precisely the moments necessary to reveal the characters. Without this, the depth of the characters would be lost, and their chemistry impossible. The series moves beyond the usual clichés of romantic dramas, approaching authorial cinema, where every detail, every scene, is filled with meaning.

Suzy is astonishingly organic in this role. Her character embarks on a true internal journey, returning to what once gave her life brightness and purpose — her singing, her first passion, which had gradually dimmed. Behind the image of a charismatic and charming idol lies a profound loneliness, skillfully hidden behind lightness and coquettishness.

Yang Se-jong embodies naturalness and sincerity. His character is serious, responsible, without ambition, yet with a strong human core. Meeting Doona helps him open up, taste life, and grow as a man. He sets the sensual rhythm of their scenes: in his gaze, his restraint, his desire, and simultaneously in his vulnerability and tenderness, there is real emotional power. Their chemistry feels almost tangible, like music playing between the frames.

The director masterfully weaves symbolism into the narrative: the ice falling to the ground during a kiss, their meetings under the bridge by the “No Entry” sign. Every detail organically builds the atmosphere, and the nine-episode format gives the impression of a complete film rather than a standard drama. The cinematography, lighting, and composition are flawless.

Unlike other show-business stories, where characters often feel empty, the heroes of “Doona” are real and alive. Even the producer, who is usually turned into a caricature, here becomes an interesting and multifaceted character.

“Doona” is a touching, mature, and truthful series about personal healing, self-love, and love for life. A true discovery.

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