love & doom
an ode to Tak Dong Kyung
When Doom at Your Service premiered in May, I had the perfect clickbait headline for it:
Park Bo Young Has the Worst Day EVER in Episode 1 of Doom at Your Service
On the day that Tak Dong Kyung is diagnosed with brain cancer, she learns that her boyfriend is married. She’s confronted by his pregnant wife, who throws water on her, which is caught on a viral video that her boss watches in the office. He loudly insists that it’s her, in front of all her co-workers, deepening her shame despite her denial. A man secretly films her on the train. Her younger brother asks her for money, claiming to be on a trip with friends, when he’s actually playing games at an internet cafe. He’s also forgotten that this day is the anniversary of their parents’ death. After getting rained on, Dong Kyung goes home to her empty apartment.
Dong Kyung supposes that the brain tumor is a result of unshed tears. Since her parents died, she’s never cried. She just endures the storms of life without a life jacket. She actually declines surgery because she can’t afford the missed time at work. Without it, her life expectancy is a mere three months.
A bit tipsy on the rooftop, Dong Kyung makes a wish on a shooting star: for the world to be destroyed. She laughs before returning inside. Little does she know her wish is going to be granted.
The Korean title for DAYS is One Day Destruction Entered the Front Door of My House. Exceptionally wordy but bold and engrossing. Doom is literally summoned to her front door, in human form (Seo In Guk).
Her wish was the first of its kind. Doom is intrigued by this mortal and appears on her doorstep with a cheery, sardonic smile. Doom, as it turns out, hates his job. He’s been appointed by a deity greater than he, disguised as a terminally ill teenage girl (Jung Ji So). The goddess refers to humans as flowers in her garden, and Doom is the butterfly. A cozy picture, but not to him. He also loathes humanity.
Doom proposes a deal to Dong Kyung: he’ll give her a painless life and grant any of her wishes for three months. In exchange, she’ll make a wish to bring doom upon the world. If she doesn’t, he’ll kill the person she loves most.
Sounds promising, doesn’t it?
DAYS was highly anticipated because it marked a comeback for the leads. Bo Young and In Guk were always eager to work together. The show had a lukewarm reception in South Korea, but it was popular overseas, which made me happy. Although I sometimes found it underwhelming and disappointing with some truly odd writing choices, it was infinitely better than Bo Young’s previous drama, Abyss (2019). Getting to see her twice every week was a real serotonin boost for me this spring.
I love her to death, but she’s not very good at choosing projects. Her filmography isn’t all that impressive either. I mean, can Bong Joon Ho look past the mediocre scripts and lackluster direction and still be dazzled by her talent, like I am? And then cast her in an international hit that generates Oscar buzz?
All right, moving on. I’m not interested in writing an exhaustive summary of this drama. The pros did outweigh the cons, honest! I’d just rather focus on Bo Young’s performance and a few other aspects.
Bo Young said she could relate to Dong Kyung. I did too. But her relatability isn’t even the character’s selling point. What makes her so compelling is her attitude. She isn’t a plucky optimist, but she doesn’t throw herself pity parties either. Life’s misfortunes have made her tough but not hateful. She also never puts herself first. There’s just something about a selfless heroine who’s always putting the needs of others ahead of her own. You can’t help but root for her.
“The world that I managed to survive is nothing different from doom in the end. I’m so tired…is everyone just living like this? While being tormented by life and death. Like if I’m neither living nor dying.”
I was consistently impressed with Bo Young in every episode. She just has a way of elevating her characters. And it’s quite a variety of heroines. In Oh My Ghostess she was a timid shut in who gets transformed into a vibrant young woman. Her size belied her superhuman strength in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, but even her powers couldn’t grant her invincibility. An aside: Bo Young agreed to do SWDBS because the character was a rude, country bumpkin type originally. But the writer altered aspects of Bong Soon to make her cuter - Bo Young’s cuteness is also her curse. Even now people think she’s too cute to play a villain. Then in Abyss she played a highly driven and skilled career woman.
The chemistry she has with her costars is also unfailing. She draws them into her orbit. Seo In Guk endeared himself to me largely because of her.
The show also tackled theological questions, though it was a little muddled at times. The goddess stubbornly loves humanity, but she didn’t create it. Humans created god in this universe. She’s reborn each time in a different body. Doom is meant to balance things out. He also has to learn to love humanity, and he gets a head start with Dong Kyung. She gets a second chance at life when she was only going through the motions. Doom makes the discovery that the goddess was gently pushing him to, that humanity is worth saving.
Dong Kyung’s affection also humanizes Doom. There’s a touching scene where he explains his role and she compares it to a supernova. “At the moment a star dies, it shines very beautifully as it disappears. But that becomes energy for a new star to be born.” She can see the good in him despite his nature and his own unhappiness. That’s why she still loves him after learning he’s responsible for her disastrous luck and the tragedies in her life. His desolate garden blooms in life and color with her in it.
“My life always consisted of hovering between the misfortunes on the front page and the back page that cannot be flipped to, waiting for the answer. Sometimes the faces of luck and misfortune are the same. I still can’t differentiate between those faces.”
Such a poetic observation. It’s also a succinct summary of religion. God can bless you and allow you to suffer. I think of the martyrs who loved Christ with everything in them, swept up in the divine romance that brought them persecution and even death.
Even with the heartbreak, the drama was mostly lighthearted. I can’t recommend it enough for anyone who likes slice of life stories and fluffy romance tinged with angst. There were moments of whimsy too. Dong Kyung and Doom end up living together; her apartment is split into her side and his.
It was also genuinely hilarious. One of the supporting characters was played by Lee Soo Hyuk, who is tall, lanky, and deadpan. That cool face of his made for superb timing.
As an immortal and arrogant being, Doom would often push Dong Kyung’s buttons. But she could also hold her own. Like when he told her to smile while she sat for her funeral portrait and she calmly asked if he had a death wish.
Something else I loved about DAYS was the chaste romance. It’s just incredibly refreshing to see a relationship between adults depicted in such a wholesome way.
The least enjoyable part of the drama was the love triangle subplot. It didn’t even mirror the main romance. There’s a way to make supporting characters compelling without a poorly written love story.
Then there was Kevin. Kevin, husband of Dong Kyung’s aunt. A white Canadian man who was barely fluent in Korean. He spoke to everyone in English. The miscommunication wasn’t even addressed. It was bizarre. It was cringe. If it was supposed to be funny, the humor of it was hollow. But it gave me hope that I too can hold a conversation with Bo Young almost entirely in English. No language barriers for us!
Ultimately, DAYS would have been so much better without any of that. Bo Young really enjoyed filming it though, and she got along so great with cast and crew, who all adore her. The overall theme resonated with her too. My heart still aches when I think of how she wished for the same thing as Dong Kyung if she only had 100 days to live: for her loved ones to not be too sad after she’s gone.
Doom at Your Service did generally succeed. Loving life when it’s hard is so much easier said than done. If you need medicine to cope with the world and your place in it, this message is even more potent.
“I’m still living with not much happening. Sometimes, I smile. Sometimes, I’m angry. Sometimes, I’m bored. While living like that, moments that are like gifts arrive from time to time. Sometimes, it’s so difficult to the point that I want to die. But I live. Because this is the life you gave me.”
Dong Kyung was absolutely adorable and I loved her. ^_^ You’re absolutely, she’s so easy to root for! Though, whenever my sister and I talk k-dramas (which is a frequent occurrence) we bring up Kevin as we have never seen another character like him and we think the commentary was spot on. I was a little late to the party only watching DAYS last year, but I loved finally getting around to reading this post of yours.