Aired since the evening of October 11, the film "Doubt" has so far aired 7 episodes with the highest viewership rating being 7.6% (in episode 6).
The film tells the story of the dilemma that Jang Tae Soo (Han Suk Kyu) - Korea's top criminal police officer - faces when he suddenly discovers the secret of his daughter - Jang Ha Bin (Chae Won Bin) - who is involved in a murder case he is investigating.
Korea Times commented that in this film, the author brutally exposed how a family is destroyed by suspicion. When mysterious cases surround the family, Tae Soo and his wife - Ji Soo (Oh Yeon Soo), begin to suspect their daughter. The suspicion drives them into psychological despair.
While actor Han Suk Kyu was praised for capturing the role of a father who is going through painful days of heartbreak when he suspects the closest person in the family, Chae Won Bin attracts viewers with his unpredictable eyes, expressions and cold voice, creating tension in each scene.
This is also the reason why “Doubt” has become popular with older audiences. According to Korea Times, the number of online searches for the work among viewers in their 40s and 50s is currently ranked second in Korea, surpassing “Jeong Nyeon” - a popular tvN drama with a higher viewership rating (reaching 13.4%).
According to cultural critic Jeong Deok Hyun, the film’s success was due to its depiction of the father’s dilemma. “The film draws viewers into a psychological nightmare where family and trust collide. That resonance has increased word of mouth, making the film even more popular.”
Meanwhile, Professor Yoon Seok Jin of the Department of Korean Literature at Chungnam National University said: “In ‘Doubt’, even the scenes where father and daughter eat together give off a sense of distance and strangeness. The popularity of the content about betrayal in the family partly reflects the breakdown of traditional families and the division in communication between generations.”
The trend is seen as a response to people increasingly becoming trapped in “internet echo chambers” created by artificial intelligence algorithms, where they begin to believe that this limited perspective is the “real world,” according to media reports.
However, in the long run, living in an era where people only believe what they see, lose objectivity, or trust in those who should be closest to them - is extremely dangerous. This is also the message that the film wants to convey, especially to parents - pay more attention to your children.
