Happiness (2021)

As a fan of Han Hyo Joo, I made sure to watch this drama since it's her small screen comeback after W: Two Worlds. Well, it was also Park Hyung Sik's small screen comeback. So a lot of fans are definitely waiting for this series. Although I have been waiting for it, I never read the plot nor watch the trailers. So I seriously have no idea with its story. Since we're seeing another visual couple, I thought it was some kind of a typical romance K-drama. BUT I WAS DEFINITELY WRONG! I was shocked when I watched the first episode. I didn't imagine the story to be like that. But that's what made me interested with the story and continued watching the drama.

Casts:
There are actually a lot of characters but I'll just post here who I think are the main protagonists and antagonists.
- Han Hyo Joo as Yoon Sae Beom
- Park Hyun Sik as Jung Yi Hyun
- Jo Woo Jin as Han Tae Seok
- Bae Hae Sun as Oh Yeon Ok
- Baek Hyun Jin as Oh Joo Hyeong
- Lee Joo Seung as Andrew

Plot: A thriller drama that happened during the New Normal era wherein an infectious disease is spreading. Sae Beom and Yi Hyun was lockdown in their place along with their neighbors. The whole story revolved around how people reacted and survived the disease.

Things I like about the drama
Everything? I guess that's the most accurate answer. But of course, I'll be sharing some details about it. Note, that this review is not spoiler-free. So read at your own risk.

Every scene has a reason
This was in Episode 8. I can clearly remember asking, "So, what's the purpose of the two of them having conversation about Yi Hyun's digestive medicine?" But then a few scenes later, Yi Hyun drank a medicine in front of Joo Hyung and everyone thought it was the NEXT (the medicine that can make you infected). But it ended up being Yi Hyun's digestive medicine because he already has swapped the medicine in the car. I was really amazed when the drama actually answered my question. I didn't expect that the first scene actually means something. I applause the writer for this. There are actually a lot of scenes that I thought doesn't make sense or can be edited out but ended up answering my questions.

A not-so-romantic drama but is giving me all the feels
Come on. Don't tell me you didn't root for this couple? No romantic scenes and cheesy lines (well at least during Episode 1 until the 10th episode) yet they're giving us all the feels and kilig inside. How was that even possible? It's just a proof that their chemistry is so good that we don't even need those romantic lines to feel their love for each other. But of course, when they confess or show affection to each other for sure our hearts blasted.

This is one of the best K-Drama couples of 2021!

The antagonists are so effective
They say that an actor/actress is a great antagonist when you're really irritated with his or her character. The whole story won't be complete without these antagonists. They made the story more realistic. My stress level became higher than their apartment whenever I see them do something bad. I remember a post on my Facebook page, it has reached more than a million reach because of these characters. That's how good they are with their craft that a lot of people got irritated.

The realistic zombie makeup look
Oh yes! An intense spoiler! Koreans are really good when it comes to makeup. You'll really get scared when you see one in real life. I remember a Filipino director praising South Koreans for their efforts in doing makeups. The effort they do here is highly commendable.

Production set is so realistic
My inner Multimedia Artist in me comes out whenever I watch the behind-the-scenes. I really love seeing how the drama that I'm watching was made. Who would have thought that the staircase is not a real one? How about the room in the first episode? The way they made it as if it's a real one is so mind-blowing. Kudos to the production design crew!

Relatable Yoon Sae Beom
She's definitely relatable! She just spits out things randomly but all of us can definitely relate to. But aside from these there are some lines that she said that remained in me.
"Happiness is hard to find."
"You have to look forward to something in order to be happy."
Simple statements yet struck hard.

Lessons I got from the drama
It may be a zombie-type of drama but you can actually learn a lot from it. One is, a lot of people are indeed selfish. You can definitely see it when there's a situation like this. Some are making money by extorting other people. Some are willing to kill. But let's not forget that there are still some people who are selfless. Let's learn to choose who we get to be with and who we are going to be when situations like this arise. But one of the most heartwarming lesson I got here is, family will always be your family. I actually got teary-eyed with this short scene.

It somehow reminded me of the story of the prodigal son. After wasting all his money, he returns home yet his father is so happy to see him back. At the end of the day, it's our family who will be with us until the end. It's also heartwarming to know that this old man never left his wife even if she is suspected to be infected. This is what we call true love. And of course, one of the mantra that I put my mind into. "People need something to look forward to in order to become happy." Every time I feel sad, I remind myself to find something to look forward to. In this example, Sae Beom looks forward for the meal that they will receive. It may be a simple thing yet it makes her happy. So, I'm always looking forward for my merchandises. (hihi).

Conclusion
For those who love watching thrilling K-Dramas with a little bit of a romance, Happiness is definitely a must-watch! I consider Happiness as one of my favorite K-Dramas of 2021. I'm really looking forward for Park Hyung Sik's and Han Hyo Joo's next projects and who knows, we might get another drama or movie from them?

For international viewers, Happiness is available on iQIYI, Viu, and WeTV.

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I have watched many Korean apocalypse movies, dramas and series. Happiness wasn't any different to be honest. I was eager to see Park Hyung Shik's acting as he is one of my favourite actors. He did good but I didn't like the female lead's acting, She was showing too much macho character. It wouldn't be that noticeable but because this is a zombie movie, you'll find her character too careless. Overall acting was good, it's worth to watch but the story isn't any different from typical zombie movie. I have just watched first six episodes, they were nice but it didn't keep me up to my toes.

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Finding Happiness During a Lockdown

Basic premise: How to survive a lockdown with zombies in an apartment building. Key tip? A baseball bat, Park Hyung Sik and Han Hyo Joo. With these three, your survival rate will be 95% unless you have an alliance with one of the other tenants in the building. If that is the case, your chances of surviving the lockdown will be much lower.

Unlike a typical zombie-themed drama, this show is light on zombies running around looking for the next meal. Instead, it focussed on how to survive a lockdown with no power, no internet, with an added scarcity of food and water. Oh, and how to keep zombies out of your apartment.

Happiness' cast list is the who’s who of the Korean entertainment industry. We have PHS and HHJ as the leads, and they are smokin’ together. However, the supporting cast, I think, were the true stars of this show. They were over-the-top and delivered some of the best audacious lines someone can safely utter in a dramaland. So much so, PHS and HHJ are merely policing their outrageous behaviours.

Lastly, the building used in Happiness deserves mention. The apartments where the characters lived are a nice extension of who they are. However, the old university dormitory sends shivers down my spine. It is old and decrepit where I feel like having a shower when that location appears on my screen.

Happiness is one of the enjoyable dramas I have watched this year, and the length of episodes is apt.

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Decent but could have been better

1/ STORY:
GOOD: The personal story of the two leads. How they meet, keep in touch, start to stick together and how they are dealing with the situation and with a bunch or moronic neighbors.
NOT SO GOOD: The pandemia story has plot holes and inconsistencies. The "crazy people" are very fun to watch but it is the best thing about it. The way they handle le plotline is a bit, far fetched, illogical and in the end, they throw a master evil guy in and resolve the situation in a snap of fingers with the bad guys becoming more and more ridiculous.

2/ CHARACTERS:
- I loved the main couple. ML is not handsome but chubby cute. He has a nice and lovely personality. He is courageous, sticks at the law and worries about FL. FL is pretty, savage at times, smart, but reckless also. I like the duo. Very complementary. I did not understand their reluctancy to be a couple when they are so caring for each other. I felt like she had a mental block and she was too tomboyish to have time for feelings. Pretty sure it was a torture for the ML to be so close to her and so far at the same time.

- Bad guy is not so bad. His intentions and purpose are good but his methods are very questionable and he acknowledges it himself. He is a very complex character likeable and despicable at the same time. In the end he was better but still he should have been court martialed.

- ML best friend is completely useless most of the time apart from one moment which is not a moment of glory for him.
- Little sick kid was cute but kind of a prop in the story.
- Real bad guy doctor Oh was annoying like heck. They should have killed him. Such a bastardo. He survives and will probably get away with most of his bad deeds.
- Lawyer, his wife and his mistress. Funny triangle. Especially the mistress. Such a gold digger, Loved the funny scenes when these two are caught doing their business. Proper ending for them three.
- Loved Lieutenant Lee Si Soo. Cute, dutiful. understanding. And even fun in the end.

3/ OST:
Quite good for a "crazy people" drama. The tense moments were well illustrated by the music.

4/ REWATCH VALUE:
No really rewacthable for me

5/ OVERALL
The drama has three parts. First part when we get to know the characters is well made and interesting. Second part when the people start to go against the rules and against each other is quite draggy. Then last part is rushed but fun. I really struggled to go beyond part two but I wanted to see what happens of the ML and the little girl so I binged watched to the end. Overall it is still a fun watch despide the less fun middle part. 7.5/10 + 0.5 for the fun "zombie" moments.

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Happiness? Perhaps everyone just try to find their own happiness in different ways.

First off, just like many other, I didn't expect much and only gave it a try because of PHS and HHJ. Unexpectedly, the drama is very well written in a way that i didn't imagine. I couldn't predict what is gonna happen next. Each characters have flaws and the writer always make sure to include it as tiny details which often overlooked. And of course my favorite character has to be Saebom and Yihyun. Saebom is badass female lead who had bad past which make her like to act first then think later and selfish sometimes. On other hand, Yihyun is smart male lead who believes that as a police he should lead and protect the resident and of course his love for 12 years, Saebom. Both characters have flaws and the writer make sure to include as tiny details which often overlooked. However, both characters filled in for each other. This drama isn't focus on romance but these two chemistry are just over the top and even their little moments holding hands make me excited. And I must say that main leads, Han Taeseok and other characters are all just trying to find their happiness just that everyone do it in different way. For instance, Andrew, his happiness is killing people and making people suffer but it's still a kind of creepy happiness for himself. The only thing I don't like about this is there are few plot holes, a bit rushed, it could have done better for last episode or extend it a bit. And of course, i would love to see season 2.

For acting, the casts did a great job, especially the main leads. Also the annoying residents and everyone else. The makeup and styling are definitely on point.

The music are in my playlist, even the bgm are good. My favorite one have to be " She " and " Heaven "

I'll definitely watch it again!

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12 episodes of highly entertaining madness

I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I started watching Happiness, I saw one clip of it online and decided to watch it from that. So I wasn’t exactly expecting a zombie apocalypseesk (but not quite), romance thriller, but that what I got, and I enjoyed every second of it.


Okay first off, I usually watch K-dramas for the romance, which this show has, but it doesn’t exactly take center stage for most of the show. Instead the romance is ever present, but comfortably in the background. Having said that Sae-bom and Yi-hyun still manage to make the charts as one of my favorite K-drama couples ever. Their relationship was startlingly stable, and I loved every single interaction they had with each other, even if it wasn’t necessarily a romantic one. They just played off of each other perfectly.


All of the thriller aspects of the show were really well done as well. And I often found myself more concerned about what the absolutely insane residents of this apartment building were going to do to each other, rather than being concerned about the infected people attacking them.


Every resident in the apartment building had enough character to be interesting in their own right, some of them I wanted to kill, some of them I loved to death, but each of them was well portrayed.


I thought the cast was pretty much perfect, both for the main characters and every side character. And Park Hyung-sik was absolute husband material here, 10/10 husbanding. It’s been quite a while since I finished this one and I’m still madly in love with his portrayal of Yi-hyun. Also like, I’m not into women but if I was I’d definitely be into Sae-bom.


Theres so many good intense moments in Happiness, and some pretty good jump scares too, I would not recommend watching it at night in the cupboard under the stairs like I did. And the music really adds well to the tone, it doesn’t have many full songs like most K-dramas do, but the music always suits the mood really well.


I wish we had gotten more at the end of the show, just a little more after the conflict resolution since it’s a little abrupt, but I won’t complain too much. That does tend to happen in 12 episode dramas that have a lot to be resolved. And I have a few other very minor gripes with it, most of which didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment, so I don’t think I’ll really go into them.


If you haven’t watched it yet, give it a shot. Happiness is just pretty freaking good.

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A series for thought and complexity

Honestly, I cannot understand the negative reviews with things to complain about. I am someone who enjoys complexity in morals and the difficulties of human relationships with each other, morals, desires, and greed. This is a series that touches on so many topics while still holding senses of morbidity, romance, and humour. The main couple, in my opinion, are fantastic and their characters are actually well thought through, from their backstory, to the way they grow up, and the way their history together effects their relationship in the future. the side characters have such a variety of relationships and struggles, with a real focus on classism (as a lot of K dramas seem to have - rich Vs poor, hard working Vs easy living).

I really loved this and honestly, it's one of the best zombie based series I have seen so far aside from maybe all of us are dead. The virus in this acts different from a lot of other series and I think it really allows for a lot of character and plot to be built on as even people who have been infected can continue on and have a hopeful happy ending. Bringing that bit of humanity to monster, and showing the monsters of humanity, it's truly a beautiful juxtaposition that makes you question so much.

the only thing I wish was that maybe they had left more time to fully establish the ending of other key characters like the antidote efficiency, what happens to the rich guy, what happen's to Han Taeseok's wife and child. there was a lot left undisclosed however it isn't too much of an issue for me personally as open endings often allow for own interpretation. I'll mention it as this may have been off putting for some people, yet this is the thing I have seen less addressed over "wah, they had plot armour as the main characters, how annoying".

TLDR; if you are looking for a series that you can sit down and mindlessly watch, I would say this isn't for you. if you go into this series mindlessly, you miss the entirety of its meaning and story. 10/10 would watch again and would recommend to people who value the art of storytelling. also, if you just want a zombie flic, this also isn't for you; this series is very much based on human interaction and the behaviours of people stuck together in a situation that is not exactly pleasant, with people who are even less pleasant. (I'm honestly tired of people going into series with an expectation and then rating it lower all because it wasn't like the others they watched - that is a good thing.)

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Great Opening Hook and like One Kiss

This drama has one of the best opening hooks in a television show. It's a meet cute and a falling in love at first sight (literally) all in one, and it's accompanied by a sweet song that will have you rewinding that scene a few times because it's very cute. That hook is what reeled me into Happiness, but unfortunately I wanted to unravel myself from that noose after I got to the 10th episode. Overall the show is entertaining and it has a lot of positive things going for it, like the acting, OST, and some decent directing. It seems like this may have been filmed during the pandemic as there are several reference to Covid-19, which of course makes this drama very meta to our current times. Again, there s' a lot to like, but what doesn't work is the story and characters. I've never met a zombie story without plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon, so that's not my main complaint. My real issue is the theme of the drama is lost amongst the repeated antics of characters who surround the main couple, and because of that there are only three likable characters in the ENTIRE drama. The ML, the FL, and the Kid. You start actively rooting for everyone else to die around episode six if you have a heart, and far earlier if you're heartless like me. By episode 10 I started leaning on the FF button because I was ready to get to the end, and to my disgust far too many of the unlikable characters were still alive by that point. The sweet moments between the main leads and my desire to finish this in drama in its entirety kept me through to the end. It wasn't a bad ride once all was said and done. The acting was was top notch, which is why I hated so many of the side characters. They did a good job of making me hate them, and of course the ML and FL have really good chemistry, which was shown very well throughout all the times they worked together as a team, and during their one kissing scene...lol. Would I watch this again? Probably not, but I would watch the actors again in another drama.

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If conforming to madness is a way to achieve happiness, you can give this a try.

/ Actual Rating: 7.5/10

/- I find it a long drag determining the turn of events between the chaos and the development of the characters during their lockdown. The writers probably cannot figure out where they will put the plot twists especially with the "psychopath stereotype" fiasco it had at the latter part of the show. I seemingly thought I will have the suspense of what I had with Money Heist Korea (might just be the intro similarities).
/- Nevertheless, they missed the opportunity to develop Kim Se Hoon's character. Poor guy.
/- Lastly, Lee Bo Ram had the chillest role on the rooftop.

P. S. Commendable if this was filmed at the height of the emerging CoVID-19. They did a great job with the normalcy of the setting.

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