Happiness (2021)

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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A Critique of Chemistry, Logic, and Actions in the Series 'Happiness'

This is a zombie-ish series featuring two mature leads. The female lead is an anti-terrorist specialist, and the male lead is a police officer. They undeniably make the best partners when it comes to a zombie-themed storyline. In this narrative, there exists a drug capable of turning people into zombies. The unique twist is that these individuals revert to their normal selves after a certain period. This concept evokes a reminiscent vibe of "All of Us Are Dead," but instead of devouring people, they consume blood like vampires.

Our two leads embark on an investigation within a locked-down apartment, confronting a multitude of annoying characters. One aspect I adore about this series is the undeniable chemistry between the leads and their badass actions. Despite their competence, they are not without flaws. I criticize their actions due to their adult nature and the demands of their work. However, one aspect I find irksome, possibly owing to the writer's oversight, is the recurring tendency not to run upon encountering blood. Additionally, there's a scene where the female lead inexplicably opens a truck full of zombies, a move that seems illogical.

Nevertheless, what stands out is the intelligence of the characters, especially the male lead, who is both capable and smart. While the female lead has her flaws, her badassery shines through.

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The leads make this show

More Zombie content, except now it's… also weirdly a love story. Contrary to other Korean Zombie stuff there isn't much action.

And it's just strange. These stories don't usually go like this. Basically, it's a kdrama with a Zombie backdrop. There, let's go with that.

I'm not surprised in the slightest that this was lovely. It was directed by Ahn Gil-ho who was also behind the camera for The Glory, another favorite of mine.

It's a show that keeps you guessing for most of its runtime, lots of twists and unpredictable turns, and although there are a few plot contrivances, and annoying characters, they were never too much for me. I enjoyed how varied and chaotic the characters were, and well, I really liked the leads, who make the show.

Han Hyo-joo in a military uniform… damn girl! What a looker. She's so on point in this. Great leads, in fact. They form a sort of power couple (with Park Hyung-sik playing the other half) and us following their story as they deal with all the bullshit happening around them in the middle of a virus apocalypse is why this show works.

Gonna have to watch Moving now because I need more Han Hyo-joo in my life. She's like a stoic but equally as intense variant of Jun Ji-hyun.

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This is an excellent drama. It was action packed, but also had its slower moments so the audience has time to catch it's breath. The rush to tie up the storyline in the final episode was it's only drawback, in my opinion. Other than that, the story was thorough, well scripted, and well acted.

I love that neither mains are weak characters. (For instance, the strong ML isn't always having to rescue the weak FL.) Both are strong, physically and mentally, fighting against the bad guys WITH each other instead of one always fighting to save the other. When one goes out alone, the other pities their opponents. Yes, they do protect each other, but they also trust in each other's skills. [The takedown of the pastor is the best physical (wrestling? martial arts?) move I have ever seen....I rewatched that, like, 8ish times!]

I also love that the drama didn't depend on tropes in order to portray the mains falling for each other. There was no awkwardness, only a clear and obvious friendship that allowed itself to deepen naturally as time passed. (Granted, the ML developed feelings 10 years earlier, but his one-sided love was willing to wait for her.)

I was surprised that they never called the infection zombie-like. There was never one mention of zombies. But the infected people's actions and appearance was clearly within the zombie universe. I'm personally fine with that, as I like zombie stories, even though I am not the biggest fan of gore. Ya can't have one without the other though.

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Zombie like genre peak kdrama 9/10

Happiness 9/10 - 2021
plot - disease which makes people mad wanting to drink blood of noninfected appears. This drama is story about infected closed in one place. And military trying to stop spreading of disease + looking for cure

even though its not zombie drama its alot alike one only difference. Zombie states turns on and off by time. Will rate this drama like it was zombie one.

In such case its peak drama. Second good zombie type movie I have seen from koreans right after Train to Busan 1.

Even though this drama happens mostly in one skyscraper it can be quite chaotic since at each floor is always something happening and camera goes from place to place.
Action, Thriller, Love story, zombie type all in one.

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