#2 - Happiness (해피니스, 2021)

Happiness (해피니스)

Review by Nay Chi Lin Le (Monash University)

Figure 1: Happiness promotional poster. Image source: CJ ENM

Do not get tricked by its title!

Set in the post-COVID19 future, Happiness is an apocalyptic thriller where a rabies-like infectious disease known as the “mad person disease” broke out due to the release of a failed COVID-19 treatment called “Next”. Written by Han Sang-woon and directed by Ahn Gil-ho, the 12-episode series was aired on the South Korean TV network, tvN, from November 5 – December 11, 2021. Basically, the story involves two long-time friends, Special Operations Unit officer Yoon Sae-Bom (Han Hyo Joo) and detective Jung Yi-Hyun (Park Hyung Sik), faking their marriage to secure an apartment in a newly-constructed high-rise building where an infectious disease broke out. As the disaster unfolded, the entire complex got completely sealed off, separating the residents from the outside world. The drama closely follows the stories of the residents and how they struggled to survive in the face of adversity. Unlike your typical zombie shows with lots of blood and gore, Happiness demonstrates a more realistic take on an “apocalypse” with a nice balance of horror and family drama. From the charismatic and likeable characters like Sae-Bom and Yi-Hyun to an egocentric dermatologist Oh Joo-Hyung (Baek Hyun-jin) and the nosy upper-floor resident Oh Yeon-ok (Bae Hae-sun), the drama presents a variety of characters with distinct personalities that you can relate to or probably come across in your daily life. Moreover, the addicting plot will get you hooked and keep your brain running with theories of who is likely to betray or who the serial killer is.

Despite its relatively low viewership of 4.4%, Happiness is a hidden gem with a staggering plot twist and a spot-on depiction of the dark side of humanity. Not only it is a perfect mix of thrill, satirical comedy, and A LITTLE BIT of romance, but the drama is also a great commentary on social issues such as class discrimination in South Korean society. This is reflected in the intriguing setting of the drama – a stratified apartment complex where wealthy apartment owners occupy the top floors and public tenants occupy the lower floors. Throughout the series, the self-claimed apartment representative Oh Yeon-ok and the upper-floor residents ganged up against the lower-floor tenants to force them into sharing their food supplies, clearly demonstrating class inequalities. Class discrimination is one of the major social issues in South Korean society and can be explained by the Confucian ideology that prevails in Korea since the fifteenth century. The hierarchical concept of Confucianism remains the main influence in the daily life of South Koreans and is the underlying reason for various social issues such as workplace bullying, and discrimination based on gender, class, and job.

Happiness also delivers an important message of how adversity brings out the most unsightly aspects of human nature — greed and selfishness. In the series, the emotional distress caused by the sudden disease outbreak and lockdown elicited fear among the residents, leading them to distrust and betray each other for personal gain. This parallels the collective anxiety we are facing in the real world amid the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating how people and social systems may collapse when facing a crisis. The drama also underscores that the reason underlying the failure of quarantine systems lies within humanity itself. Despite Yi-Hyun and Sae-Bom’s efforts to establish quarantine rules to protect everyone, the residents refused to cooperate due to their personal interests and stubbornness. Above all, the main motif in this series is that what makes a “real” monster is not a horrendous disease that makes you thirst for human blood, but the corrupted and evil nature of human beings that emerged in times of crisis.

Figure 2: Episode 4 jump-scare scene. Image source: The Hindu.

Personally, Happiness was one of my Top 5 K-dramas of 2021 and I would give it a rating of 9/10 (SPOILER: minus 1 point because the death of the serial killer was very anticlimactic). At first, I was hesitant to watch the series after reading the synopsis knowing that it is a zombie drama, but I gave it a try solely because of the main actors Han Hyo-Joo and Park Hyung-Sik. I am glad I watched it! Overall, the drama is very well-executed and fits perfectly for the current pandemic era. The emotional upheavals faced by the residents parallel with the uncertainty and fear of COVID-19 we are facing in the real world which makes it very relatable. Along with its decent storyline, the drama also serves you with GOOD VISUALS as well as an important message about humanity. If you are not a fan of the violence and gruesomeness of zombie shows like me, I would highly recommend you this drama for a more realistic and less-far-fetching portrayal of an apocalypse.

Check out the official trailer here and the series is available on Viki TV.

Nay Chi Lin Le/Monash University ©, please do not reproduce without prior permission.

For details, contact MUKSRH andy.jackson@monash.edu