Happiness: Korean Drama: After COVID, What’s NEXT?

“Happiness” is a Thriller Korean drama series, with 12 episodes, released in 2021. It could also be categorized as a Medical Drama and/or Sci-Fi. The time period is post-COVID-19 pandemic. It’s about a drug called NEXT which was initially developed as a vaccine. However, NEXT could not be distributed to the public because it had terrible side effects. It sort of turned people into zombies.

NEXT is a Drug Developer’s Worst Nightmare

in Happiness”, COVID is over and people are looking forward to normal living again.  It has got to be a medical scientist’s worst nightmare when they try to develop a drug to combat an infectious disease like COVID and the drug ends up causing an infectious disease that is far worse. That’s what happened when the scientists developed a drug called NEXT. Initially, a person who took the drug felt relief. But as time went on they developed a thirst for human blood. Pretty much they became zombies.

Some could control their urges by drinking lots and lots of water. But others could not resist and if there was a human within their reach, they would take a bite out of their neck. The neck was preferred but if the human was resisting by fighting back, the infected person would bite them wherever they could. If the human who was attacked survived it is likely they would become infected and also thirst for human blood.

Except … except that’s not what happened when Officer Yoon Sae Bom was bitten. One of her co-workers became infected. She was trying to subdue him and was bitten on her hand. For some reason, she was just fine! The researchers wanted to study her more. Hopefully, her blood contained the antibodies that could cure this new zombie disease.

Let’s Make a Deal!

When Yoon Sae Bom realized that she was “important”, she made a deal. There were some luxury apartments she wanted to live in. Han Tae-Seok was in the military and in charge of the infectious disease project. She asked him to make arrangements for her to get an apartment unit. Knowing that she would get a better unit if she were married, she asked her friend, Detective Jung Yi Hyun, to agree to marry her. It would be a marriage of convenience, but he would also benefit. Sae Bom and Yi Hyun moved into Unit 501. Sae Bom thought that living in those high rise luxury apartments was the key to her “happiness”.

Yeah … uuuhh … it’s kind of hard to be happy when:

• as soon as you move in there is a post-COVID lockdown and you can’t leave;
• your neighbors are not the friendliest and don’t exactly know how to get along; and
• most importantly, detecting the residents who are infected and deciding what to do with them to keep other residents safe becomes your “new job”.

In addition, the people who want to be “in charge” are only concerned with whether or not the property value will decrease. While the ones who are willing to “take charge” ~ Sae Bom and Yi Hyun ~ try their best to maintain order and peace, even when a few of the residents are troublemakers who make living in lockdown extremely difficult.

Does that sound like a formula for happiness?

Main Characters:

• Officer Yoon Sae Bom played by Han Hyo Joo (“Love, Lies”; “Dong Yi”)
• Detective Jung Yi Hyun played by Park Hyung Sik (“Our Blooming Youth”)
• Han Tae-Seok played by Jo Woo-Jin (“Kingmaker”; “Narco-Saints”; “Mr. Sunshine”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb Rating: 7.9 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.9 out of 10 stars
• Times of India: 3.5 out of 5 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.6 out of 10 stars

My rating for Happiness is 9 out of 10 stars. First, I am a loyal fan of Han Hyo Joo. She brings classiness, and elegance to any role she plays. Second, the plot was different from the typical zombie horror drama. These zombies have self-control. They are not mindless walking dead types who just attack and the only thing you can do is kill them to save yourself. There are times when they lose control, but then after that period passes they regain control of their humanity. If their will is strong enough they can control themselves and not harm any of their fellow humans.

Links of Interest:

• “Happiness” Ends On Its Highest Ratings Yet + “The Red Sleeve” Continues To Dominate Its Time Slot | Soompi
• K-Drama “Happiness” Currently Ranked The 6th Most Popular TV Show On Netflix Worldwide | Kpopmap
• K-Drama Review: “Happiness” Blends Multiple Twists and Gritty Characters In An Engaging “New Normal” Story | kdramadiary

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Viki Global TV. “Happiness – Official Trailer | Korean Drama | Han Hyo Joo, Park Hyung Sik.” YouTube, 3 Nov. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaHq2ImPrHs.