Happiness (2021)

December 25, 2022

Our Take: An apocalyptic drama that explores human psychology during times of crisis.

The Premise

Yoon Sae Bom (Han Hyo Joo) is a fearless anti-terrorist special agent with a strong sense of justice. Through a housing program for civil servants, she earns a coveted opportunity to move into a luxurious, high-rise apartment by pretending to marry her high school best friend, Jung Yi Hyun (Park Hyung Sik). Yi Hyun is a detective and former baseball player with an equally righteous personality and a secret crush on Sae Bom.

Shortly after they settle into their new home, a deadly disease breaks out that turns those infected into zombie-like beings. To quietly investigate the mysterious disease and prevent a further outbreak, the Head of the Task Force for Disease Control, Han Tae Seok (Jo Woo Jin) seals off the building from the rest of the city, trapping the residents indoors.

As the disease spreads, different versions of people get brought out as they fight for their lives while stuck in quarantine.

Yoon Sae Bom and Jung Yi Hyun

While Sae Bom and Yi Hyun's marriage was unconventional, their chemistry is undeniable. They operate as a team and complement each other well despite how different their personalities are. Yi Hyun acts tough, but he is patient and caring toward everyone, particularly Sae Bom. Compared to Yi Hyun, Sae Bom is short-tempered and impulsive. However, she is just as thoughtful and warm despite her cold demeanor.

Given that this is a thriller drama, there are no forced romantic moments or exaggeration of romance. Still, it's clear that Yoon Sae Bom and Jung Yi Hyun have a healthy relationship built on mutual trust and care for each other. From the beginning, when they first meet in high school, Yi Hyun only has eyes for Sae Bom. However, he never imposes his feelings onto her or forces her to reciprocate them. He displays unconditional love and respect for her and never gets angry at her for her shortcomings.

Although Yoon Sae Bom takes a long time to realize her true feelings for Yi Hyun, even before then, her actions reveal how much she cares about him. During life-or-death situations, they never doubt each other's intentions and always stand by each other's decisions.

Even without much physical affection show, their mutual love for each other runs deep. Watching their relationship progress was a slow-burn development that makes you want to root for a lifetime of happiness for them.

Clash of the Classes

Like most countries, South Korea is a deeply hierarchical society. These stark class distinctions and inequality get highlighted through the visible division between the apartment complex's residents. The more affluent homeowners live on the building's upper levels and have full access to all the amenities. Many of these wealthy residents also openly discriminate against the renters and tenants who live on the lower levels, even going so far as to restrict their access to certain amenities, such as the gym.

Seeing Yoon Sae Bom fake a marriage to Jung Yi Hyun to secure her spot in the apartment was unsettling but sadly reflective of society today. With home prices rapidly rising, many young people have been priced out of the housing market in recent years. Coupled with rising interest rates and unemployment levels, Millennials and Gen Zers struggle to build wealth at the same rate as previous generations.

Analyzing Human Psychology

In many ways, Happiness closely mirrored the state of people's psychology and behaviors during the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic brought about a lot of unprecedented change in the world and exposed everyone to the same virus regardless of social class or status - giving us a rare glimpse into how different people react when threatened.

As the virus spread around the world, many people were scared and skeptical. Major milestones in people's lives were postponed or canceled, including weddings, graduations, reunions, etc. Across the globe, many people's finances and mental and physical health were devasted.

While some people dealt with the pandemic by hunkering down at home, others were fighting over toilet paper and hoarding all sorts of supplies for emergencies. Yet, at the same time, many people came forward to help each other overcome the crisis together.

We see similar scenarios play out in Happiness as people deal with uncertainty, panic, and fear. As Sae Bom and Yi Hyun try their best to lead a coordinated effort with the apartment's residents to maintain peace and survive together, some individuals have more sinister motives. In particular, residents like doctor Oh Joo Hyeong (Baek Hyun Jin), apartment representative Oh Yeon Ok (Bae Hae Seon), and civil rights attorney Gook Hae Sung (Park Hyung Soo) find joy in sabotaging and taking advantage of other people.

How Far Will You Go to Survive?

Until we get pushed to our breaking points and faced with disaster, it's hard to know the type of person we really are. As the story progresses, everyone's true faces gradually get revealed. During times of heightened paranoia and distrust, the fake fronts they put on for others dissipate.

Characters who have always been selfish deep down unveil their intentions in disturbing ways. Characters like Joo Hyeong and Hae Sung sacrifice others without hesitation to survive in their single-minded pursuit to save themselves. Meanwhile, opportunistic individuals like cleaners Ji Moon Hee (Lee Ji Ha) and Go Se Gyu (Kim Young Woong) try to steal from the rich during the chaos and claw their way out of poverty.

Others like the penthouse resident attempt to ride out the crisis alone, only to find themselves dealing with jealous and predatory neighbors knocking at their doorstep. With nowhere to hide, everyone's true colors come out, and we see how ugly and greedy people can become.

Finding Happiness

The crux of the show closely follows the saying, "you reap what you sow." Every character has a unique definition of happiness looks like and that leads to different endings for everyone. Some find joy in others' demise. Some seek fame, money, and status, while others want control and power over those around them. Characters who are greedy, selfish, and deceitful are met with demise as they go down a path of destruction and misery.

While the virus causes people to crave human blood, at the end of the day, people who give in to these desires are the real monsters. When they attack others to quench their thirst, they make a conscious decision to take away someone else's life.

During desperate times, if you choose the harder route and stick to your values, you can eventually find happiness that lasts. The handful of residents who stay true to themselves and work together for the good of the community earn their happy ending, including Sae Bom and Yi Hyun.

Sae Bom and Yi Hyun entered the complex as a fake couple to secure a house together, a symbol of conventional success and happiness. But, they find true happiness in the end by staying together and doing right by others and each other no matter how dire the circumstances got.

The show reminds us that true happiness is not about what we possess or where we live, but about having our loved ones by our side through the good and bad times. If we stick to our principles and fight with our loved ones, we can increase our likelihood of survival and be closer to finding happiness.

Final Thoughts

While the message behind Happiness is quite simple, watching how different people react when pushed to their breaking point was intriguing and eye-opening. Even with the zombie apocalypse at the forefront, the drama wasn't excessively pessimistic in tone. There was always hope that some people would act selflessly and choose to do the right thing even if the right thing is scary and intimidating.

Although the show is not perfect, I recommend giving Happiness a shot if you are interested in a thriller focused on human psychology and how different versions of happiness look like.