Yi-hyeon (played by Park Hyung-sik) was once a rising baseball star. An injury in high school cuts that ambition short. Yi-hyeon, feeling more spiteful than depressed, sits atop the school building in a pose that makes it looks like he wants to jump- although that isn’t his intent. Class can’t end as long as Yi-hyeon is making a scene, so Yi-hyeon’s strong-willed classmate Sae-bom (played by Han Hyo-joo) pushes her way to the top and talks Yi-hyeon out of the standoff so they can all go home. Twelve years later, both classmates work for the police.
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“Happiness – Drama” mixes a lot of genres- but in a good way. So good, I’m not actually sure which one is supposed to be the most important. On one end there’s the obvious romance between Yi-hyeon and Sae-bom. Yi-hyeon clearly likes how Sae-bom talks back to him, and even be kind of domineering, while their relationship remains at arm’s length. Sae-bom is very dependable and aggressive, which makes her partner well with Yi-hyeon’s cooler head.
Then, just as we’ve seen Yi-hyeon and Sae-bom’s repartee in the present day, we’re almost immediately treated to an ambiguous economic backdrop. Apparently the rent in their town is just too high, so as co-workers often do, we see various police officers discussing a housing program they qualify for based on some kind of points system. Sae-bom, though weirdly disinterested in romance, is extremely fascinated by the quality housing program on offer.
And then, once this exposition is out of the way, we get zombies. Probably not the kind you’re used to. In “Happiness – Drama” the disease functions more like rabies. Perhaps most interestingly, the symptoms aren’t permanent. Afflicted victims regain their lucidity over time, with new onsets prefaced by extreme thirst. We’re introduced to two theories of how the disease spreads, either through penetration of the skin or drug use, and by the end of the first episode it’s ambiguous which theory, if either, is correct.
Yet our main characters have already mostly forgotten about the issue, figuring it’s actually the job of special officer Tae-seok (played by Jo Woo-jin). It’s not clear whether Tae-seok is untrustworthy or just overly tight-lipped due to his military training. There’s a weird sort of speculative class consciousness in “Happiness – Drama” as the characters, though skeptical of the government post-COVID, mostly trust that public health officials know what they’re doing. Whether they actually do remains, appropriately enough, quite unclear.
Review by William Schwartz
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“Happiness – Drama” is directed by Ahn Gil-ho, written by Han Sang-woon, and features Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik, Jo Woo-jin, Kang Ji-eun-I, Lee Joon-hyuk-I, Park Joo-hee. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/11/05~Now airing, Fri, Sat 22:40 on tvN.
[HanCinema’s Drama Review] “Happiness – Drama” Episode 1 (2021/11/07)
Source: Laban Lang Philippines
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