Happiness (South Korean TV series)
A sleeper hit zombie thriller set in a pandemic-stricken near future.
Happiness (Korean: 해피니스) is a 2021 South Korean television series produced by Studio Dragon, starring Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik, and Jo Woo-jin. Set in a near-future where infectious diseases are routine, the apocalyptic thriller follows a failed drug called "Next" that triggers a pandemic known as the Lytta Virus, or "mad person disease." Infected individuals experience bouts of insanity and bloodlust before turning into a zombie-like state, while authorities and civil rights groups clash over how to handle them.
The story begins when police officer Yoon Sae-bom is scratched by an infected trainee, leading her to meet Lieutenant Colonel Han Tae-seok at a research facility. Sae-bom, seemingly immune, makes a deal with Tae-seok to secure an apartment in a new building, but must be married to do so. She asks her high school friend, detective Jung Yi-hyun, to enter a contract marriage. The building is stratified by class, with public rentals on lower floors and private owners above. As Yi-hyun investigates, he discovers the disease stems from the drug Next, which was secretly sold in the building's gym. An outbreak erupts, and Sae-bom and Yi-hyun establish quarantine rules while clashing with resident Oh Joo-hyung, who encourages destructive behavior. Tae-seok initially hides the outbreak but eventually orders the building sealed; Sae-bom and Yi-hyun refuse to leave. It is revealed that Sae-bom’s blood contains antibodies that could hold a cure, and Tae-seok seeks it partly to save his infected pregnant wife.
The series aired on tvN every Friday and Saturday at 22:40 (KST) from November 5 to December 11, 2021. It is available for streaming on Viki, Viu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Max, and iQIYI in selected territories. Though its initial ratings were modest, Happiness became a sleeper hit after its global streaming release in April 2022, rising to number seven on Netflix’s Weekly Global Top 10 for non-English TV shows, thanks to word of mouth and praise for the leads’ chemistry and zombie genre execution. Han Hyo-joo was nominated for Best Leading Actress and won the Popular Star Award at the 2022 Blue Dragon Series Awards. A spin-off webtoon of the same title was serialized on Naver Webtoon from November 12, 2021, to May 27, 2022.
The main cast includes Han Hyo-joo as Yoon Sae-bom, a special operations police squad member; Park Hyung-sik as Jung Yi-hyun
- type
- Television series
- country
- South Korea
- network
- tvN
- original_run
- November 5 to December 11, 2021
- genre
- Apocalyptic thriller
- director
- Ahn Gil-ho
- writer
- Han Sang-woon
Lore & Background
Happiness is set in the near future, where a failed treatment drug called 'Next' has caused a worldwide pandemic known as the Lytta Virus, or 'mad person disease'. Those infected experience bouts of insanity and bloodlust before regressing into a zombie-like state. The South Korean military and police try to contain the spread through quarantine measures, while civil rights groups protest, believing the infected can still interact normally. The story follows Yoon Sae-bom, a police squad member who is scratched by an infected trainee and appears immune to the disease. She enters a contract marriage with her high school friend Jung Yi-hyun, a detective, to secure an apartment in a newly constructed building. The building is stratified by class, with public rentals on lower floors and private owners above. An outbreak begins when a resident consumes the drug Next, sold secretly in the building's gym. Yoon Sae-bom and Jung Yi-hyun establish quarantine rules to protect residents, while conflicting with building resident Oh Joo-hyung, who encourages destructive behavior. Lieutenant Colonel Han Tae-seok, who holds a key to the outbreak, initially tries to keep the disease secret but eventually orders the building quarantined. Yoon Sae-bom's blood contains antibodies that could hold a cure, which Han Tae-seok seeks to exploit, partly to save his infected pregnant wife.
Reader's Guide
Happiness achieved respectable but modest ratings during its original broadcast on tvN. However, after its global release on streaming platforms in April 2022, it became a sleeper hit, rising to number seven on the Netflix Weekly Global Top 10 in non-English TV shows. The series was praised for the chemistry between leads Han Hyo-joo and Park Hyung-sik, and its execution of the zombie genre. Han Hyo-joo was nominated for Best Leading Actress and won the Popular Star Award at the 2022 Blue Dragon Series Awards. A spin-off webtoon of the same title was serialized on Naver Webtoon from November 12, 2021, to May 27, 2022. The series was also acquired by ABS-CBN for broadcast in the Philippines in 2025. Its significance lies in its global reach and the way it revitalized interest in the zombie genre through a class-conscious, character-driven narrative.
Did You Know?
- The series is the first acting project of Park Hyung-sik after his military discharge on January 4, 2021.
- A spin-off webtoon of the same title was serialized on Naver Webtoon from November 12, 2021, to May 27, 2022.
- Han Hyo-joo won the Popular Star Award at the 2022 Blue Dragon Series Awards for her role.
- The series rose to number seven on the Netflix Weekly Global Top 10 in non-English TV shows after its global release in April 2022.
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