HAPPINESS: FULL STORY, TRAILER,VIDEO, CAST

Happiness (Korean: 해피니스; RR: Haepiniseu) is a South Korean television series starring Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik, and Jo Woo-jin.

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DIRECTOR– Ahn Gil-ho

WRITTEN BY– Han Sang-woon

EPISODE– 12

RUNNING TIME– 70 MINUTES

GENRE– Thriller

LANGUAGE– Korea

RELEASE DATE– Nov. 5 – Dec.10 2021

COUNTRY– SOUTH KOREA

NETWORK– tvN

OFFICIAL TRAILER

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO ON NETFLIX

FULL STORY

Happiness takes place in the near future, where the release of a failed pneumonia treatment drug “Next” has caused a worldwide pandemic known as the Rita Virus, a.k.a “mad person disease”. Those infected by Rita experience short bouts of insanity and bloodlust, before completely regressing into a zombie-like state.

The South Korean Military and Police forces are trying to contain the spread of Rita and Next through extensive investigation and authoritative quarantine measures, while civil rights groups protest against them, believing the infected are still capable of normal human interaction.

Yoon Sae-bom encounters a trainee at the Special Operations Unit who is affected by mad person disease. In the struggle to subdue the trainee, she is scratched in the process, leading her to meet Han Tae-seok at a research facility. The facility houses many of the “patients” where they are kept under observation in order to understand and cure the disease.

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It is revealed that the symptoms of mad person disease is first accompanied with unabated thirst, followed by the pupil turning white, and then the biting of human necks. The disease is not airborne, but spreads through scratches and bites, with Yoon Sae-bom seemingly immune to the disease. Some of those who contracted the disease are ultimately able to return to their former selves temporarily.

Yoon Sae-bom makes a deal with Han Tae-seok which leads her to secure an apartment in a newly constructed building, however in order to do so, she must be married. She asks her high school friend Jung Yi-hyun, a former star baseball player but now a police detective, and he agrees to be her fake husband.

The building is luxurious and highly stratified, with the public rentals consisting of the lower five floors, and the upper floors for those who own their apartment. Class discrimination is evident where the upper floor resident Oh Yeon-ok struggles to be the apartment representative while keeping everyone in check. Yoon Sae-bom meets many interesting and strange residents, forming a close attachment to her neighbor’s young daughter.

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Through Jung Yi-hyun’s detective work, he encounters a diseased person who he believes became this way due to a failed pneumonia drug called Next, that has been widely circulated in order to promote attentiveness and strength.

This assumption is later confirmed when a resident member who consumed the drug, secretly sold to her in the building’s gym, ultimately became infected with the mad person disease and succumbed to the illness. This begins the outbreak in the building.

In an effort to protect the residents in his building, Jung Yi-hyun and Yoon Sae-bom establishes quarantine rules, while securing the building from the outside with the help of his Captain, Kim Jung-guk. Jung Yi-hyun conflicts with building resident Oh Joo-hyung who seems to encourage destructive behavior in the building. The question of humanity and whether to view those infected with mad person disease as human beings forms a psychological battle for Sae-bom, Yi-hyun and Tae-seok.

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Han Tae-seok initially tries to keep the mad person disease a secret, but with more cases progressing and people getting panicked, it is revealed to the public. With the increasing number of people getting infected, Han Tae-seok along with his military team are struggling to determine whether to preserve these people, or to kill them off.

Han Tae-seok ordered the complete quarantine of the new building complex where Yoon Sae-bom and Jung Yi-hyun lives, offering them a chance to leave the building before it becomes completely sealed to anyone going in or out of the complex area, however they decline the offer. Yoon Sae-bom’s blood contains antibodies that could hold the cure for the disease, which Han Tae-seok seeks to exploit.

It is revealed that Han Tae-seok’s pregnant wife was bitten by the president of the pharmaceutical company that supplied Next, and ultimately became infected with the disease. His search for the cure is in part motivated to find a cure for his wife and to save his unborn child.

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MAIN CAST

Han Hyo-joo as Yoon Sae-bom

A member of a Special Operation Unit police squad (KP-SOU) formerly known as KP-SWAT. She is decisive, determined, smart, and does not easily get rattled. She is excited to move into her new apartment, but as soon as moves there she faces a crisis.

Park Hyung-sik as Jung Yi-hyun

A smart and honest detective who, for a long time, has held romantic feelings for Sae-bom. They graduated from the same high school. He struggles to protect Sae-bom and other people.

Jo Woo-jin as Han Tae-seok

A lieutenant colonel and belongs to the health service command. He holds a key to the infectious disease outbreak.

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Supporting cast

People around Jung Yi-hyun

Seo Hyun-chul as Yi-hyun’s father
Jung Jae-eun as Yi-hyun’s mother
Lee Jun-hyeok as Kim Jung-guk, Yi-hyun’s supervisor

Extended cast

Baek Hyun-jin as Oh Joo-hyung, a dermatologist
Han Da-sol as Bo-ram, a mart employee
Lee Ji-ha as Jo Ji-hee
Moon Ye-won as Woo Sang-hee, a dermatologist
Park Hee-von as Na Hyun-kyung, a romance web novelist
Park Hyung-soo as Kook Hae-seong, a lawyer
Park Joo-hee as Ji-soo, a lieutenant
Kim Young-woong as Go Se-kyu
Na-cheol as Na Soo-min, as Na Hyun-kyung’s brother
Cha Soon-bae as Seon Woo-chang, a pastor
Yoo Ji-yeon as Colonel Han Tae Seok’s wife
Lee Joo-seung as Andrew, cleaning company employee
Han Joon-woo as Kim Se-hoon, an intellectual who lives around the world with his diplomat parents
Kang Han-sam as BJ Kim Dong-hyun
Bae Hae-sun as Oh Yeon-ok
Hong Soon-chang as Kim Hak-je
Lee Joo-sil as Ji Sung-sil
Jeong Woon-seon as Shin So-yoon
Joo Jong-hyuk as Kim Seung-beom
Song Ji-woo as Park Seo-yoon