How ‘Happiness’ Parallels Netflix’s ‘Sweet Home’ Apocalyptic K-Drama
When it comes to Korean dramas, many storylines mimic each other as they use often seen tropes. The new K-drama by tvN, Happiness, has similarities to another popular Netflix drama starring actor Song Kang. Both Sweet Home and Happiness center around a viral outbreak that turns everyday citizens into heinous monsters. While there are some key differences in storylines, both K-dramas will enthrall fans in the same way and are perfect for watching together if looking for a riveting thriller.
Netflix’s ‘Sweet Home’ is about humans turning into monsters like in ‘Happiness’
Park Hyung-sik’s K-drama Happiness is about the main characters dealing with a new outbreak in the aftermath of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Episode 1 of the K-drama introduces a detective, and a special forces officer entangled in a mystery as people turn into blood-thirsty monsters. The cause of the outbreak was a failed pharmaceutical drug. The drug was distributed through local drug dealers, but there is a bigger conspiracy.
Sweet Home follows a similar storyline. Overnight the residents of an apartment building learn the outside world has descended into chaos. People turn into grotesque monsters created from their inner desires. Unlike Happiness, the cause of the outbreak is not 100% clear. The K-drama alludes to the government might be behind it and is connected to one of the main characters.
‘Happiness’ and ‘Sweet Home’ both have building tenants trapped from the outside world
Netflix’s Sweet Home occurs in one central location. The Green Home residents are comprised of distinct individuals with their own stories to tell. As the residents begin their day, they find the building blocked off and can not leave. Outside, the world has spiraled into chaos, and the only way to survive is to stay indoors until help arrives. But, the residents have to be wary of each other as anyone can become a monster.
In Happiness, Yoon Sae-bom (Han Hyo-joo) and Jung Ji-hyun (Park) move into a new building divided between renters and owners. Lieutenant colonel Han Tae-seok (Jo Woo-jin) discovers the outbreak started at the building. He quarantines the entire residential sector. Like Sweet Home, each character plays a bigger role, and the possibility of infection is high.
“Happiness uses each personality type to comment on human selfishness and the lawlessness that results when societal rules are no longer useful,” according to Soompi. Sweet Home also entails the tenants creating a superiority complex to survive.
The Netflix and tvN K-drama have a main character with unique abilities
The webtoon-based K-drama Sweet Home centers around Cha Hyun-soo (Song). He is a troubled teen who loses his family and moves into Green Home. As he and the other tenants face an apocalyptic event, he shows signs of turning into a monster. He exhibits the same black eyes and nose bleed. But Hyun-soo clings to his humanity and possesses the same superhuman abilities. In the scope of the K-drama’s storyline, Hyun-soo might be the answer to the chaos.
Sae-bom gets scratched by an infected soldier in Happiness. She is taken for observation and tests negative. In the K-drama, she never exhibits signs of turning like the others. As the K-drama progresses, fans learn she holds a special anti-body that could cure the new viral outbreak. Sae-bom also has heightened abilities when a potent tranquilizer does not affect her.
