Here is the kdrama “Happiness” ending explained [episode 12].
For the record, tvN has stated that “Happiness” is not happening and the drama will end with only one season.
Related: Park Hyung Sik And Han Hyo Joo Share Never-Seen-Before Photos And Thank Fans After “Happiness” Finale
“Happiness” finale recap [episode 12]
Does Yi Hyun die?
No, he doesn’t. He gets infected and bites Andrew but he tries his best to resist his urges and eventually, he’s saved.
Does Sae Bom go back to rescue Yi Hyun?
Yes, she does go back with the help of Han Tae Seok who manages to help her escape the place before the police show up. She goes back to rescue him and find out he’s still alive.
Did Sae Bom save humanity with her antibodies?
No, she’s not the one who saved them, it was the brother of Na Hyun-Kyung. He has the antibodies.
Did Sae Bom save Yi Hyun?
Yes, they both save each other.
When Sae Bom goes back for him she finds out he’s still alive, she goes to see him in the apartment and finds him trying to resist turning into a monster. She comes near him and assures him he’s going to be fine with her.
He lifts up his head and sees her, she gives him a kiss, they both kiss and hug each other.
Does Han Tae-Seok’s wife survive?
Yes, he gives her Sae Bom’s antibodies, and its hinted that she survives.
What happens to Han Tae-Seok? Does he get arrested for helping Sae Bom escape?
He does get arrested after administrating the antibodies to his wife while Sae Bom escaped, his superior shows up and arrests him but before that, we find out that Tae Seok talked to the lawyer’s wife and found out there is a man who has antibodies. He gets full authority to get him.
What happens to Seo Yeon? Does she get reunited with her family?
It is hinted that she reunites with her family. She gets surgery and despite the fact that her mother is having difficulty resisting the urge to change, before Sae Bom escapes the facility, she administrates antibodies Tae Seok had given her as a present.
What happens to Oh Yeon-Ok (#1202)?
She goes crazy. After she sees that Yi Hyun turned into a zombie, she doesn’t kill him but she tries to take the gun from Andrew’s body, he holds her hand but she then smashes his face with a baseball bat.
After that, she goes crazy. She keeps insisting they killed her husband and wants to kill Yi Hyun. So she convinces Dr. Oh to do that but she fails. Eventually, She gets arrested and trialed.
Does Dr. Oh Joo-Hyeong (#601) die?
No, he doesn’t. But he gets arrested along with Mrs. Oh and they both end up going to trial for their crimes.
Did the police catch the serial killer Andrew?
No, they don’t. Towards the ending, Yi Hyun goes outside with Sae Bom after reuniting, they find Kim Se-Hun’s body and want to transport him back to his apartment.
When Yi Hyun opens it, he sees Andrew with a gun, after a fight they have, Yi Hyun gets shot and Sae Bom ends up shooting herself drawing blood, Andrew cannot resist and turns into a zombie. Yi Hyun shoots him dead in the face.
Does South Korea return to normal after the zombie outbreak?
Yes, the drama fast-forwards to 1 year later and everything is back to normal.
Did Yi Hyun and Sae Bom end up dating and getting married for real?
Yes, they end up dating for real and stay together.
“Happiness” Ending explained
So basically, we find out that Han Tae Seok has gotten the situation under control and that the government was still trying to find antibodies when things at the apartment complex were getting worse.
The situation was never THAT bad but they’d quarantine certain blocks or apartment complexes while searching for a cure, this was demonstrated when Sae Bom left the apartment.
When Han Tae Seok goes back to the apartment complex, he brings a lot of military personals with him to basically round up everyone in the apartment complex, quarantine who needs to be quarantined, and arrest those who need to be arrested.
The older brother of Na Hyun-Kyung has the antibodies and it is also hinted that the old grandma from the old couple apartment also had it under control which hints at the likelihood that multiple people antibodies likely saved South Korea and helped develop a vaccine where becoming a zombie is something that can be cured and taken care of. When the drama jumps a year later, it signals that everything went back to normal.
When Sae Bom goes back to the complex, she talks to the walkie-talkie and say she didn’t realize how much he’s meant to her until now.
In regards to Sae Bom and Yi Hyun’s future, while the drama doesn’t say much, they end up together still in that apartment complex a year after the outbreak which means they’re still together either happily dating or married. What matters is, they’re together living in that apartment and in love. Sae Bom asks Yi Hyun when he fell for her and he says it’s been since their high school days.
“Happiness” Episode 12- Review
Wow! That was an intense ride, for sure.
Screenwriter Han Sang-Woon truly did well. This was such a refreshing take on the zombie genre, the dude pulled off something that almost seemed impossible.
The zombie genre has been around for a while and it has also been stale for a while now but this one was a fresh take and an engaging one. I like the script and for many reasons, for some of the thing he’s done and some of the things he’s refrained from getting into. The best decision was the fact that he limited his view to those of the apartment. He didn’t bite more than he could chew.
Also, that was such an unexpected happy ending, I am glad he ended it that way otherwise the fans would’ve been furious. I wouldn’t mind a sad ending but I am happy it ended well like that. In certain ways, it was not as climatic as I expected it and in other ways, it was the best type of ending for such a setting.
I am so glad this drama wasn’t longer and won’t have season two, I enjoyed it so much but I’d much rather a well-written short drama than a stretched-out drama just for the sake of it.
What did you think of Happiness ending?
Now I know why Park Hyun Sik decided to be in this drama – he wanted to play zombie at least once in his life :))).
On a more serious note – this drama is the one which happens “behind close doors” as they say. Almost all actions happen in one place, on one stage, like in a theatre. It’s not easy, because in a theatre you only sit for 2 hours – here it lasts 12 episodes, all happening in the same place (apartments), with the same decorations, etc. So to make only 12 episodes was the right decision, and they did their best to keep the intensity until the end.
Due to the new twists in plot every time, well-made zombie scenes and bloody scenes and whatnot. And of course, the development of the characters – tenants of the apartments. We find more and more about each of them, they all have skeletons in their closets, secrets, they are all not what they seem.
So, well done for not letting the drama become boring.
Overall, after the ending I feel very satisfied. With everything – main leads relationship, who and how got the punishment they deserved, who and how was saved, etc. I don’t know exactly why, but you feel very satisfied after the conclusion of the drama. It did not feel like that at the beginning, but it is actually a very positive zombie drama ! ))
The only thing I still didn’t digest is the contract marriage. But I understand that the writers needed an excuse to bring both leads under the same roof, in one apartment, where all happened, without making them being too close (because they could also make the story with a real married couple, not a fake one) in order to keep the suspense as far as their feelings are concerned until the end.
Kudos to everyone who worked on Happiness. Han Hyo Joo and Park Hyun Sik did a very good job. I feel that I will miss this drama.
I guess the only true lesson of the series is that the real “Happiness” is when everybody is finally healthy, isn’t?