Present at the recent drama presentation of Happiness were lead actors Han Hyo Joo, Park Hyung Sik and Jo Woo Jin.
Boasting pleasant chemistry, the lead stars share stories and insights about their latest series.
Billed as a “new normal” city thriller, Happiness takes place in a time when infectious diseases are the new normal. In a newly constructed apartment where the higher floors are for sale and the lower floors are rented out, the series depicts the subtle psychological battle and the class discrimination that occurs.
Police officer Yoon Sae-bom (Han Hyo-joo) and her high school classmate Jung Yi-hyun (Park Hyung-sik) are also trapped in the apartment, fighting for survival as fear and distrust spreads amongst its residents.
Director Ahn Gil Ho, who directed Record of Youth, WATCHER, Memories of the Alhambra, and Stranger collaborates with writer Han Sang Woon, who penned WATCHER and The Good Wife.
PD Ahn discloses that Happiness aims to shed light on how conflicts and selfishness of people during extreme situations can be taken as rabies that might spread in the near future.
“Happiness delves on the process of finding the happiness that people have in an isolated situation when they pursue different happiness. The most important thing to me was the virtual environment. I thought a lot that it would be good if the things that were done in the movie came closer. Hence, I prepared it so that it could be felt realistically in the most Korean and familiar space.”
- “Happiness” Hints At “New Normal Life” That Han Hyo Joo, Park Hyung Sik & Jo Woo Jin Have To Survive
Bright First Impressions
Interestingly, it’s the first time for all the main leads to work with each other. Referring to Han’s exceptional focus, Jo also mentions that “despite the tricky script, Han is able to immediately recall her line even when she forgets for a second.” Likewise, he was also surprised by how charming and lively Park Hyung Sik is.
“Park seems to have returned from a vitamin factory rather than the military. He’s like a vitamin who brings energy to those around him.”
Returning the warm words to his senior actor, Park Hyung Sik was grateful for the talks they had. Similarly, he also praised Han Hyo Joo for being attentive and considerate.
“I thought she was goddess-like on television, but she’s really down-to-earth in real life, and now she’s like a close sister of mine.”
Making her small-screen return, Han Hyo Joo beamingly mentioned how chatting was non-stop when she first met Jo Woo Jin. Despite having a lot of lines, the energy on the set helped a lot while filming.
Agreeing to how Park Hyung Sik came straight from a vitamin factory, she fondly reckoned his contagious positive energy.
Lead Stars Talk About Their Characters
Suiting up to the role of a special forces agent for the first time, Han Hyo Joo studied to understand the profession. Expected to engage with action scenes, Han did thorough research and trained her combat skills, practicing her shooting at a firing range.
“I didn’t have to specially act in character, as that’s how I naturally am.”
Relaying her similarity to her latest character, Han confessed to not overthinking her role, thereby leading to her acting naturally and comfortably.
“It felt like a gift that a character came to me, so I thought it was fate. I can show without decorating my personality and myself at my age. It was so much fun, and I liked the people I met wearing the character Yoon Sae-bom.”
Park Hyung Sik, who chose Happiness as his post-military project remarked the fun and well-done filming helped him adjust easily. He plays a baseball-player-turned-police-officer and is proud that his health and fitness are at optimal conditions. Aiming to show a new side of himself through Yi-hyun, he describes it as an engrossing character.
“I’ve been making the effort to maintain my figure after being discharged, as both the baseball player and police officer role require a good physique. As this was my first time being on-set in a long while, I was a little rusty with the camera angles, and even got teased by the director. But the good filming ambience allowed me to immerse myself in the character swiftly.”
When asked about what they would do if they were caught in a similar situation as their characters, who were trapped in the building due to an infectious disease, Han remarked that she would make the same choice as Sae-bom, opting to play on the offense, while Park confessed that he would “likely escape first!”
Taking the role of a lieutenant colonel in the Medical Command, Jo Woo Jin divulged catchy details about his character. “Han Tae-seok knows exactly the cause and how to solve the situation, but he is troubled between the public interest and the private interest,” he said.
Starting November 6th, new episodes of Happiness will be available on the iQiyi International app or iQ.com at 12:00 p.m (SGT) every Saturday and Sunday.
PR Source: iQiyi
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