"Battle for Happiness" Kdrama Review: It's Underrated, I Do Recommend

“Battle for Happiness” Kdrama hits in the feels. It is about the personal problems and relationships of the characters. The story has many surprises that genuinely make me want to watch more. It isn't a normal drama, but something different and exciting.

The characters

I admire how Na Yeong threw out that unfaithful husband after collecting solid proof of him being a habitual cheating trash.

They're multi-faceted, each with unique emotional landscapes. Let's see the main lead Min Ho; I don’t like her much. She repeatedly runs around asking people (aka "suspect") stupid questions when she has a USB with everyone’s secrets. She could give it to the police if she doesn’t want to see it. She wants to do the right thing and find out about her family, but she doesn’t do it well.

Min Ho doesn't fail to frustrate me.

Else, Jung-ah works her ass off and tried to succeed but the men in her life are awful. I know she’s not flawless, but I sympathize with her. I’m glad her weak husband returned the money but trust is ruined. The problem for him is that she stands up for him to other people, but never to him. She treats him the same way her brothers do — like a doormat. If she backed him up and treated him nicely, he’d have enough self-esteem to disregard everyone else because he knows he has his wife. Without that, he has an inferiority complex. He starts to like Yu Jin just because of the nice gesture of not blackmailing him. I wonder if his story will end well. Jung-ah saved the divorce claim for a rainy day; cheating with Yu Jin might be too much for her.

That's why insecure men are red flags to me.

At least Jung-ah knows she's not a good person. Hwang Ji-ye pisses me off because she acts nice when she’s evil inside.

Some may think Yu Jin is the worst character of all. She had a hard life, but that doesn’t excuse her actions. She is evil and selfish. She didn’t care about doing the right thing; she only cared about gaining from the wrong thing. She saw their wickedness as a chance to use them for her benefit. Yu Jin was aware of how bad her husband was, and she accepted it as long as it suited her. Only when he harmed her daughter did she feel the impact, and even then, it was more about herself than her child. 

See what Yu Jin told Jung-ah's husband after they kissed.

Further, the characters don’t get along well with each other. They fight for their interests and don’t care about others. They lie, cheat, and hurt each other. It's safe to say that they don’t look for happiness but for survival.

The story

"Happiness Battle" has many shocking parts. One of them is when Yu Jin's husband does something terrible to his stepdaughter. It breaks their family and makes things worse. It is an unexpected and gut-wrenching twist in the plot.

The story has many other twists that make it interesting. It seems the writers wanted to surprise us as much as possible. Every episode made me feel curious, nervous, and excited for the next one. I also enjoy the added bits of romance that help calm the mood when Miho is acting foolishly and it seems someone is in danger”

The acting

Hyu Han is so good in this role as a freak.

The casting of this show (including Lee Kyu Han as Yu Jin's husband, Cha Ye Ryun as Na Yeong, and Jin Seo Yeon as Jung-ah) is well done. Lee El (as Min Ho) is also relatively good in scenes with her nieces. The guy who plays her junior colleague has a good role, but I hope they give him more screen time and significance in her life, instead of just using him as a filler who appears briefly.

The style

The show reminds me of "Green Mothers’ Club", another Kdrama with a similar style but with more use of social media.

Final thoughts

“Battle for Happiness” kept me hooked with its suspense and drama. It cleverly shows the dark side of human relationships. Every episode made me want to watch more. The plot is unpredictable and the acting is great. It deserves to win awards. If you like thrillers, mysteries, or suspenseful shows, you should watch it.

If you know of any other dramas like this one, please let me know~~. Many thanks with love~~