By Rachell Carbajal
With the first episode of Sweet Home released on December 18th, 2020, Netflix’s drama/horror post-apocalyptic series, Sweet Home is an adaptation of the webtoon, “Sweet Home” by Kim Carnby and Hwang Young-Chan. The webtoon was created on October 12, 2017, with over 140 chapters and one prologue. The webtoon has over 2.1 billion net views (still counting) and decided that they would make a Netflix Series of this hugely known webtoon. When the Netflix series finally kicked off, the series had over 22 million views in the first four weeks of the release, and appeared in the top 10 shows in over 70 countries on Netflix.
The Netflix series has ten episodes, each one being roughly 40 minutes-1 hour long. This series slowly, but surely has one of the best storytelling and pacing I’ve ever watched. Unfortunately, many details from the webtoon were excluded from the Netflix series. The filming process started in September 2019, and ended in February 2020, the set being over 11,500 square feet, for most of where they filmed the series.
The synopsis of Sweet Home; “After an unexpected family tragedy, Cha Hyun-soo decided to leave his home and move into an apartment. Soon after, monsters begin trying to wipe out humanity. People inside the apartment are trapped inside the building as they realize that monsters are lurking everywhere outside. Hyun-soo and other residents shield themselves inside the building in hopes of surviving as long as they can. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Home_(TV_series)). Soon after, Cha-Hyun Soo (protagonist of Sweet Home) and the rest of the people in the apartment complex hide on the first floor,
I might be biased, but Sweet Home is one of the best Netflix Series/Webtoon i’ve ever watched and read. Starting off, with the setting: 10/10, since this is a Korean drama, it takes place in South Korea, but I think it’s so good how the setting was mostly based on the small apartment complex and the area outside of the complex. It really makes it feel like all the characters are trapped and trying to survive. Next, plot: 8/10, I’ve been a fan of the webtoon for a while so when I heard the series was going to come out, I was super excited to watch the whole show! But many viewers (including myself) were disappointed to see that the series didn’t include some parts of the webtoon and added things that were never in the webtoon. Some characters and scenes were completely excluded from the series or changed so much. Although I was a little disappointed by the switch up of the characters and sometimes certain scenes, the story telling and pacing of the series gets a 10/10. Nothing in the series is ever boring, it is engaging and gives you a glimpse of the ending of the series.As for the visuals and CGI, I give them both a 10/10 once again. It has absolutely incredible visuals and CGI, the monsters are fiction, but they looked so real at times in the series, especially the fighting scenes with the monsters. For the dialogue, it was great, but at times I really wished there was more dialogue between the characters, especially toward the end of the series.
Lastly here is my episode ranking and character ranking of the Netflix Series, Sweet Home.
Episode Rankings:
Episode 8
Episode 4
Episode 10
Episode 5
Episode 3
Episode 7
Episode 9
Episode 6
Episode 1
Episode 2
Character Rankings:
There are many characters in Sweet Home, but the main ten characters are; Cha Hyun-soo, Pyeon Sang-wook, Seo Yi-kyung, Lee Eun-hyuk, Jung Jae-heon, Lee Eun-yoo, Yoon Ji-soo, Park Yoo-ri Ahn Gil-seob, and Han Du-sik. Here’s my ranking for the main cast of Sweet Home:
Jung Jae-heon; A Korean Language teacher and a devout Christian who lived in 1506. He has a keepsake jingum, a Korean martial arts sword, to defend himself and protect others. He saves Yoon Jisoo and sticks around her. In the show, Jae-heon and Ji-soo are romantically interested in one another.
Yoon Ji-soo; A bass guitarist who moves into 1510 in Green Home after her boyfriend’s suicide. She was saved by Jae-heon and became attached to him.. Unlike the webtoon, she is a recurring character rather than a main one.
Cha Hyun-soo; A suicidal high school student who moves into 1410 in Green Home after his family is killed in a car accident. He finds himself caught in the middle of an apocalypse, he later gains the powers of the infected after merging with the beast inside him and becoming a superpowered being.
Lee Eun-hyuk: Eun-yu’s older brother, a medical student. He is the leader of the building’s survivors. He handles everything with a calm mind and rational decision-making, causing the others to regard him as remote and cold hearted.
Pyeon Sang-wook: Mysterious man with a scar on his face. He punishes evil with evil and is mistaken for a gangster. He has enhanced physical strength.
Han Du-sik: Living in 1408. He is the neighbor of Cha Hyun Soo, a middle-aged man bound to a wheelchair and a former military man. He is talented at making weapons.
Ahn Gil-seob: A terminally-ill patient living with his caregiver Park Yoo-ri.
Park Yoo-ri: A senior caregiver who appears to have some training as a medical care professional. She is asthmatic.
Lee Eun-yoo: Eun-hyuk’s younger sister and a former ballerina who quit due to an injury on her foot. She lives with her brother.
Seo Yi-kyung: a former firefighter whose fiancé disappeared two days before their wedding. She has trust issues and is an expert martial artist, having served in the special forces. Her character is exclusive to the television series, having not appeared in the webtoon comic. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Home_(TV_series)) I hope you pick up this series soon, you won’t regret it, the soundtrack is also great and I highly recommend this series to any interested in apocalyptic dramas. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0jVT0J44JT4urnWh8FKUMo,