Penthouse: War in Life: One of the Best K-Dramas Ever

All right, I think it is the time I talk about this series, which I have obsessed with so far. Penthouse: War in Life. Why does it take me so long to do the review of this series? Well, because I really don’t know what to say about it when this series is so great and so addictive. A great cast and a promising young cast had created a penthouse universe full of drama and blood. Their performances left inside each viewer’s heart something unforgettable and created a sense that they cannot hate those characters.

Each character in Penthouse had their own stories and own backgrounds. But they had one thing in common that they always wanted to go higher and never stopped even they were at the top of Hera Palace. They would not mind any evil intention to get what they want even if they had to murder someone. It can show that the desire of humans is unlimited and there is no bottom. The more they want, the more they change. Talking about murder or death, one thing that I kept reminding myself is that nobody in this series actually died until season 3. Ok, you saw Shim Su Ryeon died in this episode, but in the next episode, she walked in as if she had been resurrected.

Well, it was all under the hand of the screenwriter, Kim Soon Ok, master of drama. Costume designs and accessories were from famous brands around the world. The production design of Penthouse is a signature of its success. Maybe you’ve known or not, Hera Palace is not real. It is the product of a computer, which is designed 100% by Vietnamese. How proud it is! The reason that I am obsessed with this series is that I like drama, I like watching others fighting, and I like the way how Penthouse portrayed Korean society. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. In Penthouse, each floor of Hera Palace represented how much money the owners have. Of another way to say is that it represents for the level in the high class society. The higher floor, the richer that person is. And if you watch the opening credit, you will see the rich are up high near Hera Goddess and the poor are trying to crawl up to reach the rich. Hera is the goddess of happiness.

Naming the building under Hera with a hope of happiness and prosperity but ironically, none of them had because they did not know how to have one. All they know is getting higher and higher, there is no time to think of happiness and family. Penthouse showed the darkness of the Korean education system where parents forced their children to get into the most famous school in Korea and they had put so much pressure on them without knowing how their children’s feeling. Or another way to say, all the parents cared about is the reputation.

After three seasons, Penthouse: War in Life has been a cultural phenomenon in Asia. High rating, many fan clubs. I must admit that it has been a long time I can watch a K-Drama like Penthouse since The Temptation of Wives. If you want to watch this series, I will recommend you to drink heart medicine because it will twist you in unexpected ways which you cannot expect. Highly recommend!