By now, Korean entertainment has begun to take over the world. Between 2015 and 2022, Netflix spent around $700 million on Korean content and it is expected that this year alone they will spend $500 million on producing more shows and films. It’s not hard to see why: audiences have been lapping up South Korean TV shows and films, as evidenced by the recent success of Squid Game. But if there’s one hidden treasure that has risen out of this interest, it is the zombie material.
Zombies are coming back with such movies as Train to Busan or Kingdom with Gong Yoo from The Silent Sea series and Bae Doona. All of Us Are Dead is Netflix’s latest attempt at this kind of show featuring twelve episodes about a high school student group in the midst of a zombie epidemic at their school. Now at Our School was another webtoon on Naver which had gained popularity during its online running period; however, it ended in 2011 while Netflix commissioned production in 2020.
All Of Us Are Dead follows a group of teenagers who lead ordinary lives typical for Koreans their age. They visit Lee Chung-san (Yoon Chan-young) mother’s chicken restaurant after classes to eat, complain about exams and talk about their crushes. While On-jo (Park Ji-hoo), does not seem to love him back, Chung-san has developed feelings for her. Besides, every K-drama about school life must have a masochistic bully who loves violence so much. And so was born Yoon Gwi-nam – he is kind of responsible for what happens later regarding zombies.
The opening scene features the science teacher’s son among these students. Gwi-nam bullies his son mercilessly along with his crew until he starts having mental health problems among other issues. One fateful night leads him being thrown down from a building causing an instant death. His father comes to his hospital bed and then realizes that his child has turned into a zombie; therefore, he takes him home. While the science teacher’s lab is left in the classroom at school, Hyosan High School becomes ground zero when a curious student gets bitten by a hamster hence spreading the infection outside of its walls.
Chang-san and On-jo are among a group of students who must figure out how to survive and escape high school. When it all begins, one camera operator catches everything as handheld footage shows the school going crazy. Meanwhile, teachers do not know that some of their students are already zombies running around so they try to discipline them like usual, and people keep narrowly escaping from their way screaming while we are put right in the center of this mess. But for one girl who makes reference to Train To Busan, differentiating between these are zombies instead of her classmates will be an issue of violence plus survival, betrayal with faith in other people.
In All of Us Are Dead, however, typical zombie show tropes are both defied and reinforced. Elsewhere in TV shows and movies, common ways through which zombies become infected include biting or blood transfusion. It’s impossible not to notice sprinkles of romance among high school going students even when Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun) is bitten. On the part of his lover-sexual friend Lee Soo-hyuk (Park Solomon), he swears to remain with her all through even if he gets a bite as well. Furthermore, this series also involves the traditional evil government army that serves as antagonistic thorns for the main characters.
But there’s probably some Train to Busan influence in All of Us Are Dead. Zombies from Train to Busan move jerkily with erratic velocities, moaning and hissing like hells bells on earth as they chase down their next meal. Similarly, All of Us Are Dead zombies have similar movements as those in Train to Busan but rely more on their advanced sense of hearing which helps them locate their food source. What makes All Of Us Are Dead unique, however, is that there is an unusual factor about halfway through the show that has not been seen before in any other zombie show.
However, sometimes the scope does shift away from the school grounds and takes a breather outside which was needed by it since everyone else outside has also been affected by the zombie apocalypse. Having successfully escaped from where he had taken a female lawmaker for quarantine her father who is also an FDNY firefighter tries to rescue people trapped inside On-jo firehouse; a local police officer and one junior constable search for his science teacher’s laptop because Mr Kim had managed to document everything concerning gwi-nam’s victimization after it happened; A YouTuber enters Hyosan closed off from rest South Korea believing it is zombieland amusement park only realizing it is completely different from our normal live entertainment.
There is also the high school archery team that just returned from a competition only to find out that all their classmates are dead. For over five millennia, archery has been a tradition in Korean culture; thus it was fitting to equip our heroes with bows and arrows so they can kill any individual trying to eat them alive. At the same time, another classmate named Eun-ji who is also another victim of Gwi-nam’s bullying and sexual assault embarks on her path of revenge and redemption after wishing everyone would die.
The show snowballs right at its beginning. It’s action packed, gory, violent and daring for about seven episodes as characters try to get a cellphone or save a friend. Nonetheless, once the students become tired of being afraid and start getting comfortable with their surroundings, things begin to slow down more toward what else is happening outside the school. It becomes boring around episode eight because it loses its momentum. In any zombie show there is only so much that we can expect in terms of stakes especially if there are no new conflicts introduced which leaves us feeling as drained as these kids are when it comes to running away from danger.
The main themes of the show are vengeance, teamwork and faith in each other, which is well portrayed by the students. Moreover, human antagonistic forces try to revenge however it happens be because of a sense of desperation from within one’s own self or because of circumstances that they are subjected to. Nonetheless, they cannot survive without each other as a single unit. It is sad how caring the students are on one another and yearn for the simple pleasures they used to have such their mother’s salty chicken or instant ramen pack; thus some hope for humanity remains when they stay together despite everything becoming hopeless.
It was an original choice basing this story around high school aged kids. In theory adults should make more sound judgement calls as well as being in charge instead these kids represent what their country will become later on. That idea changes once it occurs to them that if killed there may not be a future for them anymore. Without any leader guiding them, yet they find their way out of the same world that adults do not know how to live in either. Maybe that is what makes one human; discovering some beauty even during difficult times and forming relationships with others. They are the ones who will bear so many different problems unlike anything in history – so maybe this is why they are still alive.
And irregardless of their age group, similar generational issues have been faced by all millennials at different stages of their lives. Some examples include black pornographies, teenage pregnancies and college entrance examinations too among other myriad concerns unique to them in particular. However it failed when it shifted focus from character over students into society at large. What binds together all those scattered pieces is their thread which also forms heart behind this series.Those episodes suffer partly because within twelve episodes there isn’t enough time left; when cameras move away from young people towards governments and armies trying to figure out how did this happen.
However one thing that can be said for sure is that, there are many unanswered questions regarding All of Us Are Dead just like Netflix’s other recent release The Silent Sea. During the initial two years run of this webtoon, a lot has been written and it could be used as a source to make another season. The main cast members are all budding young actors and they have great potential so seeing them return would be nice. If you haven’t seen them yet, feel free to watch All of Us Are Dead’s twelve episodes on Netflix now.
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