The zombie story sits comfortably under the horror umbrella, but what I’ve come to love about Korean zombie productions is that they rarely stick to just horror.
Aside from romance, which we all know has an excellent reputation in the Korean drama universe, and those revenge dramas that are so deeply satisfying to watch, another film trope (or should I say genre) that South Korea has consistently nailed is the zombie K-drama.
There’s always something more with layers of emotional storytelling, humour that catches you off guard, well-rounded characters, and enough thrill to keep you on the edge.
If you’re looking for a proper binge-watch, look no further than this compilation.
Train to Busan (2016)
If you’ve watched Squid Game, you probably remember the man who plays the Ddakji game with people on the roadside… the one doing the slapping. That’s Gong Yoo, an absolute acting legend in South Korea. While Squid Game might have been his international breakout role, he’s had several mega-hits over the years, and one of the most famous is Train to Busan.
The film opens with a truck driver accidentally running over a deer in a restricted quarantine zone. Moments later, the animal comes back to life with its eyes glazed and body twitching (a clear sign that something is terribly wrong).
Meanwhile, Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), a divorced and work-obsessed fund manager, reluctantly agrees to take his young daughter Su-an (Kim Su-an) on a train trip to Busan to see her mother. As they board the high-speed train, an infected woman sneaks on too, and chaos quickly erupts.
What follows is a gripping ride across the country, as passengers fight for survival in the claustrophobic carriages of a moving train. Beneath the action, though, lies a deeply emotional story about sacrifice, parenthood, and humanity in the face of disaster.
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All of Us Are Dead (2022)
Nearly everyone I know has been convinced, either gently or aggressively, to watch All of Us Are Dead. I binged all 12 episodes in a single day, no regrets.
Set in a Korean high school, the show focuses on a group of high school students whose morning routine is interrupted when a strange, rapidly spreading virus triggers a full-blown zombie outbreak right there in the building. We learn early on that the teacher’s bullied son dies after a confrontation with the main school bully, Gwi-nam. The heartbroken father, who turns out to be a biology teacher, smuggles his son’s resurrected, zombified body home, where the boy subsequently bites his mother.
Driven by an attempt to immunise his child against bullying, the science teacher had developed the virus. He then brings his zombie-infected rats to the high school lab, where a snooping student is bitten, unleashing the catastrophe upon the entire student body and, eventually, the city.
The series follows these main characters as they are forced to band together, attempting to survive while students and teachers fall victim around them.
Season 1 is available on Netflix, and season 2 is officially in the works.
Kingdom (2019–2020)
Kingdom was the show that really kick-started the Korean zombie craze on Netflix, as it’s the first Netflix original series from Korea.
What makes it so unique is that it’s set during the Joseon era, a time of kings, courtiers, and swords, not exactly the setting you’d expect for a zombie outbreak.
The story follows Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), who finds himself in the middle of a political conspiracy after his father, the king, mysteriously falls ill. When he goes to uncover the truth, he discovers that his father has been turned into a monster through the use of a “resurrection plant”, and the infection is spreading fast.
Part political thriller, part horror epic, Kingdom mixes palace intrigue with zombie terror. There are breathtaking fight scenes, clever plot twists, and a sharp commentary on greed and class divide. Every episode feels cinematic, and the acting is top-notch.
By the second season, the series only gets bolder by pushing its politics further and its action sequences to jaw-dropping levels.
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#Alive (2020)
Imagine you wake up one morning, and the world outside your apartment has turned into a zombie war zone. No Wi-Fi, no food deliveries, no escape. What would you do?
That’s basically the nightmare that gamer Oh Joon-woo (Yoo Ah-in) finds himself in. When a mysterious infection spreads across Seoul, Joon-woo barricades himself in his flat, surviving off instant noodles and livestreaming his situation to no one. Days turn into weeks, and his loneliness starts to eat away at him until he spots another survivor, Yoo-bin (Park Shin-hye), living in the opposite building.
What follows is a partnership built through walkie-talkies, drones, and desperate teamwork. The film combines zombie horror with the isolation and mental strain of lockdown life (something we all relate to post-2020).
