Ever since the Korean Wave started in the 1990s, South Korea has been making great strides in the entertainment industry. They’ve already conquered the world through the spread of K-pop, but it seems they’ve found the hit formula for producing some of the best zombie thrillers out there.
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From a zombie film set during the medieval-era Joseon dynasty to one set in a moving train, there are plenty of amazing zombie flicks to gorge on. Without further ado, here are ten of the best South Korean zombie thrillers you should check out.
8
Peninsula
2020
Peninsula is a standalone sequel to the smash hit Train to Busan and the third installment to the zombie horror series. This time, the movie follows ex-soldier Jung-seok, who loses his sister and nephew in the first few days of the zombie outbreak. Fast-forward four years later and South Korea is now an abandoned, desolate country.
Jung-Seok returns to South Korea with three others on a mission to obtain the millions left behind in a truck. Naturally, things go topsy-turvy and Jung-seok is saved by a ragtag group of survivors. In the Train to Busan film series, it is often the surviving humans that present more of a threat than the zombies themselves.
7
Happiness
2021
Happiness is a 12-episode series following two central characters, detective Jung Yi-Hyun, and operative Yoon Sae-bom. Early in the show, the two begin investigating a series of cases where humans turn rabid and are driven to bite others.
After being released from quarantine due to an encounter with an infected, Sae-bom and Yi-Hyun get married and move into a new apartment block. Just before they can fully enjoy their new life, the virus spreads throughout the apartment building. In this show, the zombie virus starts due to a failed drug called Next. Its secret, illegal sale causes the nationwide chaos the main characters find themselves in.
6
Zombie School
2014
2014’s Zombie School is an action horror-comedy flick that focuses on Chilsung School, a reformatory school for delinquent kids. After one of the teaching staff is bitten by a pig, the zombie virus spreads and infects the teachers, turning them against the students.
The movie has a cast of well-written characters, with realistic insights and commentary into the pressures of being a student. Although the students fight to survive, the personal motivations and struggles of each character are explored well even amid the chaos.
5
Seoul Station
2016
Unlike the other entries on this list, Seoul Station is an animation that’s well worth a watch. In the second installment to the Train to Busan film series, the story follows down-on-her-luck prostitute Hye-sun, who is about to be kicked out of her apartment alongside her boyfriend (and pimp), Ki-Woong. The two separate after an argument, while the zombie outbreak begins to intensify around the city.
Suk-gyu, Hye-sun’s father, finds Ki-Woong, and the two search for Hye-sun together while trying to stay alive. Hye-sun goes through hell herself as she attempts to reunite with Ki-woong. Although you find yourself rooting for Hye-sun, Seoul Station keeps it as bloody and realistic as possible to the end, with an additional, sickening twist.
4
#Alive
2020
#Alive largely takes place entirely in a single apartment, where loner and gaming enthusiast Joon-woo’s isolationist tendencies end up saving his life. While a zombie virus wreaks havoc outside, Joon-woo stays safe inside his apartment but realizes he can’t stay there forever.
With rapidly dwindling resources and more zombies surrounding his apartment block, Joon-woo starts a hashtag on social media, which becomes a viral sensation as other survivors begin to use it to notify the authorities of their location. Teaming up with a neighbor, the two avoid zombies and desperately try to keep themselves alive until help arrives.
3
All Of Us Are Dead
2022 – Ongoing
Following in the footsteps of Zombie School and the anime Highschool of the Dead, the 12-episode show All of Us Are Dead launched on Netflix in 2022. The show centers on a high school where a zombie outbreak occurs due to science teacher Lee Byeong-chan’s out-of-control experiments.
The situation quickly devolves both inside the high school and beyond its gates, with the main character Lee Cheong-san and his friends trying to find their way out of the school and to their families. Both brilliantly acted and written, All of Us Are Dead focuses on the human psyche and what people can be driven to do to survive.
2
Train To Busan
2016
Train to Busan blew everyone out of the water when it was released in 2016, filled with a talented, star-studded cast. The movie is an intense, emotional rollercoaster that keeps you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end. The acting was top-notch, and the story was a balanced blend of gore, action, and profound moments.
The movie centers on fund manager Seok-Woo, a workaholic who agrees to take his daughter Su-an to her mother’s in Busan. The two take a train, only for a zombie outbreak to spread on board. Seok-Woo, along with other survivors, fights to stay alive amid the chaos, battling both zombies and the living.
1
Kingdom
2019 – 2021
Netflix’s Kingdom is a TV series that blends political intrigue with the added danger of a zombie infestation. Taking place during the medieval Joseon dynasty, the series’ main character, Crown Prince Lee Chang, struggles to keep his head above water as the King’s only son. His life and position are threatened by the pregnant Queen Consort Cho and her ambitious clan.
In truth, the King had turned into a zombie, with the Queen and her father keeping it under wraps. While the King is contained in his palace, you can’t say the same about the rest of the country. Due to a mishap, zombies begin spreading like wildfire among the populace. Lee Chang and his allies have their hands full, trying to find the cure for the zombies while stopping the Queen’s villainous schemes.
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