All of Us Are Dead: The Walking Dead In South Korea 🧟‍♀️

🛑 Please Do Not Read If You Would Like to Avoid Spoilers 🛑

Rating:

🍿: 4.5/5

Genre:

- Horror Fiction

- Zombie Apocalypse

- Korean Drama

- Comedy

Review:

When I was younger hit TV show The Walking Dead scared me to the point I ended viewing it and never picked back upon it. However, as I grew up, I started to watch more zombie-themed movies: Train to Busan, Zombieland, Dawn of the Dead, and more. But, as I watch them I am always afraid this will become the world’s reality. Crazy, right? I just think to myself one mistake in a lab, and it will become the living vs. the dead. I don’t let those fears restrict me from watching great movies or shows possessing the zombie apocalypse storyline, but I do watch it with caution. Recently, I came upon Netflix’s Korean series All of Us Are Dead. I finished the 12 episode season in a week and after finishing it I can say that I am ready for season two 🤣.

The show follows a group of teenagers who have to find their way through their high school while a zombie apocalypse takes place in a city in South Korea. As they fight to stay alive the

ones that they love the most are fighting to save them while the government is struggling to find answers to the new virus that will soon spread across South Korea.

The show was fantastic from an American perspective. It held storylines that you wouldn’t think would be associated with a show possessing zombies. First, let’s discuss where the virus came from which was created by the high school’s science teacher, Lee Byeong-chan. In hopes of strengthening his son, he created a serum that would strengthen him which he injected into both his son and wife. Instead of doing what he thought it would the serum turned into a virus that eventually turned his son and wife into walking zombies. I understood his reasoning, but the fact that you would even try to use animals, which were hamsters, to experiment and create such an unlikely result is mind-boggling 🙄. Yes, he went through different channels to protect his son from bullies and came up short resulting in him doing the last thing, but he caused thousands to die. Even those bullied alongside his son were killed, so instead of making the bullies and those that turned a blind eye to the bullying pay, people that were innocent and with no connections to him or his son died. As for the message it reminds me of when children are bullied so much, they commit s**cide or violent acts against the school system that failed them. When it comes to harming themselves, people began to ask, what happened? Though they knew the whole time and ignored it. Then for those that take their frustration out on the school for the help they weren’t receiving in most cases, innocents die.

Those innocent may have never talked or laid eyes on that specific person a day in their life. It sucks because this is what happened to Lee Byeong-chan's son if the school board and police would have paid attention to the bullying the arrival of the zombie apocalypse could have been avoided. It’s just sad that even though there is no zombie apocalypse it has a connection to real-world travesties that take place.

I enjoyed the comedic aspect of the show which I found cheesy at times but eventually noticed it was needed. The teenagers finding something to laugh about though they were in the center of the chaos was necessary. They held onto hope and fought though the government let them down numerous times. When I watched the show, I was anticipating the cure to be found and was biting my nails. I then was let down and was horror-stricken when I noticed there was no hope and people couldn’t be saved. I felt like the government let the people down, catering to real life. A lot of people were killed at the end at the hands of a person in command that believed many needed to be sacrificed for the world to go back as it was before. That was complete and utter bullsh*t because some could have been saved and necessary precautions could have been taken into place. However, it was ignored,

and many humans died or had to fight their way into being quarantined. If you are reading this, I am sure it sounds a lot like real life and the way citizens aren’t protected by the government when needed. Other than comedy there were grief, love, and even the topic of social status which is the last thing that should be discussed. Then there was the best part about the series which was the characters and some of them coming from different cliques and befriending each other was a great connotation. It reminded me of the breakfast club!

As a person that has been watching Korean movies and shows lately, I realized they have plenty of talented actors and actresses. Many of them can transition from different characters from being a cop to a boyfriend and a boyfriend to a serial killer 😂. I can say the same about the cast of All of Us Are Dead they were amazing and the younger cast who was the main characters were beyond said words. I can say the majority of the characters were my favorite and I hope to see them garner an audience in America as they possess in South Korea. As for my favorites, it might be a lengthy list, but they were so well portrayed I can’t limit it 🤷🏾‍♀️:

• Nam On-jo: Known as On-jo, she was small and timid at times, but if it wasn’t for her the whole group would have been dead. Her dad being a captain at the fire station was a plus because she came up with distinct and thorough plans for the group to survive and share a space. I did not like that after she found out Cheong-san liked her she kind of kept playing with his feelings. But, you can tell she cared about him though she might not have shared the same feelings. To add on, I believe she may be an answer to the cure that can be developed there is a season two.

• Lee Cheong-san: Know as Cheong San, he was very reserved in personality and seemed like a shell that was embarrassed by his mother. However, he was strong and fought his way through pacts of zombies for survival even sacrificing himself at times early on in the show possibly getting killed. I noticed from the beginning he liked On-jo, but because he was kind of emotionally detached at times, I wasn’t surprised she was kind of blindsided by his admission. The message in the show about him was to appreciate what you have because when his mother died it was sad and he reminisced the good times and the moments he didn’t appreciate her. When he was bitten, I was struck and sad because I thought he was going to survive, but he went out like a f**king G. He saved all of his classmates and gave them an outing when he knew he was going to die. At that time that was when I finally saw him come alive which he verbally stated. However, he is presumed dead, but many people including me have our theories on whether he’s dead or not🧐.

• Yoon Gwi-nam: Evil. Evil. Evil. Known as Gwi-nam that is all I can say about this character. You might be surprised he is on my list of characters I like, but without him, this show would have been missing a large storyline and antagonist. He was a bully from the beginning and a large reason why the virus came to be after playing a part in bullying Lee Byeong-chan’s son. To add on, as a viewer we watch the virus create a new variant within him after he is bitten and doesn’t turn into a zombie and doesn’t stay as a human. I was looking forward to him dying at the hands of Cheong San and when he did, I was excited after all the sh*t he did, but he turned into something else. After the show ended, we are still unsure what he was and how he was capable of basically staying human and blending in with the zombies at the same time. Every time he was “killed” he came back to life and tormented those that were human around him. I was saying to myself “damn the zombies he is the true threat.” Not to mention he gained attributes such as strength, which was a plus, he had as well. The fact that he was determined to kill Cheong-san and utilized his new body features to do it was scary. It is like giving the wrong person power and they abuse it which in Gwi-nam’s case he receives the power to become part of the zombie population while containing his human mindset. Also, he gains strength and heightened senses. He is one of the best villains I have witnessed in a show and the actor did well at portraying him.

• Lee Su-hyeok: Known as Su-hyeok, he wore his heart on his sleeve. When I say he kicked a** he did kick a**. As a trained fighter he was fighting off the zombies as if they were humans without the worry of being bitten. He was once a bully and it seemed like he was making up for the past mistakes he made against those that he hurt including protecting the bullied from the bullies. Like On-jo and Cheong-san he played a big part in why the small group of students was able to make it to the end. At points in time when someone would be missing, he would take grave measures to find the said person. In times when he was alone, he would make it even when the odds were against him. I knew On-jo liked him, but from the beginning, I knew he had his eyes set on someone else. That person was Choi Nam-ra who was my ultimate favorite character.

• Choi Nam-ra: Known as Nam-ra, was that b*tch! She was the class president and completely reserved to the point she had no friends and sustained a cold-hearted attitude. It was off-putting, but as you see the show progress you witness that coldness slip and her true personality come to light. She was smart and I witnessed her grow mentally throughout the show and physically. That being said like Gwi-nam she became a person that wasn’t a zombie and not a human after he bites her. She was strong and at a point in time scared the hell out of me because I thought she was going to turn against the group and use them as food. However, she didn’t when it came to urges, she was able to restrain herself. Due to her new profound skill set and senses, she was able to fight off many zombies and even Gwi-nam who at every point in time would terrorize the group any which way. She like the others was a huge asset to why the group was able to stay alive until the end. However, the fact that she was bitten and became a new breed she wasn’t going to be able to be around humans which caused her to separate from the group in the end. But, eventually, the group found her in their high school which has been blown up to fight the zombie apocalypse. I like the fact that she used the fire on top of the building to send a message to fellow high schoolmates that were survivors. It was symbolic. I want to know, where will she go? She left at the end with a proclamation of others that were like her coming 😱.

There were plenty of other great characters, but because I wanted to at least give my top

five I decided to not add much more. This show was beyond my expectations, and I hope season two will be green-lighted by Netflix. The reason I gave the show 4.5 out of 5 is that there are unanswered questions like what happened to Min Eun-ji who was in the quarantine camp and being experimented on because she was like Nam-ra and Gwi-nam. They can’t die, though it seemed like Gwi-nam died in the bombing. Not to mention there has been speculation whether On-jo is a cure due to a particular scene and that may be the case, but it needs to be explained. Not to mention the bombing instead of finding a cure was kind of like a cop-out to me in a way. The ending seemed rushed at end to me, and I was hoping for more. Like I said I do hope there will be another season because there are so many questions I have. The acting and storylines that were captured made this amazing and made the show receive an advantage.

I am looking forward to the near future and what can become of this show. I will say do not hesitate to watch this show it is perfection with talented actors 👌🏾.