'All Of Us Are Dead' And 5 K-Zombie Movies & Shows To Scare You Silly
K-dramas are one of pop culture's hottest subgenres at the moment. While some of us have been watching Korean series and movies for years, others jumped on the bandwagon after shows like Crash Landing on You (2019) and Squid Game (2021) made a splash among Western audiences. If you're a horror fan, though, I'm here to inform you that no one does zombies quite like South Korea.
Some of the best zombie shows and movies come from the country, including Netflix's All of Us Are Dead, which has left audiences hungry for a second season. If you're looking for some truly unsettling stories about flesh-eating undead monsters, here are six of the best K-zombie movies and shows to scare you silly. Find them now on Netflix, Hulu, and more.
Whether The Wailing counts as a true zombie movie depends on who you ask. However, if you're asking me, I say it totally qualifies. After a Japanese man arrives in a small South Korean fishing village, a mysterious curse begins to infect the locals. If you're familiar with this piece of history, then you can probably already see the metaphor at play about Japan's occupation of Korea.
Zombies as metaphors for contagion, corruption, and consumerism are nothing new. (Just look at George A. Romero's Living Dead movies for that.) Still, The Wailing manages to differentiate itself with its unique mash-up of zombie mayhem and folk horror. It's a slow-burn masterpiece that ends on a devastatingly tragic note. You won't walk away from this movie the same, so make sure you're in the right headspace to be hurt.
Not to be dramatic, but Train to Busan is the best zombie movie of the past decade. And boy, is it action-packed. Chronicling a zombie outbreak among the passengers of the titular train, Train to Busan hardly lifts its foot from the gas pedal. Even so, it manages to craft an engaging story rooted in a cast of relatable characters, particularly Seok-woo (played by Squid Game's Gong Yoo) and his young daughter (Kim Su-an).
If you're searching for a zombie movie that knows how to balance action with heart, look no further. Its standalone sequel, Peninsula (2020), makes for a decent enough follow-up, but nothing can match the sheer power of Train to Busan. Seriously, just watch it.
Kingdom takes its living dead premise back to 1601, where the crown prince (Ju Ji-hoon) gets pulled into a mystery surrounding a larger zombie epidemic after the king contracts the virus. As expected of anything involving royalty, the two-season series offers plenty of commentary about class divide and power dynamics that wouldn't feel out of place in Game of Thrones (2011).
If that sounds unique, that's because it is. Not many zombie shows (or movies) feature period settings, and even fewer spotlight an essential slice of Korean history like the Imjin War. Kingdom might be more suspenseful than scary, but it doesn't change the fact that it's a high-quality, big-budget Netflix production deserving of more eyes.
Like All Of Us Are Dead, #Alive is an underrated Netflix gem, I think any zombie fan needs to see. Unlike the sprawling ensemble cast in The Walking Dead (2010), #Alive focuses its story on two characters: The introverted gamer Oh Joon-woo (Yoo Ah-in) and the woman who lives in the apartment building opposite him, Kim Yoo-bin (Park Shin-hye). After making contact, the strangers team up in an effort to survive.
If you're familiar with Korean zombie movies, then you already know that they tend to favor fast-moving, agile zombies on par with World War Z (2013) and 28 Days Later (2002). #Alive follows in this tradition, delivering speedy undead antagonists. The stake might be even higher here, though, considering our protagonists must navigate the overrun hallways of a small apartment building. This one is for those who love character-driven stories with plenty of tension.
Of all the entries on this list, Sweet Home is, perhaps, the most untraditional when it comes to its zombie premise. Instead of typical zombies, the three-season series features all manner of apocalyptic monsters. Here, Cha Hyun-su (Song Kang) takes center stage as our main protagonist, forced to navigate a crumbling world after his family's death.
With new allies (and antagonists) entering Cha Hyun-su's orbit, Sweet Home is a little like The Walking Dead got transported to the Upside Down in Stranger Things (2016). Weird, terrifying, and filled with grotesque monsters, Sweet Home is perfect for fans of apocalyptic shows in search of something different. It might not be pure zombies, but it's pure scary fun.
If you're like me and first caught this gem on Netflix back in 2022, then you're probably eagerly awaiting more. While All of Us Are Dead Season 2 doesn't have an official release at the time of writing, it's expected to return in 2026. If you're looking for a zombie series with a coming-of-age element, you really can't do much better. (Although, let's be real, its biggest competition might be The Walking Dead: World Beyond, which wasn't very good.)
Despite the high school setting and teen drama, All of Us Are Dead is intense, suspenseful, and loaded with heartpounding zombie scenes. Truthfully, it's one of the best horror series I've watched in recent years. If it speaks to you the same way, consider checking out the Webtoon that inspired it.
