The zombie apocalypse sure smells like teen spirit in the Netflix series “All of Us Are Dead,” embracing the chaos of high school along with the dangers of surviving a horde of flesh-eating monsters.
The 12-episode series marks the latest in South Korea’s string of global zombie hits, which includes the exhilarating “Train to Busan” as well as the critically acclaimed show “Kingdom.” “All of Us Are Dead,” based on a webcomic of the same name, follows the lives of six Hosan High School students as they’re dropped into survival mode following a zombie outbreak. The series stars Park Ji-hu, Cho Yi-Hyun, Park Lomon and Yoon Chan-Young, along with “Squid Game”’s Lee Yoo-mi, as members of Class 2-5. Yoo In-soo and Kim Byung-cheol serve as antagonists to the students throughout the series.
Yoon, Park Ji-Hu, Cho and Park Lomon came together to discuss the nuances of their characters as well as their experiences on-set. Yoon, who plays the selfless Lee Cheong-san, opened the conversation by mentioning how most of the cast was too young to read the webcomic at the time of its original release in 2011. However, he said he found the story fascinating once he was able to explore the comic himself. “It was an intriguing zombie story,” Yoon said. “I was genuinely inspired by it and wanted to participate in the series even more.”
Not only did the webcomic inspire the actors, other cast members also found that the series provides a new look into the zombie genre, which has exploded in popularity across Asia in the last decade. Yoon’s co-star Cho, who plays lone wolf Choi Nam-ra, said the show stands out in part due to the series’ choice of setting. “It revolves around ordinary students who face a zombie outbreak,” Cho said. “Another factor is the different types of zombification portrayed in this series.”
The four cast members went on to discuss some of their favorite parts of working on the show, along with some of the concepts they want viewers to keep in mind when watching “All of Us Are Dead.” Watch the full interview above and make sure to watch the series, streaming on Netflix now!
