All of Us Are Dead

Synopsis

At Hyosan High School in the fictional city of Hyosan, science teacher Lee Byeong-chan has developed a virus while trying to create a serum that would make his bullied son capable of defending himself. The virus escapes the laboratory when a student bitten by an infected hamster transforms into a zombie. Within hours, the epidemic spreads throughout the school, then the city.

A group of students, led by Nam On-jo and Lee Cheong-san, finds themselves trapped on the upper floors of the school as the building fills with the undead. Without outside help, communication, or weapons, the teenagers must improvise barricades, find food, and make impossible decisions to survive. Tensions within the group reveal the school's social dynamics: the bully, the victim, the natural leader, the coward, the altruist.

Outside, military authorities impose a ruthless quarantine around the city, prepared to sacrifice survivors to prevent the virus from spreading. The drama simultaneously follows the trapped students, military operations, and politicians debating the city's fate. Some infected develop an intermediate form — conscious 'half-zombies' with superhuman abilities — adding an additional dimension to the threat.

Themes and Influence

All of Us Are Dead uses the zombie genre as an allegory for the social pressures crushing Korean youth: school bullying (the very origin of the virus), social hierarchy, and institutional abandonment of young people. The quarantined school is a metaphor for an education system that confines and crushes its students. The drama follows the Korean zombie genre success (Train to Busan, Kingdom, Happiness) and was the most-watched non-English series on Netflix upon release. Season 1 was viewed in over 91 countries in its first week. The series also sparked debate about violence in Korean schools.