The idea of surviving in a world gone mad after a viral infection devastates society as we know it may not sound so strange to us now, but let’s admit zombie films haven’t quite lost their charm yet.
Really, what’s not to love about zombie films? You get a mixed bag of protagonists with their own motivations, each trying to survive in a situation where they have no one to truly trust in. It’s high-stakes action that, while having its tired tropes, never quite gets old. But in the past few years, the zombie film genre has been influenced by a Korean zombie movie that few people expected to go mainstream.
Released in 2016, Train to Busan introduced audiences to a fresh take on the action-horror genre that was less about zombies and more about the individual struggles of each character to survive and be their better selves. Since then, fans of action horror movies have been hankering to see more Korean zombie movies and tv shows that are similar to Train to Busan.
Lucky for you, there are a lot of Korean zombie films and shows out there. Here are the best Korean Zombie films you should watch if you liked Train to Busan.
1. The Peninsula (2020)
What Korean zombie film can be more like Train to Busan than the actual sequel to the movie? The Peninsula was released in 2020 and picked up after the events of Train to Busan. Similar to Seo Seok-woo, Su-an’s father, the lead character of The Peninsula is a jaded cynic who has no problems with forgetting emotion for the sake of survival. What sets Jung-seok apart from Seok-woo is the fact that he’s a young Marine captain with no moral compass in the form of a daughter.
This doesn’t mean he’s a completely terrible guy, though. While his decisions may make some people doubtful of his morals, he doesn’t outright throw people under the bus. In fact, the current events of the movie begin with Jung-seok and his brother-in-law Chul-min feeling guilty about not being able to help their family members. The two are then recruited by Chinese mobsters and roped into looking for a truck carrying 20 million U.S. dollars. The mobsters promise to give them half of the amount if they can find the truck.
Overall, it’s a great film that plays with the same themes that Train to Busan does and is filled with both heart-wrenching moments and badass zombie-slaying scenes. The director of The Peninsula, Yeon Sang-ho, is definitely an Asian director to keep an eye out for in the future.
2. The Wailing (2016)
This Korean zombie film moves away from the action slant of Train to Busan and is solidly within the horror genre.
The Wailing is a horror movie that focuses on a series of mysterious deaths in the remote village of Gokseong. We follow Jong-goo, a police officer who lives in the town with his wife and daughter. Jong-goo really doesn’t seem to care much for his law enforcement career and has no problems slacking off.
What does matter to him, however, is the safety and happiness of his small family. When he realizes that his family might be at risk, he doubles down on actually doing his job in order to stop the killings before his daughter and wife become the next victims.
This Korean zombie movie presents itself more as a supernatural horror along the lines of The Exorcist and makes liberal references to that film and other horror classics. There’s a dead goat, a shaman, and even rumors of demonic possession.
It might sound a little gimmicky, but The Wailing manages to make it all work in the end. If you prefer a more classic horror experience with a dash of Korean zombie goodness, this is a fun film to unwind in the evening with.
3. Doomsday Book (2012)
Doomsday Book or “Report on the Destruction of Mankind” was released in 2012 and tells three different stories centered on the theme of zombies, modern technology, and how the two impact our society, as well as what these reactions say about human values as a whole. But instead of playing out as an action horror, Doomsday Book is more of a black comedy similar to Black Mirror.
Just like Train to Busan, Doomsday Book is a Korean zombie film that asks a lot of hard questions about morality. Think of it as somewhere between Train to Busan and Love, Death, and Robots.
Doomsday Book has three parts: A Brave New World, The Heavenly Creature, and Happy Birthday. While the latter two are interesting in their own right, the Korean zombie film here is A Brave New World.
The story of the Doomsday Book begins with the first short film in the anthology, A Brave New World. Yoon Seok-woo, a genius researcher, is seen discarding a rotten apple. It’s an interesting start to a zombie film, given that most zombie movies start with either people or animals getting sick before passing it on to people. Whatever was in that apple had all sorts of biological nasties seeing as it later infects a herd of cows after it’s recycled as cow feed.
4. Rampant (2018)
The 2018 Korean zombie film Rampant has a rather interesting premise that’s sure to match the tastes of viewers who enjoy action, zombies, political intrigue, and a historical setting.
Rampant starts off in a tense political situation. King Lee Jo’s grip on the throne is threatened by the more powerful Qing dynasty in China and local competitors who see him as nothing more than a foreign puppet and a weak leader.
While he knows that there are people plotting against him, he least expects his own son to be among those acting behind his back. Younger and bolder, Crown Prince Lee Young decides to take matters into his own hands and arranges to secretly purchase guns from European traders, believing these will help him and his forces chase Qing dynasty soldiers and officers out of Korea.
His plans take a turn for the worse when he’s discovered by War Minister Kim Ja-joon, who wants to drive a wedge between the king and his son so he can have sole control over the king. Minister Ja-joon frames the Crown Prince for rebellion and finds that the European traders brought more than guns with them. The Koreans call the strange creatures they find “night demons” because they eat the flesh of other people.
Kim Ja-joon orders his troops to confiscate the guns, but one of them is bitten by a night demon. The soldier then returns home to his village, and the film devolves into a battle to survive a disease that Joseon-era science can’t explain.
5. The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale (2019)
If you like your Korean zombie movie with a side of Santa Clarita Diet, this is the zombie film you need to check out.
The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale is a satiric comedy on Korean family values, uninhibited greed, and the strain that it can put on each family member’s relationship with each other. The film features a family that’s poor, hard-working, and maybe a little devious โ a common trope in Korean movies and television shows.
The odd family in question runs a small gas station in Poongnam, a remote village in the Korean countryside, where they rip off customers by slashing tires and charging them all sorts of added fees. While they scheme and swindle travelers out of their money, the family finds a handsome-looking zombie that they then capture and domesticate.
Shenanigans ensue, and the family discovers that the strange zombie might just be their best business opportunity. It’s not a serious horror film by any means, but if you want to kick back with a fun and funny Korean zombie movie, The Odd Family is worth checking out.
6. Seoul Station (2016)
Released in 2016, Seoul Station is an animated Korean zombie film that reveals the events preceding Train to Busan. Just like the film that succeeded it, Seoul Station keeps its story contained to the South Korean railway system and contemplates themes of fatherhood and reconciliation.
We witness Suk-gyu’s search for his daughter Hye-sun. Given that they haven’t spoken in ages, it’s unsurprising that Suk-gyu has no idea that his daughter had fallen on hard times and had no choice but to turn to prostitution. Though Hye-sun is able to leave the brothel she used to work at, her new boyfriend, Ki-woong, is thinking of pushing her back into sex work to support the two of them. Their fates are re-intertwined when Ki-woong unwittingly tries to pimp Hye-sun out to her own father.
All this while a zombie outbreak spreads all over Seoul.
Seoul Station is a fast-paced film with a lot of close calls that leave viewers holding onto the edge of their seats. There’s also a major twist in this Korean zombie film that you likely won’t see coming and will leave you floored.
7. Kingdom (2019)
When it comes to binge-worthy Korean zombie scenes, there are few shows out there that can match the hit 2019 series Kingdom.
Set during Korea’s Joseon period, Kingdom grapples with complicated imperial court politics, the logistics of fighting zombies with medieval technology, and tensions between knowledge and superstition.
The show does a bit of historical revisionism for the sake of telling a good story. In the world of Kingdom, a series of clashes with Japanese invaders culminate in the Battle of Unpo Wetland, where the great general Lord Ahn makes a stand against 30,000 Japanese soldiers with only 500 Korean soldiers.
Though it sounds like an incident straight out of 300, the truth is that Lord Ahn used a mysterious “resurrection plant” to bring deceased civilians back to like as flesh-eating zombies and used them as weapons against the Japanese. Though they kill all of the zombies afterward, the secret is already out.
When the king dies of smallpox, Chief State Councillor Hak-ju and his daughter, Queen Consort Cho, collude with each other to hide the king’s death until they can pass off another child as a legitimate heir to the throne.
While the king already has an heir, Crown Prince Lee Chang, the father-daughter duo of schemers, seeks to hold absolute control over the court by deposing him with a fake heir. The two learn about the resurrection plant and decide to use it on the king to make it look as if he were still alive.
The Crown Prince grows suspicious about why they don’t let him see his father. His search for answers leads him to uncover the dangerous repercussions that the infection has had outside the palace walls.
Kingdom currently has two seasons available on Netflix as well as a feature-length spin-off episode entitled Kingdom: Ashin of the North that tells the story of the mysterious Ashin, who you’ll get to know if you decide to watch the series.
Who knows? Maybe by the time you’re done watching these Korean zombie films and series, the third season of Kingdom will already be released. Though there are talks of making a third installment for the hit show, the production team has admitted that the coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench into their filming plans.
Kim Eun-hee, the writer for this Korean zombie series, told The Hollywood Reporter, “Because the series deals with a pandemic, I think it’s inevitable that the show is compared to the current reality and affected by it, whether it be good or bad.”
The way things are now, it seems Kim is working on shifting the focus more to human resilience and ingenuity rather than the zombie outbreak itself as a way to be more tasteful in light of recent events.