''All of Us Are Dead'' () is a South Korean

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack hum ...

horror

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series. It stars Park Ji-hu,

Yoon Chan-young Yoon Chan-young (born April 25, 2001) is a South Korean actor. He began his career as a child actor and gained wider recognition for his appearance and fame in the 2022 Netflix series, ''All of Us Are Dead ''All of Us Are Dead'' () is a S ...

, Cho Yi-hyun,

Lomon Park Solomon ( ko, 박솔로몬; born November 11, 1999), also known by his stage name Lomon ( ko, 로몬), is an Uzbek-born South Korean actor. Having debuted in 2014, he is best known for his leading roles in '' Sweet Revenge'' (2017) '' All ...

Yoo In-soo Yoo In-soo (, born March 25, 1998) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Strong Girl Bong-soon'' (2017)'', Gangnam Beauty'' (2018)'','' ''At a Distance, Spring Is Green'' (2021), ''All of Us Are Dead'' (2022), a ...

Lee Yoo-mi Lee Yoo-mi (; born July 18, 1994) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles as Ji-yeong in ''Squid Game'' (2021) and Lee Na-yeon in '' All of Us Are Dead'' (2022). For the former, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Gue ...

, Kim Byung-chul,

Lee Kyu-hyung Lee Kyu-hyung (Korean: 이규형; born November 29, 1983) is a South Korean actor. Though primarily a musical actor, Lee has also appeared in a variety of Korean films and dramas. In 2017, Lee shot to fame with his portrayal of Yoo Han-yang in t ...

, and

Jeon Bae-soo Jeon Bae-soo (Korean: 전배수, born 2 June 1970) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He is known for his supporting roles in various TV series and films. His better known works are: 2016 TV series ''The K2'', 2019 romantic c ...

. The series mostly takes place at a high school in South Korea as a

suddenly breaks out and threatens the safety of the students. It is based on the

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...

of the same name by Joo Dong-geun, which was published between 2009 and 2011. This series was filmed at Sunghee Girls' High School in

Andong Andong () is a city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong River flows through the city. Andong is a m ...

, South Korea. The series was released on January 28, 2022, on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. Following its release, the series was watched over 474.26 million hours in its first 30 days on the service. On June 6, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.

Overview

After a failed science experiment, a local high school is overrun with

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

, and the trapped students struggle to survive. With no food or water, and communication cut-off by the government, they must use equipment around the school to protect themselves in the midst of a battleground or they will become part of the infected.

Cast and characters

Main cast

as Lee Cheong-san, a student of Class 2–5, he is On-jo's neighbor and her childhood friend. * Park Ji-hu as Nam On-jo, a student of Class 2–5, she is Cheong-san's neighbor and his childhood friend. * Cho Yi-hyun as Choi Nam-ra, the class president of Class 2–5. *

as Lee Su-hyeok, nicknamed "Bare-su", a student of Class 2-5 who is a reformed ex-delinquent. *

as Yoon Gwi-nam, a school delinquent who is a student from Class 2-1 and the series' main antagonist. *

as Lee Na-yeon, a wealthy but arrogant student of Class 2–5. * Kim Byung-chul as Lee Byeong-chan, a life science teacher at Hyosan High and creator of the virus, serving as the series' overarching antagonist. He initially worked as a researcher at a pharmaceutical company but quit. *

as Song Jae-ik, a

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

of Hyosan Police Station. *

as Nam So-ju, captain of the Hyosan Fire Station rescue team 1, and On-jo's father.

Supporting cast

Im Jae-hyuk Im Jae-hyuk (born 6 May 1994), also spelt Lim Jae-hyeok, is a South Korean part-time actor signed under Santa Claus Entertainment. He became well known for his portrayal of Yang Dae-su in South Korean Netflix series '' All of Us Are Dead''. Per ...

as Yang Dae-su, a student of Class 2-5 and Woo-jin's best friend. *

Kim Bo-yoon Kim Bo-yoon (born December 18, 2001) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as '' Good Casting'', '' Ms. Hammurabi'', '' At Eighteen'' and '' All of Us Are Dead''. She also appeared in movies '' The Battleship Islan ...

as Seo Hyo-ryung, a reclusive student of Class 2–5. *

Ahn Seung-gyun Ahn Seung-gyun (born 18 January 1994) is a South Korean actor and model. He is best known for starring in television dramas such as '' Still 17 (2018)'', '' Solomon's Perjury (2016)'', '' Tale of Fairy (2018)'' and Netflix's '' All of Us Are De ...

as Oh Joon-yeong, the top student of Class 2-5 and the second in the school. *

Ham Sung-min Ham Sung-min is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as '' Sweet Revenge'', ''Save the Family'', ''Gangnam Beauty'', ''Tunnel'' and '' All of Us Are Dead''. He also appeared in movies such as ''Psychokinesis'', '' The ...

as Han Gyeong-su, a student of Class 2-5 and Cheong-san's best friend, who comes from a low-income family. *

Kim Joo-ah Kim Joo-ah (born January 4, 2004) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas '' The Cursed'', ''Would You Like a Cup of Coffee?'', and '' All of Us Are Dead''. She also appeared in movies such as ''A Boy and Sungreen'', ''L ...

as Yoon I-sak, a student of Class 2-5 and On-jo's best friend. * Kim Jin-young as Kim Ji-min, a student of Class 2–5, Hyo-ryung's best friend, and member of the school's choir. *

Son Sang-yeon Son Sang-yeon (; born April 2, 2002) is a South Korean actor. He made his debut as a cast member in the 2016 Tooniverse variety show; Maknae Show 7 and has since starred in other variety shows, television series, web series, films, and a music ...

as Jang Woo-jin, a student of Class 2-5 and Ha-ri's younger brother. * Kim Jung-yeon as Kim Min-ji, a student of Class 2-5 and Dae-su's friend. *

Ha Seung-ri Ha Seung-ri (born January 9, 1995) is a South Korean actress. Career In 1999, at the age of 5, Ha Seung-ri made her debut as Kang Hye-rim, the daughter of Shim Eun-ha and Lee Jong-won, in the SBS drama ''Youth Trap'', which recorded the highest ...

as Jang Ha-ri, a final-year senior student who competes in archery and Woo-jin's elder sister. *

Lee Eun-saem Lee Eun-saem is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''The Red Sleeve'', ''The Miracle We Met'', ''Bad Papa'', ''Black Dog: Being A Teacher'', ''All of Us Are Dead''. She also appeared in movies ''Innocent Witnes ...

as Park Mi-jin, a final-year senior student. *

Jin Ho-eun Jin Ho-eun is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life ''Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life'' () is a 2019–2020 South Korean television series starring Seol In-ah, Kim Jae-young, Jo Yo ...

as Jung Min-jae, a final-year senior student and member of the school's archery club. *

Yang Han-yeol Yang Han-yeol (; born August 17, 2003) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Love & Secret'', '' A Thousand Days' Promise'', '' The Greatest Love'', ''Goddess of Marriage ''Goddess of Marriage'' () is a 2013 S ...

as Yoo Jun-seong, a final-year senior student, and Mi-jin's friend. * Hwang Bo-un as Lee Ha-lim, a final-year senior student and Jun-seong's friend. *

Oh Hye-soo Oh Hye-soo (born May 30, 1995) is a South Korean actress. Her notable role was school bullying victim Min Eun-ji from ''All of Us Are Dead'' (2022). Personal life and career Oh Hye-soo was a student of Korea National University of Arts and she ...

as Min Eun-ji, a student of Class 2-1 and bullying victim of Gwi-nam. * Ahn Ji-ho as Kim Chul-soo, a student of Class 2-1 and bullying victim of Gwi-nam. *

Jung Yi-seo Jung Yi-seo (; born 13 August 1993) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Tale of the Nine Tailed'', ''Mine'', ''Snowdrop'', and '' All of Us Are Dead''. She also appeared in movies such as ''Parasite'', '' S ...

as Kim Hyeon-ju, a student of Class 2-5 and a delinquent. *

Lee Chae-eun Lee Chae-eun is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''One Mom and Three Dads'', ''100% Era'', ''Grand Prince'' and '' All of Us Are Dead''. She also appeared in movies '' Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island'', ...

as Park Hee-su, a student of Class 2-5 who is pregnant. * Lee Min-goo as Lee Jin-su, a student and Byeong-chan's son who is bullied. *

Oh Hee-joon Oh Hee-joon is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Gangnam Beauty'', ''How to Buy a Friend'', '' 365: Repeat the Year'', ''Cheese in the Trap'' and '' All of Us Are Dead''. He also appeared in movies '' The Accid ...

as Son Myung-hwan, a student and the leader of the delinquents. *

Shin Jae-hwi Shin Jae-hwi is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Class of Lies'', ''The Good Detective ''The Good Detective'' () is a South Korean television series starring Son Hyun-joo, Jang Seung-jo, Lee Elijah, Oh Jun ...

as Park Chang-hoon, a student who participates in the bullying of students at the school. * Lee Sang-hee as Park Sun-hwa, an English professor and the form teacher of Class 2–5. * Yoon Byung-hee as Kang Jin-goo, a sports teacher. *

Ahn Si-ha Ahn Si-ha is a South Korean actress and musical actress. She is best known for her roles in dramas such as ''Moonshine'', ''Delayed Justice ''Delayed Justice'' () is a South Korean television series starring Kwon Sang-woo, Bae Seong-woo (r ...

as Kim Kyung-mi, the school's nurse. *

Yoon Kyung-ho Yoon Kyung-ho (, born 5 July 1980) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He debuted in 2002 in SBS's documentary drama ''Savage Age''. He came into prominence in KBS's 2017 legal drama ''Witch at Court'' and tvN's 2019 TV series ...

as Jung Yong-nam, a Korean teacher and the school's dean. *

Um Hyo-sup Um Hyo-sup (born October 24, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Um mostly plays supporting roles in films and television dramas Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed i ...

as the school's principal. * Park Jae-chul as Jeon Ho-chul, an

auxiliary police Auxiliary police, also called special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be armed or unarmed. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police service with which they are affiliated. The po ...

officer who befriends Jae-ik * Lee Si-hoon as "Orangibberish", a

live streamer An online streamer or live streamer is a person who broadcasts themselves online through a Livestreaming, live stream to an audience. History Streaming arose in the early 2010s, originating on sites like YouTube where users could upload videos ...

. * Lee Ji-hyun as Cheong-san's mother, who operates a fried chicken restaurant in Hyosan, and deeply cares for her son. *

Woo Ji-hyun Woo Ji-hyun is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as '' The Veil'', ''Mouse'', ''A Piece of Your Mind'' and '' All of Us Are Dead''. He also appeared in movies ''In Between Seasons'', '' The Witness'', ''I Can Speak ...

as Kim Woo-shin, the youngest member of the Hyosan Fire Station rescue team 1. * Dong Hyun-bae as Park Young-hwan, a paramedic of the Hyosan Fire Station rescue team 1. *

Bae Hae-sun Bae Hae-sun is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Hi Bye, Mama!'', ''Hotel del Luna'', '' All of Us Are Dead'', and ''Don't Dare to Dream''. Biography and career She was born on May 8, 1974 in Seoul. She comp ...

as Park Eun-hee, a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

representing Hyosan. * Jo Dal-hwan as Jo Dal-ho, a senior aide.

Episodes

''All of Us Are Dead'' consists of one season with twelve episodes at a run time of 53 to 72 minutes. The full series was released in all Netflix worldwide markets on January 28, 2022.

Production

On April 12, 2020,

announced through a press release that

JTBC Studios SLL (; acronym for Studio LuluLala), formerly known as JTBC Studios (), is a South Korean drama production, distribution and talent management company. It is a subsidiary of JTBC. In 2022, JTBC Studios was rebranded as SLL as part of worldwide ...

and Film Monster would produce a series called ''All of Us Are Dead'' based on the popular

''Now at Our School''. On April 19, 2020,

was confirmed to star in the series as one of the students. Park Ji-hu joined the main cast on April 22. On July 1, they were officially joined by Cho Yi-hyun,

and

. In selecting the cast, director

Lee Jae-kyoo Lee Jae-kyoo (born October 7, 1970) is a South Korean television and film director. Lee directed the television series, '' Damo'' (2003), '' Fashion 70's'' (2005), '' Beethoven Virus'' (2008), ''The King 2 Hearts'' (2012) and '' All of Us Are De ...

said, "I thought that bringing on actors who were great at acting but still unknown to the public would add to the immersion of the series". Production was temporarily suspended in August 2020 due to the re-spreading of

COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea The COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case in South Korea was announced on 20 January 2020. The numbe ...

Reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported an approval rating of 87% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While ''All of Us Are Dead'' loses some of its bite with an overlong season, its emotional grounding puts plenty of meat on the bone."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gave it a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' rated the series a 7 out of 10 and noted that the series was "clever, thrilling, and also... a bit exhausting." ''Variety'' praised the series, stating it "makes the most out of its nightmarish central location to otherworldly, dizzying effect." The series received generally positive reviews for its performances, screenplay, and action sequences, although its long runtime was criticized.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * *
All of Us Are Dead
' (Korean) at

Line Webtoon Webtoon (stylized in all caps) is a South Korean webtoon platform launched in 2004 by Naver Corporation. As the name suggests, it is a platform for posting webtoons, compact digital comics in South Korea. The platform first launched in Korea as ...

*
All of Us Are Dead
' (English) at

{{Works by Kim Jong-hak Production Korean-language Netflix original programming 2022 South Korean television series debuts South Korean horror fiction television series South Korean high school television series South Korean teen dramas South Korean drama web series Television shows based on South Korean webtoons Television series about viral outbreaks Zombies in television Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television series about teenagers Television series by JTBC Studios Television series by Kim Jong-hak Production Television shows set in Gyeonggi Province