The streets of Seoul are about to descend into chaos again. Only this time it’s not just a school, a train or an apartment building; it’s an entire city swarming in zombie mania. So begins the tale of Newtopia, the upcoming apocalyptic series starring none other than acclaimed actor Park Jeong-min of Uprising and Start-Up, opposite the inimitable Jisoo, whose solo career is looking more and more packed with exciting acting projects in the year ahead. At its core, a narrative of a recently broken-up couple trying to find their way back to one another—amid a zombie apocalypse.
Truth be told, zombie tales are nothing new. There was the biopunk film franchise Resident Evil, before American horror series The Walking Dead held an audience for nearly more than a decade. There were also more romantic perspectives to the end of the world, like in cult indie flick Warm Bodies starring Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer. Yet much like the rest of the on-screen entertainment we’ve been enjoying over the past decade, the subgenre has since been injected with fresh blood drawn from that of South Korea’s entertainment scene.
Notably, one film started it all: Yeon Sang Ho’s Train to Busan. Its inception in 2016 was something of a game-changer, as it entered the market with an Asian perspective on morality and humanity; the thrill of its action scenes mired by touching moments that brought many to tears. Since then, the Korean drama landscape has also enjoyed riveting entrances that played around the zombie narrative (albeit with various terminology of the ‘zombie’), from highly-revered drama Kingdom to school-based series All of Us Are Dead.
When it comes to Newtopia, it offers a fresh, retro-esque perspective to the slew of zombie-infested dramas and films, as the director Yoon Sung-hyun borrows inspiration from zombie films in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Another one that’s sure to be a promising combination of gripping action, adorable romance and comedic relief, it all but joins the ever-growing list of zombie narratives, which continue to pull us in all the same. Below, a round-up of some of the best Asian zombie dramas and films to hit up as you wait on the release of Newtopia in February.
1 / 7
All of Us are Dead (2022)
Hyosan High School is ground zero of a zombie apocalypse and a group of students are forced to survive on their own and avoid being infected. Following the plight of Nam Onjo (Park Jihu), her childhood friend and classmate Lee Cheongsan (Yoon Chanyoung), class president Choi Namra (Cho Yihyun) and Lee Suhyeok (Park Solomon), the high-school based series is a microcosm of the multitude of other social issues that South Korea is rife with. There’s the added bonus of a second season on its way to us too.
Watch All of Us are Dead on Netflix.
2 / 7
Seoul Station (2016)
Forget the sequel, it’s the animated prequel that you really want to pay attention to. Coming from the same universe as Train to Busan, this animated horror film follows Suk-gyu, a father who is searching for his runaway daughter (Hye-sun), whom he realises is alive and working as a sex worker. Amid their impending reunion, the zombie epidemic that propels Train to Busan into motion breaks out in downtown Seoul. Also directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the film is ultimately a magnified look at the socioeconomic violence of South Korea, emphasised through the plight of more marginal, less recognised members of a society.
Watch Seoul Station on Prime Video.
3 / 7
Love You as the World Ends (2021)
It begins with a car mechanic, Hibiki Mamiya (Ryoma Takeuchi) longing to propose to the woman he loves. One day, he finds himself stuck in a tunnel of rubble and emerges four days later only to discover that the world as he knew it has completely changed after a zombie outbreak. Spanning four seasons and ending off with a final film that was released in 2024, the show ultimately follows an ensemble cast of survivors who are faced with the end of the world.
Watch Love You as the World Ends on Apple TV.
4 / 7
Kingdom (2019)
The most gripping of the lot, South Korean period horror drama Kingdom has a legion of fans of its own—all simply waiting for the third season that may never materialise. Yet it’s still a worthwhile watch, for anyone who wants a soul-searing drama that will hold your attention from start to end. It begins with the mystery of the King’s collapse, from an unknown illness which his son, Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), is suspicious of. This sends him on a quest of his own to get down to the bottom of his father’s disease, which is when he meets medical staff Seo-bi (Bae Doona) who then reveals that the seeming dead—like his own father—are not really dead.
Watch Kingdom on Netflix.
5 / 7
The Sadness (2021)
It’s a gorefest where Taiwanese film The Sadness is concerned. Directed by Rob Jabbaz, a mysterious Alvin virus descends on an overcrowded Taipei—transforming its city dwellers into black-eyed monsters who can walk, run and scare the living dead out of you. As a pair of lovers Jim and Kat—played by Berant Zhu and Regina Lei—try to reunite with one another, the virus turns humans into the ugliest, most vicious versions of themselves. Not for the faint-hearted, expect gruesome torture, discomforting moments of sexual assault and tons of ruthless blood-letting.
Watch The Sadness on Prime Video.
6 / 7
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (2016)
Another period piece joins the list, but in truth, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress bridges into the realm of fantasy as well. Set during the Industrial Revolution of the Samurai era, this anime sees the world thrown into a life of lockdown—each fortified Station considered ‘safe’ from the Kabane, the aggressive mutants who were once humans living on Hinomoto Island. But one day, Aragane Station—where our main character Ikoma lives—gets overthrown, and he uses the opportunity to test out a weapon he had been inventing after losing his sister to the Kabane five years ago.
Watch Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress on Netflix.
7 / 7
Happiness (2021)
Certainly one of the more underrated picks on this list, Happiness stars Han Hyo-joo and Park Hyung-sik as Yoon Sae-bom and Jung Yi-hyun as its romantic leads, with a slice of the contract marriage trope thrown in there for good measure. Whilst Sae-bom is a police officer, who is part of the special operations unit, Yi-hyun is an honest detective—who has always had feelings for her. Due to a sudden outbreak, the high-rise apartment complex which they’ve just moved into together is sealed off, and the two go about trying to save other residents in the building.
Watch Happiness on Viu.
