Your Bloody Guide to the ‘All of Us Are Dead’ Webtoon and TV Show
These days, it seems like everything can be used as inspiration for a film or TV show: A series of trending tweets, 14th century poetry, fanfics, Christmas songs and, perhaps the most long-standing source of inspiration, the classic-novel-to-film adaptation. But when it comes to some of your favorite K-dramas and films, you might be surprised to know that many stem from a style of Korean comic books and graphic novels called manhwas.
There’s Nevertheless, a college drama about a steamy yet toxic relationship (kind of like the Korean version of the fanfic-adapted After series); the supernatural doomsday series Hellbound; the apocalyptic saga Sweet Home, in which humans turn into creatures that reflect their darkest desires; and All of Us Are Dead, a show about a local high school that becomes ground zero for a zombie outbreak.
Based on a manhwa (more specifically, a Webtoon comic) called Now at Our School, All of Us Are Dead is a coming-of-age story set in catastrophic circumstances where a group of loyal friends band together to overcome zombies, crushes, loss and bullies.
The manhwa version of AOUAD concluded after 130 episodes, but the streaming series — spoiler alert — seems to leave room for more story. Ahead, we guide you through the ever-popular manhwa and its streaming adaptation. Warning: high spoiler content.
The protagonists
In both versions, there is the larger classmate group and then a smaller second group featuring an archer. The two start to diverge when it comes to the details.
In the manhwa, the classmates in the larger group are all featured pretty equally until unfortunate events start to happen. Joon-yeong stands out because he’s quick and solution-oriented. On-jo isn’t afraid to speak up and take control when needed but is also empathetic. Gyeong-su, Su-hyeok and Cheong-san take the lead in fighting off zombies, unofficially becoming the warriors of the group. Nam-ra, the class president, is observant and stays calm under pressure.
The smaller, second group includes two badass teens, Ha-ri, an archer, and the fearless Mi-jin, who join the group after saving the other members’ lives. Min-jae, Ha-ri’s brother and Mi-jin’s friend, Joon-seong, don’t make it far.
The screen adaptation retains the roster of classmates, though some of the secondary characters get more screen time. Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young) and On-jo (Park Ji-hu) take center stage with a richer backstory of being neighbors and friends, but Cheong-san’s longtime crush on On-jo remains the same. However, On-jo has a crush on Su-hyeok (Lomon) who clearly likes Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun), who eventually returns his feelings later in the series.
Within the second group, Ha-ri (Ha Seung-lee) and Mi-jin (Lee Eun-saem) also exist in this world and are still badasses. While they get off to a rough start, they earn each other’s respect. Min-jae, instead, is an archery teammate here, but as in the manhwa, he and Joon-seong don’t make it out.
Secondary characters in the manhwa include the corrupt police officer Song Jae-ik, who first arrests the science teacher, Mr. Lee, on suspicion of holding a student hostage. Jae-ik gets bitten and his partner, Detective Lee, takes over in trying to solve the mystery of the virus with military officer Jeong Ho-cheol. Detective Lee and Ho-cheol spend the rest of the series trying to save as many citizens as they can.
In the streaming version, Jae-ik (Lee Kyoo-hyung) gets to stay alive and has a cleaner conscience. He’s not corrupt, though he’s introduced as kind of arrogant. But deep down, he has a heart of gold. He and Ho-cheol save a newborn, a vlogger and a toddler.
The antagonists
Gwi-nam is a menace, no matter the medium. While zombies would seem like the students’ worst enemies in this story, the teen bully might be even more threatening than the ravenous undead.
In the manhwa, Gwi-nam has a dark backstory and killer instincts. We learn through another classmate that he once tried to sexually harass a girl, who bit off his you-know-what in defense. He is also one of the few immune to the virus and goes on a killing spree of his female classmates. In another chilling moment, he even tries to impersonate their dead English teacher, Ms. Park, by putting on her red top and scalp — so, so gross — to lure his classmates.
In the TV series, before the outbreak, Gwi-nam (Yoo In-soo) is part of the bully pack and has a reputation for sexual misconduct and blackmail. He ends up having a personal vendetta against Cheong-san, who stands up to him.
Na-yeon is a complicated character both in the comics and on the show. In both versions, she turns Gyeong-su by putting zombie blood into his wound. In the manhwa, she freaks out at a cut Gyeong-su receives as he’s helping his classmates after an attack, and when she threatens to kick him out of the classroom, he snaps and slaps her. Humiliated and seeking revenge, she fakes an apology and puts on a zombie blood-infected bandage on his wound. Her paranoia only grows from there, and the body count rises until she meets her own fate.
While the situation starts off similarly in the show (Gyeong-su gets a cut while helping his friends, and she becomes suspicious), Na-yeon (Lee You-mi) has looked down on Gyeong-su (Ham Sung-min) for a long time because his family is on welfare. That, plus the fact that he stands up to her when she tries to belittle him, drives her to eventually infect him.
Virus immunity
A surprising twist in the series is that there are some who are immune to the virus. Instead of fully turning, they become a half human, half zombie hybrid. This turn comes with enhanced strength and senses, a thirst for human flesh and invincibility.
In the manhwa series, Gwi-nam and class president Nam-ra find out they are immune after they get bitten. While they have zombie impulses, they are able to curb their appetites. Gwi-nam, however, makes no such attempt because he is — put bluntly — an awful person who lives by his darkest impulses.
In the TV show, there’s a new classmate named Eun-ji, also immune and a victim of Gwi-nam’s bullying. But now, armed with a new sense of power, she has to decide whether or not to give in to her new killer impulses. Gwi-nam is a cold-blooded killer here, too. Though he doesn’t necessarily enjoy eating human flesh, he’ll use his newfound abilities to kill or as a scare tactic. In fact, he is the one who bites Nam-ra when she tries to protect Su-hyeok from him. Just as in the manhwa, Nam-ra tries her best not to succumb to her zombie instincts.
The survival Rule of Threes
Some of the basic elements of survival are food, water and shelter. You can live without air for three minutes, shelter for three hours, water for three days and food for three weeks. When events like apocalypses happen, resources are a little harder to come by.
In both versions of AOUAD, the high schoolers have shelter, though there are killer zombies on the loose so they have to be careful. In the manhwa, they are able to get food and water by scavenging nearby classrooms for lunches and water jugs. The rain provides the rest.
The stakes are much higher in the TV show in which the students seem to spend more time without food or water. Thankfully, at one point, it rains and they (very depressingly) split a chocolate bar among 10 people.
Despite the unclear food and water situation in these stories, what is definitely obvious in both the manhwa and the show is how they do their business. The students’ makeshift bathroom becomes one of their survival priorities. If you think about this, this hasn’t been covered much, if at all, in zombie apocalypse stories. Refreshing might not be the best word to use for it here, but it is a point that has finally been addressed.
Useless adults
In the manhwa, while Ms. Park does care about the students, it’s really Joon-yeong and the students who are proactive. Even though Ms. Park senses something is off, she opens the door for fellow teacher Mr. An, who’s frantic to be let into the classroom. Turns out, he was bitten but refuses to leave the class, even though he knows that, once he turns, he will be putting the students in danger. Days go by, and the students hope for rescue, but, of course, decisions have been made higher up to wipe out the city of Hyosan instead.
In both versions of the story, the students learn a valuable life lesson: You can’t count on anyone to save you but yourself. The students initially wait for the adults to come and rescue them. When the adults fail, the students are forced to take matters into their own hands. In AOUAD, adults are constantly shown making decisions that put their own interests first, without thinking about their consequences. The teens show more responsibility and consideration for others.
In the streaming series, Ms. Park is one of the few adults who cares about the students and tries to show them empathy and leadership. Meanwhile, the school principal hides out in his office and tries to get Gwi-nam to bring his car around in the midst of the outbreak, triggering Gwi-nam’s rage. Other than On-jo’s dad (Jeon Bae-soo), who ignores protocol to try to save his daughter, and policeman Jae-ik, the adults largely care only about their own safety.
The beginning and the end
The early part of the manhwa contains a vague story about the origins of the virus: Mr. Lee contends that his son contracted it while the family spent time out in the East Sea. At the very end of the comic, Hyosan is bombed with little regard for potential survivors. It takes eight months to clear the city of bodies. On-jo, Su-hyeok, Ha-ri, Mi-jin, Detective Lee and Ho-cheol survive, and, in a surprise twist, Nam-ra, who separated from the group, also survives. While all seems well and the worst seems behind them, the saga concludes with a fisherman in Japan who gets bitten by a leech-like worm — offering us a clue as to the exact cause of the virus but a more harrowing truth: It’s coming back.
Here’s the origin of the virus in the TV show. We learn that Mr. Lee’s son was a victim of severe bullying. While he reported it to the police and the school, no action was taken. The bullying continued. When Mr. Lee realized he couldn’t change the system, he experimented on mice to create the “Jonas” virus, which increases testosterone and fuels our instinct for aggression. He tests it on his son, who transforms into a zombie after trying to confront the bullies. As in the manhwa, the series more-or-less concludes with the targeted bombing of Hyosan and On-jo, Su-hyeok, Ha-ri and Mi-jin making it out alive, though with two additional classmates, Hyo-ryeong and Dae-su. Jae-ik, Ho-cheol and their rescues (the newborn, toddler and vlogger) also survive. In a surprise twist, Nam-ra (again), who ran off after nearly succumbing to her impulses, is alive, but there are more half-zombies out there that she needs to find. She says goodbye and sets off on her own again, potentially opening the door for… a next chapter?
