Welcome to Kdrama and Ramen

A high school teacher’s quest to protect his son from bullies leads to a deadly virus gone wrong, when a student wanders into his lab and is bitten by a test rat.    As zombies overtake the school and surrounding areas, the military quarantines the community and watches from a distance, leaving students to fend for themselves.  As the situation unfolds, 2 groups of students band together to try and make it out alive.  But as they watch their numbers dwindle, it begins to feel like no one will survive the bloody massacre.

Yoon Chan Young as Lee Cheong San

Lee Cheong San walks to school with his childhood friend, the way he has since they were children.  But even though the whole school can see that he has always had a crush on her, On Jo has no idea.  So his day doesn’t get off to the best start when he finds out she has confessed to having feelings for someone else.  And things don’t get any better when a fun lunch in the cafeteria is interrupted by killer zombies.  Cheong San saves On Jo when it looks like she will be attacked, and the pair find their way back to their classroom to hide out with their remaining classmates.  After days of trauma, Cheong San is hunted down by a class bully who is now a “hambie”, and he sacrifices himself to save On Jo and the others.  

Lee Cheong San is the kind of protector who will jump into the fray to save those he cares about.  He is popular with his classmates and good natured.  He is adored by his mother, who named her chicken restaurant after him, much to his embarrassment.  I loved how innocently sincere he was in all his interactions, and I felt like Yoon Chan Young played it very well.  His actions were consistant with his character all the way through, and his interactions with On Jo were very sweet.  

Lomon as Lee Soo Hyeok

Lee Soo Hyeok spent his younger days hanging out with the school bullies, but since then he has made new friends and runs with a better crowd.  He is Cheong San’s right hand through out the crisis, and he is eager to jump in and do his part to help protect the group.  Soo Hyeok has a crush on Nam Ra and he helps her become one of the group.  He also offers great advice to Cheong Soo about love and relationships, even though he is still learning how to take his own advice.

 ♥ Bonding

Watching this group form and bond was fun.  Especially seeing Nam Ra slowly become one of them and get to experience real friendship.  The way they all work together and protect each other made this drama more than just a zombie slasher show.  The group dynamic was interesting and the stoyline built well over the course of the series.  

♥ Hambies

The idea of a half human half zombie was interesting and gave a unique touch to this drama.  Especially with Nam Ra, who had to constantly fight against the urge to hurt her new friends.  I was disappointed that there was no explanation about how this could have happened, but I have to assume that will be coming in the upcoming second season, and I would imagine the hambies will be important in trying to find some kind of cure down the road.  

Secondary Characters

Because of the group dynamics in this drama, we get so many interesting characters.  While each of the students got a small backstory, I would have loved to see a little more about each of them.  For the amount of screen time they got fighting zombies and working together, it would have been nice to know a little more about who they are and what has led them to this place.  It may have made the pace too slow for younger, more impatient audiences, but this is just my preference.  

On Jo’s Dad

The faith that On Jo had that her dad would surely come and save her was sweet, and I loved her unwavering trust in him.  But I wish we could have seen the two of them together a bit more before having him sacrifice himself for the group.  To watch him fight soldiers and zombies all for a measly 5 minutes with his daughter just didn’t feel right.  They built the story up so much for such a short reunion.

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“All Of Us Are Dead” ends on a hopeful note, with 6 of our young students making it out healthy and alive.  Unfortunately, our hero Cheong San is not among them, since he finally let Gwi Nam catch him while the others made a getaway.  But we know he will be back in some form for season 2.  Those who are still alive go back to what is the new normal, as best they can.  But On Jo still visits the ruins of the school regularly to pay tribute to the friends she lost.  One trip reveals a fire burning on the school rooftop.  Sure that it’s a signal from Nam Ra, On Jo talks So Hyeok into going to take a look.  When she meets him outside the school, the other 4 survivors are with him.  The group climbs the barricade and finds it is Nam Ra.  After a brief reunion, she tells them she isn’t the only hambie living there.  She runs off setting up a perfect scenario for what will be Season 2.