For many people, high school isn’t necessarily filled with the most positive memories. It’s four years of stressing about grades, navigating social structures and dealing with the emotional messiness of young love... The list goes on. Now, how about adding zombies to the mix? That’s the unfortunate hand dealt to the teenagers in All of Us Are Dead, where Hyosan High becomes ground zero for a zombie outbreak. Classmates have to band together to survive high school in a new, even more terrifying way.
But hard times can make you stronger, and many of the teens show bravery and compassion in the toughest of times. In unconventional ways, they also experience some of the best parts of high school: finding loyal friends, overcoming hardship and feeling the joys and pangs of love. Get to know these students, along with some additional All of Us Are Dead characters.
The Character: On-jo is raised by a firefighter single father, who’s taught his daughter important survival skills that come in handy during the outbreak. She is kind, empathetic and in charge in a crisis. Her best friends are Cheong-san, I-sak and Gyeong-su, and she has a crush on Su-hyeok.
The Performer: Park got her acting break in coming-of-age indie film House of Hummingbird. Next, she’ll star in a Korean TV remake of Little Women, playing the youngest sister (called Oh In-hye instead of Amy).
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The Character: Cheong-san is On-jo’s childhood friend and neighbor, and he harbors a longtime crush on her. The nimble teen isn’t afraid to step up when he’s needed, whether it means scaling the walls of the high school or engaging in hand-to-hand combat with zombies. He’s a protector and stands up for what’s right.
The Performer: A former child actor, Yoon’s credits include K-drama series Doctor John and Nobody Knows, as well as the film The Fault Is Not Yours (which also stars fellow AOUAD co-stars Son Sang-yeon and Kim Jin-young).
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The Character: This reformed bad boy, who used to be one of the bullies, is valuable to have on your side when something like a zombie outbreak happens. Su-hyeok protects those he cares about, especially Nam-ra. Like Cheong-san, he is brave and has experience fighting. Now, he uses his fists to help his friends battle the undead.
The Performer: A relative newcomer to the acting scene, Lomon’s last K-drama roles include Lookout and Sweet Revenge.
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The Character: Nam-ra is the class president and has perfect grades. Because she was raised by a helicopter mom, however, she lives a lonely existence — that is, until she finds herself fighting to survive alongside her classmates. She navigates these terrible circumstances through friendship and a budding romance with Su-hyeok.
The Performer: You can see Cho in the hit series Hospital Playlist. She was nominated for a 2021 KBS drama award for her on-screen chemistry with her School 2021 co-star Kim Yo-han.
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The Character: Ranked No. 2 among the bullies, Gwi-nam becomes the top dog when the undead wipe out the rest of the crew. Let’s just say that the sadistic teen benefits from this horrifying event in more ways than one.
The Performer: Close friends off-screen with his on-screen enemy Yoon Chan-young, Yoo has appeared in Chocolate and the Stranger Season 2.
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The Character: Privileged and snobby, Na-yeon is an outsider in the group. Instead of choosing compassion, she lashes out, especially against Gyeong-su, whose family is on welfare. Her actions against Gyeong-su, who has fought bravely to protect his friends, cause a lot of grief.
The Performer: Lee made a name for herself in 2021’s Squid Game, as Ji-yeong, giving a memorable performance in one of the most heart-wrenching episodes of the series, “Gganbu.”
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The Character: Ha-ri is Wu-jin’s older sister and the captain of Hyosan High’s archery team. She faces a lot of pressure to succeed and crumbles in competitions. Fortunately, when it comes to shooting down zombies, she’s an ace. She’s cool, level-headed and a leader of a small faction of the survival group.
The Performer: Ha got her start in the industry at 4 years old and has worked steadily since. She was previously on The King: Eternal Monarch.
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The Character: A senior at Hyosan High, Mi-jin lives her truth, cursing, smoking and always speaking her mind. In fact, at the start of the outbreak, she was lighting up in the girl’s bathroom when a friend in need called her into action. Her weapon of choice is a whittled mop, which she uses to protect herself and her crew. She and Ha-ri develop a strong, loyal bond.
The Performer: Lee was previously in a historical K-drama called The Red Sleeve.
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The Character: So-ju is a caring father who risks his career as a firefighter to save his daughter during the outbreak. He is one of the few dependable adults in All of Us Are Dead.
The Performer: Jeon’s long list of credits include another zombie flick, #Alive, and hits such as When the Camellia Blooms and Stranger Season 2.
The Character: The man (accidentally) behind it all, Mr. Lee is a science teacher at Hyosan High. He develops the Jonas virus to help his son Jin-su fight back against bullies. The experiment goes wrong and a student at school gets infected, which leads to the spread across the city.
The Performer: Kim might be a familiar face to avid K-drama fans. He appeared in popular hits like Descendants of the Sun, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Sky Castle and Sisyphus: The Myth.
The Character: After Jae-ik, a police officer, arrests Mr. Lee, he learns of the virus and the outbreak. He and fellow officer Ho-cheol rescue those in need and let authorities know about Mr. Lee and his laptop, which stores all the information about the virus and zombies.
The Performer: A versatile actor from stage to screen, Lee rose to fame with the popular K-drama series Prison Playbook. Primarily a musical theater actor, he received rave reviews as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 2019. Lee can also be seen in Stranger.
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