Why Korean Zombies Are So Different Than Western Zombies

K-Dramas featuring zombies are some of the most popular shows out there; from All of Us Are Dead to Sweet Home to Happiness, they never fail to disappoint.

On Jaejae‘s MMTG show, she welcomed Shin Ji Hae, a celebrated special effects makeup artist who worked on All of Us Are Dead, to talk about her profession and to work her magic on Jaejae herself!

As she got her “zombie makeup” done, Jaejae read out a comment she saw about the zombies that they see in Korean movies/TV shows as compared to foreign zombies. In All of Us Are Dead, all the zombies were covered in rotting skin and scars, while zombies in non-Korean shows tend to not be so gory.

They say foreign zombies look pale, bloodless, and evil-looking, while Korean zombies look like corpses with rotting skin and scars all over them.

—Jaejae

Shin Ji Hae then revealed that while doing research for All of Us Are Dead, she noted some key differences between foreign zombies and Korean ones!

I did a lot of research for All of Us Are Dead. In the cases of foreign zombies, there’s a lot of emphasis on the skull…? The bone structure of the zombie. But for Korean zombies, we veer towards something more realistic, as if the zombie has died recently.

—Shin Ji Hae