Train to Busan

YEON Sang-ho’s first live-action feature, Train to Busan, launched a new wave of zombie horror in Korean cinema. Together with the animated Seoul Station (2016), released the same year, and Peninsula (2020), which followed four years later, it forms part of a shared universe. As a zombie virus spreads, passengers aboard a KTX train from Seoul to Busan wage a desperate fight for survival. The film embraces melodrama through its focus on family while casting a critical eye on human selfishness under extreme circumstances. As one of the key works that brought so-called K-horror to global audiences, it also established a new benchmark for zombie acting and physical performance in Korean cinema. KIM Eui-sung’s unforgettable villainous performance and MA Dong-seok’s explosive action are as potent as the zombies themselves. Equally notable is Yeon’s command of confined space, which he transforms into a setting of remarkable cinematic efficiency.