K-Zombie Webtoons: Five Spooky Reads for Halloween
K-zombie webtoons perfectly tap into our interest in all things creepy and bizarre, thanks to the webtoon format’s creative storytelling techniques
K-zombie webtoons can be entertaining reads, intensifying horror thrills and making them just right for Halloween. It can be a profound experience to see and feel something, but reading a well-written, well-defined piece that makes you feel alike—as if you can picture what’s going on—can be just as effective, much like immersive webtoons. When it comes to horror webtoons, the K-zombie webtoons are fantastic reads that perfectly tap into our interest in all things creepy and bizarre, thanks to the webtoon format’s creative storytelling techniques. Here are five spooky reads from the archives of K-zombie webtoons.
All of Us Are Dead – Joo Dong-geun
It’s one of the best K-zombie webtoons (and horror webtoon adaptations on Netflix) so far. Following a viral infection, the story follows hapless Hyosan High School students falling victim to an inexplicable zombie apocalypse. Soon, students and teachers turn into zombies, causing mayhem to spiral out of control, and those still human and stranded must figure out how to survive.
The students trapped in an impasse without any outside help indicate a failing system. The fear factor in All of Us Are Dead, alongside its distinctive lens on contemporary issues, draws in while also provoking thoughts and discussions.
Surviving Romance – Lee Yeon
Surviving Romance is great in terms of the interplay of genres: romance and horror, and better still, a romance-zombie-thriller webtoon that well mixes elements of a romance story with the tension and twist of a zombie thriller.
As the name suggests, Surviving Romance tests love against the backdrop of the undead, forcing Chaerin Eun to strike a precarious balance between her need for romance and her need to survive. In her favorite romance novel, she becomes the heroine and longs for a life with the man she loves, Jeha. However, in a surprising twist, when the present scenario deviates from the original plot and turns into a zombie horror, Chaerin must call on help from a dubious classmate to fix things.
My Daughter Is a Zombie – Lee Yun-chang
The depiction of a zombie invasion, its aftermath, and the stories of those who survived are interesting, but when paired with an inside look at the mental state and situation of someone with the infection and the victim’s father, they add more depth and intrigue that’s special to this father-daughter zombie apocalypse webtoon.
My Daughter Is a Zombie is set in a recovered South Korea, free of zombies after an epic zombie outbreak. Unbeknownst to everyone though, Su-ah is still a zombie, and her father has kept this under wraps in the hopes that his daughter might one day recover and live a normal life again.
Happiness – Jin Cheol-soo, Park Si-hyun
The K-drama version of this webtoon, starring Park Hyung-sik and Han Hyo-joo, is also available on Netflix. Inside a luxurious apartment complex, a deadly virus infiltrates and unleashes its madness, turning the naive occupants into vicious zombie-like monsters as rapidly the epidemic spreads and a wave of panic sweeps through the building.
Long-time friends—cop detective Ihyeon and special forces sergeant Saebom—marry just to be eligible to buy a house. But when they move into their new home, a strange contagious virus devours happiness and invades their building.
Dead Life – Hooressha, Lim Jin-guk
Dead Life is the story of a zombie who retains the capacity for memory, emotion, and rational thought even as his physical form and primal urges have begun to surface.
After being bitten by a zombie, Seong-hun is surely transforming; even so, he also realizes that he has not fully succumbed to the zombie curse—in fact, he recalls a lot of his pre-transformation life—and that he has to protect his friends, something that other zombies refuse to accept.