[On the Record] "A Scripted Zombie Sitcom? Even the Production Team Was Surprised"

Park Jin-kyung CP & Moon Sang-don PD Interview

Netflix Variety Show 'Zombie Bus'
Production Team Reveals DinDin, Dex, Kkwa-chu Hyung
Rural Village & Hongdae Setting Differentiate K-Content

PD Munsangdon (left) and CP Park Jinkyung [Photo by Netflix]

What would the world look like if zombies suddenly overran downtown Seoul overnight? If a blood-covered zombie suddenly charged at me, breaking the peaceful daily routine, what should I do first? The Netflix series "Zombie Bus," an online video streaming service (OTT) content that captures such imaginations, was released on the 8th.

We recently met with Park Jin-kyung, the executive producer (CP), and Moon Sang-don, the PD of "Zombie Bus," at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Park CP, who has been closely monitoring online reactions since the release, said, "The number of mentions on social networking services (SNS) has increased 2 to 3 times compared to the first day," expressing satisfaction by adding, "At first, 'disappointing' was 7 and 'fun' was 3, but the mood is gradually reversing."

At a gathering of TV personalities Noh Hong-chul, Park Na-rae, DinDin (Lim Cheol), actress Lee Si-young, and singer Tsuki in Hongdae, Seoul, to film a dating variety show, suddenly a female cast member bites the neck of a male cast member sitting in front of her. Infected zombies attack others, and the filming site turns into chaos. The panicked cast members escape the space that has instantly turned into hell and flee outside the building.

The streets are filled with zombies running out. The cast members avoid them and take a van far away from Hongdae. They meet Dex (Kim Jin-young), Kwachu-hyung (Hong Sung-woo), Jonathan, and Lisa, who were hiding in a remote mart, and form a team. They struggle to survive by completing quests in the zombie world.

'Zombie Bus' stills [Photo by Netflix]

Evaluations of the content are mixed. Some say that domestic viewers, accustomed to real variety shows, feel it is like a scripted sitcom or drama. Park CP emphasized, "It is not reality."

Park CP described "Zombie Bus" as a "zombie action variety." He said, "Some viewers confuse the genre. Viewers who expected 'Blood Game' asked if it was reality when they saw actors acting. Since it is a variety show, many expect a reality show, I guess."

Reactions overseas are also mixed. "Zombie Bus" is meeting viewers worldwide through Netflix. Park CP said, "Overseas viewers are familiar with Korean variety content like dating matches and survival formats, but some find full-fledged variety comedy unfamiliar."

Since it is released to the global market, they paid close attention to the theme and setting. Park CP explained, "Comedy involves cultural differences, which can sometimes be barriers. That's why we chose zombies. Korean zombies are popular enough to be called K-zombies in movies and dramas, and most importantly, they fit well with comedy."

He continued, "Zombies started as B-grade movies. Their actions are comical, and no additional explanation about the background is needed. If bitten on the neck, you become a zombie. It's a disaster situation; some areas are quarantined, and soldiers may be active. Even with different cultural commonalities, I thought understanding the zombie worldview would be possible."

They differentiated by featuring Korean locations. Park CP said, "We watched a lot of zombie content. While following zombie genre staples like marts and amusement parks, we wanted to show Korean rural villages. Traditional funeral halls are familiar spaces, but I wondered if overseas viewers would find them eerie."

Moon PD said, "I directed 'Welcome, First Time in Korea,' and now when people think of Korea, it's not Myeongdong but Hongdae. We wanted to bring out the flavor with uniquely Korean places. We thought it would be fun to feature places not seen in other zombie works, like factories, funeral halls, rice mills, and village halls."

'Zombie Bus' stills [Photo by Netflix]

The scenes where cast members eat and drink at the funeral were also genuinely immersive. Park CP said, "It became night while moving, and the cast members were all hungry. They hadn't eaten anything for two days. They ate a lot of Makgeolli and Jeon."

Moon PD laughed, "It shows they ate Jeon four times, and that's true. We expected to shoot for an hour, but it took two and a half hours because they were eating and talking."

Domestic viewers have enjoyed well-made variety shows for a long time. It is not easy to satisfy viewers who have seen many entertaining variety shows. Some viewers pointed out excessive intervention by the production team and claimed there was a script.

Park CP said, "Although it is a fictional situation, we pushed the cast into a scary situation and helped them focus." When asked if there was a script, he clarified, "To be precise, we never instructed the 10 fixed cast members on specific lines or character actions."

However, he revealed that close-up shots of props, hands, and feet were additionally filmed after shooting.

New situational settings added at the beginning of episode 2 and other episodes were scripted. Park CP said, "We instructed, 'There was a traffic accident. Let's start with the awakening scene.' We did throw them into a situation. But the surprised reactions when they saw zombies upon waking were real. Also, we elicited unexpected reactions through special effects."

The production team gave specific directions to NPC (non-player character) cast members and zombie actors, thoroughly preparing by coordinating their performances. They emphasized again that they created realistic situations to help the cast immerse themselves.

Jinkyung Park CP (left) and Sangdon Moon PD
[Photo by Netflix]

Moon PD explained, "Before filming, we rented a gym and practiced a lot with zombie actors to coordinate. The scene between zombies and physical education students in the mart episode was carefully directed through practice. We guided the cast by sending emergency disaster messages instructing them to 'find water and food and stay put.'"

Park CP said, "The cast's reactions in the mart episode were so vivid that even the production team was surprised. Especially Park Na-rae's startled expression in the cart was real."

The production team also emphasized that the early death of former baseball player Yoo Hee-kwan was unexpected. Moon PD said, "When Yoo Hee-kwan was bitten by zombies, it was frustrating. Some asked, 'He wasn't bitten much, so why did he die?' But he fell and was surrounded by zombies. He couldn't have survived. It was an unavoidable situation."

Park CP laughed, "We never imagined Yoo Hee-kwan would be bitten. We expected him to play an actively advancing athlete role, but we didn't expect that."

Moon PD added, "The suspicion that the production team predetermined the cast members' death timing is absurd. There was absolutely no setting to kill someone in a specific episode. There was a setting that if bitten by zombies, you become a zombie after 48 hours, and if bitten severely enough to die, you turn into a zombie on the spot."

The cast member who received the hottest reaction after release was Dex (Kim Jin-young). Dex scolds a boyfriend who abandons his girlfriend and asks for rescue alone, and without hesitation, he risks his body by climbing a rope to save the isolated Tsuki. Though thought to have sacrificed himself, he soon climbed back up the rope with strong arms. Reactions praised him as cool. The production team revealed that filming took place before his appearance as Megi in "Solo Hell 2."

'Zombie Bus' stills [Photo by Netflix]

Park CP said, "Actually, Dex scolded that boyfriend more harshly and intensely. Lee Si-young was also very angry. We thought it was too much, so we toned it down."

Moon CP laughed, "The story about the hunting bar and the NPC cast member being pathetic was similar. Both Dex and Lee Si-young really showed genuine anger on their faces."

They cited "DinDin's reevaluation" as an impressive reaction toward a cast member. Park CP said, "In KBS2's variety show '2 Days & 1 Night,' he has a whining and sly image, but in 'Zombie Bus,' he was deeply immersed. Even if clumsy, viewers saw him stepping forward and said they 'saw him in a new light.'"

Moon PD said, "Kwachu-hyung (Hong Sung-woo) appears as an annoying character at first, but when he runs in to save Park Na-rae, I was surprised. When I asked why he went in, he said at first, since Park Na-rae was injured, he thought, 'I won't die before her.' But seeing her being attacked, he couldn't help but go in. I thought he was a funny guy, but he was righteous."

Park CP also expressed gratitude to veterans Noh Hong-chul and Park Na-rae. "They knew their roles without being told. Noh Hong-chul is actually very scared. That's why we cast him after seeing that, and he did well. Some ask if he jokes even in front of zombies, but that's just who he is," he said with a laugh.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.