If you’re watching Netflix’s “School Nurse Files,” stop and watch this instead.
You won’t get lost in the worldbuilding because the story follows physical laws. In fact, the rules are twisted to hilarious results. For example, when Zombie Kim MooYung hasn’t eaten for days, he loses his senses and, to his horror, becomes a monster.
Given his meat cravings, you can imagine his resistance in joining a fat farm health spa where only salad greens are served. He obviously doesn’t want to become a monster with so many fatty juicy bodies to tempt him. lol. Understanding that he needs to protect others from his unhealthy appetite, he sneaks raw meat in his sleeves, pants, and under his felt hat.
Zombie Kim’s hunger pangs reminds me of the widely popular Snickers Bar ad campaign, “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”
This one features Mr. Bean in a Chinese martial arts drama.
I find the comedy of this show very clever. To a non-Korean, bitchy Caucasian like me, this romcom parodies the zombie tropes better than other zombie movie I’ve watched, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”
source: collider
Take for instance the yoga class at the health farm. Zombie Kim and the other students were tasked to imitate the “pigeon pose” of the instructor.
While others were struggling to copy the pose, he easily contorted his body into a pose which was humanly impossible. Looking like a pretzel with his leg draped over his shoulder, he called it his zombie pose. “It lets you experience such physical freedom that you can’t tell whether you’re dead or alive.”
His deadpan humor, not to mention his drop-dead good looks, put the sexy back in decomposed flesh. He wouldn’t step out of the house with his bare face since his zombie scars and coloring would instantly give him away. He asked the female lead, SunJi, to purchase a BB cream, aptly called Monster cream. (lol! He has his skin tone color down pat, too. It’s #23.) When he revealed his BB-creamed face to her, she was dumbstruck.
But what I like most about this kdrama is that the story is cohesive. Let’s consider the theme, for example.
Episode 3 begins with Zombie Kim MooYung’s self-awareness that “One needs courage to live, and that courage will get me out of this hell I am in now.” By itself, his insight is nothing earth-shattering. It’s a bromide that personal courage makes living possible.
However, when you remember that he’s already zombie, and that no amount of courage can get him out of that hell and bring him back to life again, then his maxim becomes ironic.
That’s what happened at the end of Episode 4. The cult leader (CL) reminded him that he couldn’t be normal again. The CL’s comment was ironic, too, because he was a con artist and charlatan, yet, at this very instant, he had no idea how close to the truth he was.
CL: You’re special. You are a special being that I, the Almighty, have chosen.
Zombie: “Special”? You’re right. I’m special. But I don’t want to become special. I want to be normal. I might not feel any physical pain now. But my existence is enough to bring you psychological pain. (and he removes the cane thrust through his body)
CL: (laughing) Accept your fate now. You know it’s impossible for you to become human again.
Zombie: (grabs him by the throat and squeezes)
CL: Yes. Yes, this is your true self now. You are not human. You are a monster.
Zombie: (releases him and prepares to bite him instead)
Sunji saved him from turning into a monster and eating the cult leader.
He thinks his heroic deed rescued him from the hell he was in. He rescued people from a cult and returned them to their families. He received praises from his grateful client who compares him to the “Almighty.” He was flush with cash after being remunerated handsomely for his service.
He believes that his courage has enabled him to live like a human. He can even take a luxurious bubble bath.
He’s now found paradise in a bathtub when a few days ago, he was in hell taking a shower.
But, in reality, hell is just about to begin because two people have discovered his real state of zombie-ness: his rival detective and SunJi.
BTW, this naked torso isn’t gratuitous. It’s to show that he’s a zombie with decaying flesh (they’re not manly tattoos!) as well as infected veins popping off his skin. I thought the veins were funny because some women find big veins on men’s arms and hands sexy. But on a zombie??!
Yeah, right. Run for your life!
His body also has two distinct through-and-through holes. One hole was from the gunshot that killed him. The other hole was from the stabbing he shielded SunJi from.
Aside from the theme, the development of Zombie Kim’s skills is also logical and well-thought out.
In Episodes 1, he learned to run. Zombies are not known to be fast walkers. But in order to survive among humans, he had to pick up his pace. So he practiced all year till he mastered running on a treadmill. By the end of Episode 2, he could outrun and outlast a pack of schoolkids and SunJi.
In Episode 3, we see him developing his attacking skills. Zombies are not known to carry weapons with them. But again, in order to survive among humans, he had to learn how to “zombuh” in his neighborhood.
When he spotted a couple of punks distribute cards with a flick of a hand, he decided to copy them. So he practiced on the rooftop with a plastic bottle and a plant. I’m assuming that he wasn’t only working on his aim, but also on the force (i.e., if he can topple the bottle) and the speed (i.e., if he can slice the plant) of his card-flicking.
His skill became handy in Episode 4. He didn’t foresee it, but he rescued SunJi by stopping her attacker with the sting of his flying cards.
I guess, the cards can act like a shuriken or ninja star.
But he reminded me of Gambit from X-Men. lol.
I’m looking forward to seeing what other powers he’ll train for and discover.
Finally, the romance. We all know that when we have eye candies like Choi Jin Hyuk and Park Joo Hyun together in a show, there’s no way that romance will be omitted from the plot, even if one of them is a zombie. I’m liking the slow but steady progress of their “fated” love story. In Episode 1, she was the first human he interacted with. She generously gave him the only money she had with her. In Episode 2, she was the first human he attempted to rescue.
SunJi: Hey, Helmet! (her name for him after she whacked him with a helmet) Right? What brings you all the way here? (she doesn’t know that he chased after the van that tried to kidnap her)
Zombie: Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come to save you.
SunJi: Of course! No one can save someone like me. Better to just give up.
She meant that she was a goner. She was feeling abject misery and guilt because she’d unwittingly caused harm to two innocent people after her broadcasting news. She wanted to go to hell…and then she encountered Zombie again.
Zombie: Listen carefully. I think after I got hit with the helmet that day, I became aggressive. It’s commonly called post-trauma aftereffect. So, I think we need to come to an agreement like you said. There’s no better medicine than money for psychological damage. (showing her the agreement) And, it’s not only my brain that’s been injured. My stomach has already been ruptured. Large intestine, small intestine, and duodenum…all might as well be replaced. Especially here. This heart. Heart doesn’t even beat. It has become cold. (and she rests her head on his chest)
SunJi: Ah. It’s warm. (a tear drops)
Zombie: (thinking to himself) This human…what the heck is she doing?
This camera shot was a good one, in my opinion. Not because it reminded me of Gong Yoo in that famous scene “Goblin.” But because it augurs well for their relationship when there’s proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for them. It’s not a “dead-end.” lol.
In Episode 3, she inveigled her way into working for him. He soon discovered that her investigative skills were helpful to him.
By Episode 4, they became close enough for her to know that his favorite food is beef tripe and for him to sulk at her careless joke.
Zombie: (sigh) Would I have a family who is waiting for me as well?
He began walking away.
Then SunJi came out of nowhere, running at full speed towards him.
I like this scene because he’d look lonely. When she came dashing in, she looked as if she was the answer to his question. She was the only family member he had who worried about his safety and waited for his return.
SunJi: Are you okay?
Zombie: I’m okay.
SunJi: Let me see. You can’t be okay.
Zombie: I said I’m okay. Why would you want to keep looking?
SunJi: You’re fine when you’re stabbed by a cane. You’re fine when you’re stabbed by glass too. What are you? A zombie?
Zombie: (he stopped and stared at her)
SunJi: I’m just kidding. Why are you so serious about this?
Zombie: (yelling) From now on, don’t even joke about that. It’s not even funny. (then calming down) And text me your bank account. I’ll wire you the paycheck.
SunJi: Really? Do you mean my work was worth more than 100,000 dollars?
Zombie: That’s not what I meant. Work is work and settlement is a settlement. I’m not a gangster who takes advantage of someone inferior. Okay?
I like this scene, too, for two reasons.
One, it surprises me that, for a zombie who admitted early on that he didn’t have a beating heart, he sure is very sensitive about being called a zombie.
Two, he’s honorable. He believes in a moral code and sets a moral conduct for himself. In this sense, he matches SunJi very well. She gets in trouble largely because she’s so passionate about justice that she’s always on a moral crusade.
SunJi: So, while we’re on the subject, I think I’m more talented with this agency work than with my original broadcasting job. Could we consider paying back that 100,000 dollars in installments? How about we keep working together?
Zombie: No. That won’t happen. Never! Okay? (walking away)
SunJi: (pouts)
I like that she was standing alone in the middle of the road, and staring at the distance. That was a good spot for her stand. There was a line on the ground which I thought represented the boundary between her and Zombie. She’s human and he’s dead, a monster. She cannot cross that line between them.
That’s it for now. I hope you’ll join me in this show.
Thanks @pkml3. I should get around to watching this show. For me it’s been cut up into 2 mini-episodes per full episode. So I guess I have to watch mini-episodes 5-8. I was enjoying Dating in the Kitchen. So now on to Zombie land, but I may hit slumber land first!
On kissasian, after the first four half-hour episodes, they started showing the full hour-length episodes. Kissasian designated the first four mini-episodes as 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B. Smart of them.
I’ll write down the jokes and meta I found funny. Like the “Love Actually” parody with cardboard messages.
Re. Dating in the Kitchen, I’ve already dictated Eps 7 and 8 but still need pics. 😞 It’s a happy ending, right?
@pkml3 DITK – I’ve not gotten to the end yet, but it should be happy. That aside, I saw a trailer that was interesting with Lu Jin being real angry, and hitting a punching bag til his knuckles bled then slipping a little from his gentlemanly demeanor but then apologising profusely. It was not subbed but it didn’t need to be.
Yes, I suddenly found that what I took to be no new episodes really were 1-hour episodes of 3 and 4, so I started watching.
LOL Ep 3 when Zombie opened the door for Sunji… it looked more like she was the zombie and he was alive and well.
Loved how he was treating the air freshener as perfume, which was perfectly apt for someone who should have been decomposing. It reminded me slightly of A Korean Odyssey where the zombie played by Lee Se Young was stinking up the place and there was air freshener everywhere.
I’ll catch up tomorrow!! 😀
@packmule3, I’ve been in from the start. Just love this drama. I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and lliked the book better than the movie. I think this drama is more akin to Warm Bodies, which I enjoyed. But I find it much better because each episode provides so much more, shall I say,character development for our favorite zombie. And we have yet to find outbeho he was as a human. The leads are wonderfuland well matched. And the writer doesn’t hit you over the head with romance. I also love the supporting cast from the bumbling detectives to the school kids to sister toilet paper hair rollers. There is that quirky quality to thesebpeople that is not strained and very plausible. I kept thinking of the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow inthe Wizard of Oz-the lion for courage and the scarecrow for his physical movement and I thought Zombie epitomized a sort of homage to that story. See Zombie dance with K pop group. Zombie certainly can bust a move. I’ m watching on Viki soI look atyhis pre and post translation. The pretranslation viewing helps me appreciate the oure physicality of this drama. Try it for what seems to me the great choreography and comic timing of this drama. The before and after, if you have time, is quite fun. Anyway, I could go onand on about this drama and I agree that it is far more satisfying than The School Nurse Files (you’re so right about the worod building/mythology-and it’s akso more dour). With Zombie, you get mythology,mystery, eye candy, a badass female lead, some social commentary (but not nauseating), a multi-talented male lead (who can also sing), and much to look forard to. And after Flower of Evil(so far my favorite acting of the year),a great follow up to my non-stop tears of catharsis. Just bring it on!
Ep 3 – That ‘ad’ for freshener (I thought it was air freshener, but someone who can read Korean can confirm if it was actually a clothes freshener) was such a hoot. And if we are speaking of Zombie and Sunji having an ill-fated love. They are so right for each other, because while he’s the walking dead, she smelled like poop and looked like a zombie.
On top of the many firsts between them, she was the first person who let him have her hoodie to wear, in a cute reverse trope of girl dressing the boy.
I loved the meta of Sunji’s brother-in-law who wanted to make his zombie noir film: a story of beautifying the zombie who is a romantic character. This ties in so well with Zombie needing his BB cream LOL.
I liked how BB Cream became Camouflage Cream, because he’s out in the jungle of humans, while impersonating and battling them.
And the background music with sound effects, are to die for. They leave no room for doubt as to how some characters feel. I loved the series of upbeat music for hope, followed by it coming to grinding halt each time for dashed hopes, in the brother-in-law scene with the director.
It’s good that Sunji gets to see his true self at this early stage. That will remove the issue of being lied to until the end, which always damages good friendships. Now that she knows early on in their relationship, she has time to get used to the idea and to be a real partner, especially in concealing the truth, and in figuring out who he is, why he got killed and by whom.
I was laughing at him in his bubble bath wearing his bath hair band with little ears.
Hi!! I have been following your websites since a few days and I love it!!
Speaking of the show, this is the funniest kdrama I have seen ever. I love it a lot. Although I particularly dislike the excessive qualities of the FL, the image of Zombie wearing that cute head wrap is worth the watch.
Also, there is one more parody shown by this show that you have missed maybe. When our FL and the Zom go to the office for the detective “supplies” by opening the secret door thingy, that scene along with its music is the same as a popular spy-action movie “Kingsman : The Secret Service”.
Trust me when I say that I was totally NOT expecting that in a kdrama at ALL . This show leaves me shook in many different ways.Cant wait for the next episode!!
@Fern Me too but I was laughing particularly at how gleeful he looked, while also looking so ‘dead’ LOL. That was one happy zombie.
Thanks for the music information, @dramanerd. Good catch!
@GB, yes. A gleeful zombie in a slipper tub up to his neck in bubbles wearing a girly headband. 🥳🤣 Not every day, right?
When Sunji said, ‘No one can save someone like me. Better to just give up.‘ It seems like something Zom will say later but for a more legitimate reason.
Can’t wait for the next eps.
There’s irony in the zombie being the only aware individual in the cult audience. Here is a description of zombies from Wiki:
Bokors (witches), featured in many Haitian tales, are often associated with the creation of “zombies” by the use of a deadening brew or potion, usually containing poison extracted from puffer fish (tetrodotoxin). This potion induces the drinker to appear as though they were dead; thus he is often buried. Later, the bokor would return for the “corpse” and force it to do his bidding, such as manual labor. The “corpse” is often given deliriant drugs, mainly datura stramonium, where they enter a detached, somewhat dreamlike state. Its state is likened to being mind controlled. The person is alive but in a state where they cannot control what they say or do; at this point, when the person has been “reanimated” from the grave, or at least is moving about working for the bokor, they can be termed “zombies.” Rather like the cult members here.
Episode 5. Spoiler. This episode is practically perfect. I wish I understood all of the references.
Near the end of the Episode, Zom appears looking, well, traffic-stopping fine in a tailored suit. A cover of Harlem Shuffle starts playing as he walks down the street asking himself, ‘Is this what symbiosis feels like?’ 🤣
@packmule3, please may we have a post for more episodes? It may be only you, @GB, @dramanerd, @Old American Lady and I who are watching, but I have enjoyed our comments so far and have some queries. I think that this drama so far is brilliant. 🏆
Bribe 🍪🍪🍪
@Old American Lady, I caught the Merssi knock-off, too! It reminded me of the ‘Channel‘ sweater the North Korean wore in Crash Landing on You. I was wondering about the Korean Dream comment made by the Chinese assistant detective Wang Wei. It seemed like it may be a reference.