‘All Of Us Are Dead’ Creator Talks Webtoons And Netflix Season 2

EXCLUSIVE: When webtoon artist Joo Dong-geun released We are all dead He never expected that it would take eleven years for his zombie story to become a series that aired on the Korean platform Naver in 2011 – a series that went on to become the first Korean show to reach number one in the global top 10 -List landed Squid game achieved the feat.

During these 11 years, Joo saw Korean studios and companies realize the financial and artistic potential of Korean zombie IP following the success of Train to Busan And kingdomas well as the global recognition of Korean webtoons after their adaptation into some of the streamers’ most successful shows. Some of these shows include Disney+ Relocation as well as Netflix Sweet home.

In a way, the long journey from webtoon to series is We are all dead reflects some of the biggest changes in the adaptation business in the Korean entertainment industry, as well as the new roles that webtoon artists are playing in the content production pipeline of global streaming platforms.

We are all dead was renewed by Netflix for a second season in June 2022. Joo told Deadline that he had little involvement in the development of the second season so far.

“I’m willing to help them if they ask me, but they have their own team,” he said. “I don’t really try to help them, but I’m ready if they call me. However, I get a lot of information and updates about what’s happening in development since I’m the webtoon creator. If I get the chance, I would also like to see the film set.”

Season 1 follows high school students in a fictional South Korean city struggling to survive in the midst of a zombie outbreak.

Joo spoke to Deadline on the sidelines of his “Artist Talk,” organized by the Korean Cultural Center UK as part of its “Korean Culture Month 2024,” and held in collaboration with Foyles.

Joo has also just signed a transfer contract We are all dead into a musical in Korea, and plans for a musical are also underway We are all dead Theme park attraction in Everland, Korea’s largest theme park.

We are all dead is also currently being translated into Spanish, Italian, French and Japanese, with books expected to be published in these languages.

The 11-year journey from webtoon to Netflix series

When Joo started drawing the webtoon in 2009, he was very determined We are all dead is said to be Korea’s first zombie film. There were no Korean zombie films or series back then and Joo said he was inspired by British images 28 days later and American film Dawn of the Dead.

“There isn’t a single word ‘zombie’ in my webtoon because it wasn’t a word that people in Korea were familiar with at that time,” Joo said.

Joo said that his zombie story, set in a high school, did not contain any weapons and that he wanted his characters to use their surroundings to fight the zombies, including using sports equipment, chairs, tables and gadgets in the AV system in the school room.

When he released the webtoon in 2011, after working on it for more than two years, he received offers from over 10 film companies and studios for the film production rights to his webtoon.

However, as Joo attended several meetings with them to get a better idea of ​​their proposals, he realized that the time was not yet right We are all dead adapted to the screen.

“The companies didn’t really have a good idea how to dramatize the story or sell it to investors,” Joo said. “It was disheartening and I thought, if the situation is like this, I don’t want to sell the production rights of my webtoon to anyone. I knew the technology would continue to improve, so I was confident that the webtoon could one day be sold to a good company.”

Another thing that encouraged Joo was the amount of emails and comments he received from his webtoon’s teen readers. He said many have written to him with comments like, “When I grow up, I’m going to make this into a movie.” Don’t sell this to anyone beforehand.”

Joo said that these comments gave him reassurance that he could at least wait for the younger generation of readers to grow up and one of them could turn around We are all dead turned into a worthy film adaptation.

“One of them actually did it. During the production of the Netflix series, a production employee came up to me and told me that she became a fan,” said Joo.

In 2015, director Lee Jae-gyu contacted Joo for a meeting. At the time, Lee was directing The fatal encounter both cinematically and serially Beethoven virus And The King 2 hearts. Joo was surprised by Lee’s plan to adapt the webtoon into a series rather than a film. Joo feared that domestic content regulations restricting horror and gore on television would eventually come to a halt We are all dead too mild or gentle.

However, if Yeon Sang-ho’s blockbuster Train to Busan Taking the global box office by storm in 2016, the Korean industry woke up to the economic beast of Korean zombie IP. “Although I was personally a little disappointed that my webtoon missed the chance to become the first Korean zombie film, I realized this Train to Busan helped the industry realize there was a lot of money to be made from zombie stories.”

Netflix initially rejected Lee and Joo’s first proposal We are all deadand replied that they were already doing it kingdoma 17th century zombie series based on Kim Eun-hee’s webtoon titled The kingdom of the gods.

A few years later, and after several leadership changes in Netflix’s content team, Lee made a new proposal and this time was successful – We are all dead would finally be turned into a series.

“Waiting was the best decision I made”

Despite the long journey to the turning point We are all dead In one series, Joo is adamant that he has no regrets. “If we had just tried to make a series in 2015 or 2016, it would have been on a Korean network instead of Netflix and it would have turned out differently,” Joo said. “A great opportunity came at the right time when people were ready for a zombie series, and it was also a good time to take a bit of a risk. It was after that Squid gameso the timing was perfect. Waiting was the best decision I made.”

When asked what he thought about the Netflix adaptation of his webtoon, Joo said, “I am 80% satisfied with the Netflix series. Some of my favorite parts are the library and cafeteria scenes. However, I felt like some of the best parts of the webtoon didn’t make it into the series. For example, the archery club played a much larger and more significant role in the webtoon compared to the series.”

The business of webtoons

Facing business pressure to reduce risks and shorten development times, Korean studios and streamers have turned webtoons into series and films because successful webtoons already have a built-in fan base and audience, as well as a proven track record.

“What I hear these days is that webtoon artists are starting to work with the aim of turning their webtoons into a series or movie, and that some artists already have some kind of contract to convert their webtoon into a drama while they still working on the webtoon,” said Joo.

“Another trend is to start with a web novel and if it is successful, the author gets a contract to develop a webtoon as well as a dramatization contract.

“As an investor or a production company, this is good for them because they can start with a storyline that has actually been confirmed to be successful and at the same time continue the storyline’s fan base.” Dramatization is happening very quickly in Korea now and that’s for both the It is beneficial for production companies as well as the webtoon artists,” said Joo.

Following the famous example of Squid game Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk receives no royalties for producing Netflix’s biggest hit.

“I didn’t get rich from it We are all deadbut I got recognition and was invited to many places,” Joo said. “Like the director of Squid gamewho said he didn’t make much money from it, said Netflix would give him a better deal next time. I feel the same in a way because now I have more hopes and expectations for the next work I will do and contractually I will have more expectations of it as more people have trust in me and my work.

“At the same time, I try not to think too much about the financial benefits of it. Of course I will work really hard and the wealth will come one way or another. Ultimately, my job is to try to create the best art possible.”

He also said that the most lucrative genres for webtoons these days lean toward “school life, fantasy and romance.” Regarding his dream partners, Joo said that he would like to work with directors Bong Joon-ho or Na Hong-jin (The wailing) in the future.

For now, he can rest assured that his entry into the zombie genre has changed Korean streaming television forever.