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South Korea is known for producing intense survival K-dramas and movies. Some projects that instantly come to mind are Train to Busan, Alive, Kingdom, etc. As the demand for zombie-thrillers and apocalyptic dramas increases among viewers, several OTT platforms like Netflix, Viki, and others, are producing the aforementioned genre of shows to appease the audience who like survival shows.
The survival K-drama Duty After School continues to cause buzz among K-drama fans with its captivating storyline and phenomenal acting. The survival K-drama navigates the story of high school kids who are ordered to receive military training to get extra points for their college entrance exams and fight invading aliens. Called the 'reserve force,' the students are eventually entered into an unending battle where they have to save themselves and their friends.
After the first installment left them with an cliff-hanger ending, K-drama fans were eagerly waiting for Duty After School Part 2. However, if readers like apocalyptic and thriller dramas like Duty After School, the following list of K-dramas might be worth giving a shot.
From Kingdom to Hellbound, 8 survival K-dramas to watch if you liked Duty After School
1) Kingdom season 1 and 2 (2019 and 2020)
Where to watch: Netflix
Cast: Joo Ji-hoon, Ryu Seung-ryong, Bae Doo-naa, Kim Sung-gyu
Known as the first-ever survival K-drama exclusively produced by Netflix in 2019, Kingdom continues to gain momentum among K-drama fans. The historical drama presents a story where zombies plague the entire village of Joseon. Crown Prince Moo-young tries to find out his father’s death after his stepmother and Queen of Joseon declared him a traitor.
Adapted from a webtoon titled Land of the Gods, it was screenwriter Kim Eun-hee's first comic adaptation. The show has two seasons and a prequel film called Kingdom: Ashin of the North. As of now, fans are still waiting for any updates on season 3 of the show because of its exceptional storyline that kept them hooked throughout both seasons.
2) Sweet Home (2020)
Where to watch: Netflix
Cast: Song Kang, Lee Do-hyun, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Si-young, Go Min-si
One of the most watched non-English shows on Netflix, Sweet Home has left a great impression on the viewers. It has a unique storyline where a loner moves to an apartment after the demise of his family, and he entangles into a strange affair where humans start turning into monsters because of their unfilled desires.
The star-studded cast, well-executed plot, and the chemistry between the characters are some of the reasons why an individual can binge the series in one go. The show was revived for seasons two and three. K-drama fans are somewhat relieved of the long wait as the second season is slated to premiere in the fourth quarter of 2023.
3) Dark Hole (2021)
Where to watch: Viki, iQIYI
Cast: Kim Ok-bin, Lee Joon-hyuk
This survival drama Dark Hole takes viewers on a journey where humans turn into monsters after inhaling black smoke coming out of an unidentified sinkhole. The lead main, Yoo Tae-han, tries to fight the unprecedented situation by protecting himself and others all the while tackling frightening mutants.
Many K-drama fans loved the show and called it an underrated. The powerful female lead, unique concept and well-written plot are some of the reasons fans fell in love with the series. According to Nielsen Korea, the survival K-drama drama had an average rating of 1.0 and 2.0%. Although the show had low ratings, K-drama fans still boasted that it is one of the most thrilling K-dramas to watch.
4) All of Us Are Dead (2022)
Where to watch: Netflix
Cast: Lomon, Jo Yi-hyun, Park Ji-hoo, and Yoon Chan-young
Set in high school, the survival K-drama revolves around the sudden outburst of humans turning into zombies all over the school. The virus starts from the education institution, making it a hotbed of zombies and widespread all over the country in no time. The survival instinct kicks in as students fight for their lives and do their best to protect themselves. The show showcases the value of friendship and betrayal in unpredictable time-traits that are similar to students who have loved the youth training to fight aliens in Duty After School.
The survival K-drama soon became the fifth most-watched non-English show on Netflix within ten days of its release, as per reports from Netflix and Business Insider. It also took No.1 spots on the Netflix’s weekly chart with 236.32 million hours in many countries from January 31 to February 6, 2022. All of Us Are Dead has been confirmed to return with a second season sometime in 2024.
5) D-Day (2015)
Where to watch: Viki
Cast: Kim Young-kwang, Jung So-min, Ha Seok-jin
In this survival K-drama, the city of Seoul is stuck with a massive 6.5 magnitude earthquake that destroys everything in its wake. In a desperate situation where ambulances are unable to reach the victim and provide immediate treatment, three doctors, Lee Hae-sung, Jung Ddol-mi, and Han Woo-jin team up to do whatever is in their hands to save people from dying.
The survival K-drama keeps viewers hooked with its phenomenal storytelling, good acting, and shows how doctors overcome the crisis. The medical drama also incorporates romance in the middle of a natural calamity. Just like Duty After School, where soldiers sacrifice their lives to save students, D-Day presents doctors as heroes who do everything they can to save lives.
6) Squid Game (2021)
Where to watch: Netflix
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Jung Ho-yeon, and Wi Ha-joon
The most Googled show of 2021, Squid Game was a smash hit survival K-drama on Netflix. The same year, the survival K-drama surpassed Bridgerton to become the most-watched show on the streaming platform. The show presents a series of traditional Korean games to 456 players where a participant dies when they lose any game. The price of the game, i.e., 45.6 billion, encourages the players to decide to participate in the deadly game.
Throughout the traditional Korean game, different characters showcases a variety of human emotions, including friendship, betrayal, love, and humanity. Many viewers and critics also notice that the game sets were colorful and appealing to the eyes but soon got corrupted by the blood of the participants as they die in the game one after another.
As shown in part one of Duty After School, where sometimes, high school students get overly selfish to save their lives, Squid Game showcased similar actions by the characters of the show. The survival K-drama is now set to return with the second season, as confirmed by Netflix.
7) Happiness (2021)
Where to watch: Netflix, Viki, WeTV, and TVING
Cast: Park Hyung-sik, Han Hyo-joo, Jo Woo-jin
Set in post-covid times, two high school best friends moved to a highly luxurious apartment to enjoy the benefits of living in a good house. Once there, they get tangled as a mysterious disease that turns a human being into a zombie-like creature starts spreading.
Many fans have watched the show because of its star-studded cast, who have showcased strong chemistry. Contrasting to the drama’s title, it showcases how the leads embark on a journey of fighting not only zombies but corruption within their apartment. The survival K-drama sheds light on how during times of crisis, every individual is gripped with fear and uncertainty.
Despite getting to live in the apartment of their dreams, the leads find it hard to discover real happiness because of the unprecedented crisis and strive to diminish their loneliness by giving each other a shoulder to cry on.
8) Hellbound (2021)
Where to watch: Netflix
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Yang Ik-jun, Park Jung-min, Won Jin-ah
The six-episode survival K-drama Hellbound, which has been adapted from a webtoon of the same name, revolves around supernatural and otherworldly beings who appear out of the blue and take the lives of individual beings. This process has been described by humans as whoever commits a crime is bound to receive God's decree and will be sent back to hell.
A religious cult group called New Truth uses the situation to their advantage to influence people and begin activities that help them extort money and raise hatred. For the upcoming season 2 of Hellbound, Yoo Ah-in has been replaced by the actor Kim Sung-cheol due to the drug intake controversy.
Fans can binge-watch the aforementioned apocalyptic and survival K-dramas if they like the first part of Duty After School, as they share the same adrenaline rush of suspense, twists, turns, and different aspects of human lives.
