Key Takeaway
The Korean-language zombie series All of Us Are Dead is set primarily at Hyosan High School, a fictional school inspired by a real high school in Gunpo, a suburban city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The show uses this specific provincial suburb to explore isolation, limited escape routes, and the rapid spread of infection in a dense institutional setting. The series anchors the action in recognizable Korean suburbia rather than a nameless global city. Below we detail the fictional framing, the real-world geographic clues, and why this setting matters to the story.
Framing the Setting
Producers and writers have described the series as character-driven horror that relies on a contained environment. By choosing a high school, the story creates natural chokepoints for tension, surveillance, and social hierarchy while reflecting Korean education culture. The location anchors the zombie outbreak in a place where students and staff know each other, making every encounter feel loaded with history and threat. The nearby city of Gunpo and surrounding Gyeonggi Province provide a backdrop that balances familiarity and unease, leveraging real commuter-town dynamics without requiring constant exposition.
Fictional Hyosan High School
Within the series, the outbreak begins and escalates at Hyosan High School. The school’s layout, classrooms, rooftop, and basement corridors are rendered with enough detail to feel navigable for viewers. Key plot moments hinge on the building’s design: bottlenecks in hallways, limited exits, and the verticality of stairwells shape how quickly zombies move through the space and how difficult true escape becomes. The more specific these locations become, the more claustrophobic the threat feels.
How the School Mirrors Real Architecture
The production team reportedly visited actual high schools in Gyeonggi Province to study hallway widths, classroom configurations, and stair dimensions. This attention to architectural accuracy supports the show’s grounded tone and makes crowd scenes and chase sequences more visceral. In Korean high schools, staircases often connect distinct floors with landings that can be barricaded, which the series exploits for both tactical and narrative purposes.
Real-World Inspiration: Gunpo and Gyeonggi
Multiple sources, including director interviews and production notes, reference Gunpo as a key influence. Gunpo is a suburban city southeast of Seoul known for its mix of residential neighborhoods, small factories, and proximity to mountains and reservoirs. Its blend of urban infrastructure and rural edges makes it a compelling stand-in for the series' isolation scenario. The wider Gyeonggi Province setting emphasizes how an outbreak could spread from quiet suburbs into the capital region.
Clues from Filming Locations
Although the school was largely a purpose-built set, exterior shots and neighborhood scenes were filmed in and around Gunpo, using local streets, markets, and underpasses. Establishing shots of low-rise buildings, local transit stops, and small storefronts communicate a distinctly Korean suburban context rather than an international metropolis. These details help viewers familiar with the region recognize the setting while giving international viewers a sense of place that feels specific rather than generic.
Why Location Matters to the Story
The setting influences how characters move, communicate, and survive. Proximity to Seoul creates tension: the city is both an escape and a vector for infection. Limited public transit and narrow roads mean residents must rely on personal vehicles or walking, slowing evacuation and raising stakes. Local landmarks, such as small parks and underpasses, become familiar reference points that ground the horror in everyday reality. The series uses these specifics to show how quickly ordinary routines collapse when an outbreak occurs.
Comparison with the Source Material
The series adapts the 2019–2020 Naver Webtoon Now at Our School (우리들은 학교에 있다), relocating the story from a rural province to a more suburban area. This shift tightens the geography, making escape routes scarcer and the overlap between home and school more pronounced. The webtoon’s broader rural setting is streamlined for the series into a focused suburban perimeter, better highlighting themes of entrapment and communication breakdown.
Quick Reference
| Attribute | Verified Detail | Source Type |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Setting | Hyosan High School, a fictional school in a South Korean suburb | Series narrative |
| Real-World Inspiration | Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea (suburban city near Seoul) | Production interviews and background notes |
| Key Geographic Traits | Suburban, mix of residential and light industrial zones, proximity to mountains | Location scouting and set design reports |
| Story Function | Creates isolation, limits escape routes, ties outbreak to everyday life | Narrative analysis |
| Adaptation Change from Webtoon | Shifted from rural to suburban to tighten geography and escape constraints | Script and adaptation notes |
Summary Table of Core Location Details
| Element | Detail | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| School Name (Fictional) | Hyosan High School | Provides a specific yet flexible setting for the outbreak |
| Real-World City | Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province | Rooting the story in recognizable Korean suburbia |
| Region | Gyeonggi Province, South Korea | Proximity to Seoul influences plot stakes |
| Production Approach | Set built on soundstage; some exterior shots in Gunpo | Balances control with authentic local texture |
| Thematic Impact | Entrapment, limited options, fast infection spread | Tight geography intensifies survival drama |
Common Questions
Is Hyosan High School a real school?
No. Hyosan High School is fictional, built for narrative clarity and visual consistency. The creators based its design and layout on multiple real Korean high schools to ensure plausibility.
Can viewers visit the exact filming locations?
Some exterior neighborhood scenes were shot in Gunpo, but the primary school set was constructed on a soundstage. Fans can explore parts of Gunpo that resemble the show’s streets, but the specific school corridors and classrooms are studio constructs.
Does the setting change across seasons?
The first season remains focused on the school and its immediate surroundings. Later seasons expand to nearby districts and roadways, but the narrative continues to anchor itself in the same provincial context, preserving the feeling of a bounded outbreak zone.
Why choose a suburban school instead of a city or rural setting?
A suburban school balances density and isolation. It has enough infrastructure for large student populations and complex architecture, while still being geographically contained. This choice heightens tension and makes each exit route feel precious and precarious.
How does the location affect the tone of the series?
The provincial suburb setting creates a tone of familiarity under stress. Viewers recognize everyday details—narrow alleys, local shops, school bells—which makes the zombie threat feel more immediate and invasive compared to a generic global city.
Are there plans to film future seasons in other locations?
While not confirmed, expanding to adjacent areas would follow logically from the story’s progression, though the core setting is likely to remain anchored in the Hyosan/Gunpo area to maintain continuity and tension.
Takeaway
All of Us Are Dead takes place at a fictional high school inspired by and rooted in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The deliberate suburban setting shapes pacing, tension, and character decisions, making location an active storytelling element rather than a neutral backdrop. By staying specific without over-explaining, the series preserves mystery while giving viewers a recognizable frame of reference for the outbreak.