Train to Busan Reinvented the Zombie Genre | Guilty Pleasures Ep. 124 

y’all calling Gong Yoo “the guy who presents the offer in squid game” is taking me out 😭😭 obviously i know why but baby that’s a kdrama GOD!!!!

NO. DONT EVER WATCH A KOREAN MOVIE DUBBED EVER AGAIN, KELSEY.

to the point of characters in zombie media never knowing what zombies are, in the zombie high school kdrama “all of us are dead” one of the students literally says “it’s train to busan!!” in the first episode. fantastic.

As a Korean Guilty Whore, I'm mad I can't give you pages and pages of notes 😂 but one thing I want to explain: the song that the little girl sings, "Aloha Oe" , is so fitting and intentional for this movie. It was written by Queen Liliʻuokalani of Hawaii. While she wrote it as a simple lover's farewell song, the Korean people tend to think of it in the context of the fall of the Hawaiian Kingdom. (Because Korean people have a history of being overtaken and having their country and culture destroyed by the Japanese empire, this is the predominant interpretation of Aloha Oe in our culture.) It's both the little girl's farewell to her father and the mourning of the destruction of the nation as a result of the zombie infestation. PSA, the "sequel" for this movie is not really a sequel, Peninsula is set in the same universe as Train to Busan but doesn't share any characters or advance any of the plot... ALSO, Mah Dongsuk aka Mr. Beefcake's role in the M*rv*l movie, Et*tn*ls reminds me that could be a great movie to be put on the block once the strikes are successfully over.

YALL the song Aloha ‘Oe is a song written as a goodbye song by Queen Lili’ukalani as a goodbye song for a friend who DIED. it’s a gorgeous piece and a beautiful way to honour and say goodby to someone but happy isn’t a great description. It’s warm and loving and beautiful. But it’s about goodbye and farewell

As a Korean I just want to comment the importance of the location Busan. During the Korean War, the Korean peninsula was completely over taken by the North Korean forces except for the tiny corner of the southern province? of where Busan was located. All the refugees fleeing were in Busan (including my family lol). Basically Busan is almost a symbol of "the last hope/the last place standing" in Korean history. Busan is the 2nd largest city in Korea. Seoul is located more north (pretty close to the border honestly) and Busan is located in the south. So it makes sense both symbolically and logically.

Something that will add to the nuance of the Aloha 'Oe song refference and the message from the movie: Aloha 'Oe is actually a really said song. Queen Lili'uokalani wrote it about a deep pain that she felt of loss. It directly translate to "Farewell to Thee" and is about saying goodbye to someone or something not knowing if/when you will ever see them again. The little girl is singing the Korean translation of the song so she understands the meaning of it in her own language and is crying because she knows she has just said goodbye to her father for the last time and that she now relates to the song entirely.

There are so many great scenes they didn’t talk about! I want a spin-off about the homeless man who was smart enough to know the group to stick with AND was noble enough to sacrifice himself, no questions asked. And we don’t even know his name 😭

I truly love this era of the Guilty Pleasures squad watching international films

I'm glad that you pointed out the daughter's empathy, and Zach really does his research on social critique on Korean society!!! I am so proud of Zach.

Overall, loved this episode, but please put some respect on Gong Yoo’s name!! He’s a legend in the Korean acting world in his own right!

As a Korean and longtime viewer, I'm so happy you guys did this movie!! There are so many unspoken little details and tidbits that really make sense when you know the culture and history (e.g. why the producers set the train to Busan, why the truck driver was so indifferent to hitting a deer) but I'm glad you were still able to enjoy the film even with just the subtitles! But please don't watch the dubbed version next time Kelsey😭

Oh hell yeah this is SUCH a good movie! If y’all do more Korean films, definitely consider “The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion” which is an insane title but it’s so so good.

What I love about this film is that it captures the messages and tropes of horror such as classism, capitalism, etc, that I love about OG Dracula, but with modern storytelling

Zach i think youre right about the train symbolism, trains were a huge part of the industrial revoultion

as a girlie from hawaii that loves kdramas it feels like a personal attack on me for them to have messed up the lyrics of aloha 'oe AND under appreciate gong yoo

i think we all can agree on the dishonor towards gong yoo's legacy so can someone please make them watch the entirety of goblin next LOL

I first watched this movie in Korea in theaters back when my Korean wasn't very good, and despite not understanding a lot of the dialogue my friends and I were all fucking sobbing by the end. I'm talking wearing sunglasses at night because my eyes are so red sobbing. I've since seen it several more times (with subs to get the full story lol) and it still gets me every time. One of my all time favorite movies

I never clicked so fast!! I love all the new foreign film episodes ❤ keep it up 🎉

i like how yall are just doing good movies rn lol. nothing guilty about this pleasure! also, yall need to stop being disrespectful to kelsey lol. Bhutan is a whole country in Asia; just because Kelsey is chaotic and goofy and loves sex doesn't mean she's not worth respecting lmao

Gong Yoo has been a favorite since Coffee Prince

Zombie deer reminded me, that actually had found brain eating viruses in deer in North America, that essentially makes the zombie a walking corpse, so zombie dear do exist. So, sleep well tonight, follks!

My friends and I had a movie night a couple years ago and we decided to watch two different movies. First one was a movie we had all seen but hadn’t seen in years (As Above So Below) the second was to be chosen at random off of Netflix with a minute time limit and we somehow landed on Train to Busan and wow that movie rocked our world! I really don’t like zombie movies and I still think this movie is fucking fantastic! So glad y’all are covering it cause it’s just so freaking good!

You guys MUST watch the kdrama "kingdom" all i could say about it is that it's a historical zombie drama so unique

I too have always thought that it is so ridiculous and irritating when characters in movies took too long too respond when seeing something dangerous until I experience it myself when I was almost get hit by a car, I literally stop and stare at the car because I was too shocked to run. So I think its actually a realistic thing because you are basically too shocked or panic to react when seeing or experiencing something unimaginable or dangerous. Maybe its not the same for everyone but its definitely not weird or dramatic.

I got back into the zombie/outbreak genre through watching “THE LAST OF US”, which was amazing…so I watched this film. I wept-it was so good! ❤

I am LOVING these international movie reviews!

PLEASE do the Irish animated film Wolfwalkers! It is visually stunning, it's an indie film, and the mythology is so good. Forget leprechauns and rainbows, this is true Irish story cinema

Okay but quick side note- Gong Yoo is too fine 😍

that little girl acted the shit out of that last scene there. fking wild.

Ooh if your're watching international movies when you get to Mexico you should watch "Y Tu Mama Tambien" by Alfonso Cuarón

Calling out my hometown 😄 Flights to Tucson can be cray especially during the holidays

You should do You Are Not My Mother! It’s an Irish psychological horror based on changelings. Super good and creepy.

TRAIN TO BUSAN!! FINALLY!

Y’all are eating with the film selections!

OH???? PLEASE THIS MOVIE FUCKING HURT ME SO BAD WHEN I SAW IT AND I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO SEE THIS

HELL YES!!! I’ve been waiting for this episode! This is one of my favorite horror films of all time - an incredible piece of cinema 🧟‍♀️

You should watch City Of God next if you're gonna keep with the insanely good foreign movies sequence!! Loved zachs social analysis about train to busan...

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TURN KELSEY'S ZOMBIE TWO SECONDS INTO A GIF?😂

I know covering two asian zombie movies is not gonna happen, but I HIGHLY recommend “One cut of the dead” for your personal cinematographic wellbeing.

i haven't been keeping up with guilty pleasures bc of college but since y'all covered this u should totally do all of us are dead !!! i feel like zach would love it

This felt exceptionally short!

nah i cant believe kelsey watched it dubbed, dub loses so much emotion and nuance in movies/shows

Only 2 minutes in but I gotta fight a bit about the sub vs dub because it's a hot button. I have some processing issues, so while I often like subs, sometimes it's easier to just watch a dub because it's in my native language and now I can pay attention to what is happening on screen. Subs, I find it hard to both read and pay attention to the action itself. Let people have their preferences, guys. Edit to add now that I'm done, Aloha Oe is a song of farewell written by Hawaii's last princess. So pretty poignant of a song to choose.

the two sisters storyline made me cry 😭

Land of the Dead (2005) is a zombie movie with a full capitalist/class war plot. *SA*John Leguizamo gets bitten and when a friend offers to shoot him, he says "I wanna see how the other half lives." Subtle, writers...😂

Hello please check that your international films do no have a US distributor. Then it's struck. I didn't check for this movie but as a heads up

Hollywood plans to make their version of this movie, produced by James Wann, and directed by Timo Tjahjanto (Indonesian Director).. as an Indonesian myself, I have faith in him after watching his horror/thriller and action films..

Train to Busan is sooooo goood

I loved the Train to Busan!!! I also love watching Asian dramas. My favorite so far is Guardian (Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu).

S.Korea really knows how to do zombie movies/shows. I would highly highly recommend you watch Happiness, All of Us are Dead and Kingdom

I love this movie. This one and The Wailing are my favorite Korean horror movies.

holy shit if you guys are doing international movies i want to recommend 2 movies, #1: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai longer but genuinely so fun, cute love story, follows a pair of "friends" 😉 from college to the present day and like i cant even describe idek. the songs are bops, and the actors are over the top in the fun parts and heartfelt when they have to be. genuinely so fun. #2: Shaolin Soccer, some of the most absurd humor I've ever seen, genuinely touching moments, overall great time #2:

OH MY GOD THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES

Is there anywhere on social media where they post what they are watching next,I want to have already watched the movie when the video comes out

yesss train to busan!! its such a great movie! you guys need to do kdramas! there's so many incredible ones!

This movie is absolutely amazing and I am so glad you covered it. Korean zombies are the only kind of zombie content I actually enjoy. They get the formula right almost every single time. 12:10 The disrespect towards Gong Yoo - he is one of the biggest, most active, and well respected Korean actors and you called him that guy from squid games? Absolutely not on my watch.

For the love of God you guys have GOT to check out two other amazing Korean films The Man From Nowhere and Oldboy (the Korean one but it does have a really intense plot twist at the end so be warned).

28:35 that's actually a Zack Snyder movie the original Night of the Living Dead took place in a farmhouse

The father turning and remembering his love for his daughter kills me everytime

Gong Yoo (Lead of Train to Busan) is an absolute legend in South Korea.

Kelsey WHY?! Watching dubbed foreign films should not be allowed! It's often a whole different experience. Also, South Korean had an outbreak like covid in 2015 so I'm pretty sure that's what they're referencing in the movie.

Thankfully I watched this movie on a platform that didn’t have the English dub available. I paid fuuulll attention lol

ya'll must have never seen lilo and stitch when lilo's older sister is singing Aloha Oe to her. also full on tears. but yeah this movie is excellent cant say enough about the actors and the everything else.

Train to Busan is my favorite movie! I love when people talk about it and enjoy Train to Busan

Please PLEASE watch "Lady Vengeance" directed by Park Chan-Wook!!! ...or just all the 'vengeance' movies by that director. I think his most well known work for western people is "Old Boy". Jus.. please.. if ur into dark, violent, but beautiful and well-written/directed stuff ;3

Omg we're here to talk about the loml Gong Yoo 🫶🏼

Does people know Train to Busan has a Animated Prequel called Seoul Station? lol

The way we need to do k drama episodes and have you guys watch some classics and some amazing ones

Yall should check out Kingdom, bcs it was based on the joseon kingdom era and NO ONE knows about zombie, and the most interesting thing are, the joseon people has to survive and fight without any machine at all, everything is traditional.

Highly recommend Try Guys/Guilty Pleasures Goes to South Korea.. I went for my birthday last March and I can not wait to go back. There's sooooo much to do. I didn't even get to scratch the surface.

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE

I hate horror or Zombie movies but bc I love Gong Yoo, the "guy who presents the offer in squid game"🤦🏼‍♀ had a crush on him for 20 years and no, he's not a Kpop idol. Geez. He's a phenomenal actor. It's sad that anyone has to be in a "mainstream" show for foreigners to appreciate talent. This was the most annoying and sparse fun facts of GP ever. They weren't even fun bc they were just general facts that most people already knew lol. I mean, you can google better than that, there's so many nuggets you could find if you just knew what to look for or even cared. And btw, TTB was not Ma Dong Seok's breakout role. Maybe for Americans. He was already a well-known actor in Asia and Europe 😅 I agree with Garrick of course that this really was a good movie bc it actually was and not bc "for whatever reason got cultural acclaim" what a silent diss lol More power to Garrick who always represents other cultures than his own 💕 His love for foreign films, comics, and his advocacy for anime and subtitles never went unnoticed 🙌🏼 We appreciate the voice you give for the "relatively unknown" (as far as the US is concerned)

i am once again BEGGING for you guys to either watch MIDNIGHT RUNNERS or Ok, Madam!!! PLEASE omg

I love this movie! The suspense is perfect, and the stakes are high. So good.

Loved watching you guys talk about this movie. And I agree...it can go on the list of classic movies! And thank you for recognizing Ma Dong-seok! He is such an amazing actor. His character is really bad a**! If you like him in this movie..and you guys are ever interested in other Korean movies or Drama. I have one suggestion for a movie that you guys might enjoy. It's called 'The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil. (2019) I enjoyed it! 😁

Gong you is a good actor…. You need to find out more about him by seeing the “silence”(title) movie based on real event in Korea. Traumatising tho

Kelsey you do have the right to watch movies dubbed… but if you watch it dubbed you should also watch it subbed

Gong Yoo ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

YEAH DUDE I WAS SAYING THAT "OLD LADY" LOOKS LIKE 50 BUT THEYRE TRYNA PASS HER OFF AS 85 LMFAO

Hey Miles, names... I need names. For these foreign films please find actor names. Maybe put it on screen when they are talking about their character.

7:12 Just wanna say that The Walking Dead writer did address this when they said that 'Night of the Living Dead' didn't exist in the TWD universe, and therefore zombie media never existed in that universe. I just apply that to any other zombie-media

this movie made me have a small phobia of deers

Kelsey, I’m sorry, but you backtracked watching this dubbed in English 😭

28:30 Damn Zach, how can you mix up "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead." The former is the original 60's film, the latter is the 70's film inside a mall.

ohhhhhhhh my sweet sweet south korean media noobs. I remember seeing Gong Yoo in Coffee Prince in 2009 and from that point on I was like I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS SOUTH KOREAN DRAMA/FILMMAKING THING IS ABOUT BUT IT SLAPS. I challenge you guys to do some kdramas for the guilty pleasure content.

dude a zombie show that acknowledges the existence of zombies AND THIS VERY MOVIE within it, is All of Us Are Dead, another Korean TV show, (one season 😉 get on that)

AAHHH YES FINALLY TRAIN TO BUSAN!! PARASITE NEXT. ANOTHER ONE, MIRACLE IN CELL NO. 7 (TEARJERKER MOVIE). Hope Eugene will be a guest for other Korea content

You guys should have Amanda the Jedi on to talk about DEBS. She is a recently converted familia and I feel you guys would jive with her so much.

Train to this bussy

watch All of us are dead or Sweet home

I really hope y’all cover Battle Royal, it’s pretty dope and a classic

Don’t watch Peninsula but the prequel is good prequel. Seoul Station.

Deer - think prey - This seems to be thing in K-dramas , Deer as a symbol/representative of the innocent victim. Re: missing actors' voices by watching the dubbed version is a loss. Korean is a lovely language.

7:36 You guys need to watch All of Us are Dead

Now you gotta do The Sadness next 😈.

Zombie mosquito - house of the dead 2 there is a zombie zoo movie too

Was garrick trying to defend the US' gun law? 🤣

You wanna see a zombie cat? Watch scouts guide to the zombie apocalypse x

Hope you'll watch The Handmaiden. One of the greatest korean movies out there.