| “ | Hey! All of you! Come after me! Today, I am the happiest guy in school! | ” |
–Lee Cheong-san | ||
Lee Cheong-san (Korean: 이청산) is the male protagonist of Netflix's All of Us Are Dead.
He is a student at Hyosan High School and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee, the chefs and proprietors of a local fried chicken restaurant. He is also the best friend of Nam On-jo, his love interest since childhood.
He is portrayed by Yoon Chan-yeong. In the English dub, he is voiced by Harrison Xu and by Esteban Oertli in the French dub. In the Italian dub he is voiced by Tito Marteddu and in the Spanish dub by Jesus Mondragon.
History[]
Pre-Outbreak[]
Cheong-san lived with his mother and father, who named him after the fried chicken restaurant they owned and ran, which was soon to be rebranded with his face as the official mascot - something Cheong-san found incredibly embarrassing. The family lived in an apartment block in a unit next door to Nam So-ju and his daughter, On-jo, Cheong-san's best friend since they were in kindergarten. He and On-jo were such close-knit companions to the point where many classmates believed that they were dating, though the two constantly denied these rumors. For his part, Cheong-san secretly liked On-jo since they were six years old, but years of being used to treating her like a childhood playmate left him unable to express his feelings properly, and kept On-jo completely oblivious.
He and On-jo were in Class 2-5 together under teacher Park Sun-hwa, along with his best male friend Han Gyeong-su, and On-jo's best female friend Yoon I-sak - all of whom frequently hung out together, the Lee family restaurant being one of their frequent spots. On the day of the outbreak, he witnessed Kim Hyeon-ju collapsing in their classroom, and became very concerned when On-jo helped carry her away, and was then told by I-sak that she was hurt trying to help her. He immediately went out and found On-jo, unwittingly interrupting an awkward conversation between her and popular classmate Lee Su-hyeok. After she left, Su-hyeok asked teasingly if he was dating On-jo; Cheong-san denied this, as usual, and declared that he would rather be with a zombie than with On-jo if the world ended.
While talking to On-jo after finishing lunch in the cafeteria, Cheong-san finally learned that On-jo harbored a crush for Su-hyeok, and had recently confessed to him. On-jo already turned to Cheong-san for advice on her hair the previous night (which he awkwardly refused to do), and was now asking for insight into Su-hyeok's feelings towards her after her confession. These interactions finally reignited Cheong-san's long-withheld attraction towards On-jo, making him irritable and quietly jealous.
Outbreak[]
Suddenly, a group of students came running into the cafeteria, with some of them covered in blood and attacking others. He and On-jo were able to escape and return to Class 2-5, where other fellow classmates were taking shelter. I-sak found a smartphone in one of the schoolbags, and Cheong-san used it to make a 119 emergency call; the responder didn't take him seriously when he mentioned "zombies", believing that Cheong-san was pranking him, but he promised that the police would arrive soon. The police never came.
After teacher Kang Jin-gu barged into the room, became a zombie, and then bit Kim Min-ji (turning her as well), Cheong-san helped his fellow survivors flee and fight their way through the zombies into the science classroom. The students barricaded themselves, but Su-hyeok is discovered missing, having been separated while fighting off the zombies pursuing them. It was also revealed that I-sak was bitten in the leg during the fighting, and became infected. The students watched in horror as she finally turned, and Cheong-san fought her off as she attacked. On-jo protested, but as I-sak charged at On-jo, Cheong-san body-checked her out the window. On-jo grabbed her hand before she slipped, desperate to save her former friend; Cheong-san intervened and broke I-sak's grip, letting the zombie fall to her possible death and leaving On-jo traumatized.
Cheong-san then decided to grab an emergency fire hose from the infested hallway to form a makeshift climbing rope, which the survivors used to climb down to the broadcasting room, where Ms. Park also happened to be hiding. Cheong-san stayed behind to encourage a despondent On-jo to stay alive, making sure she made the climb. Just as he was about to climb down himself, the zombies in the hallway barged into the room, and he fell backwards when one tried to pounce him. He managed to grab the hose on the way down, but one of the zombies that fell with him grabbed onto his foot, holding him in place. Su-hyeok, who had just climbed out onto the window ledge to escape the art room, witnessed the scene and then jumped over to save Cheong-san, kicking the zombie off.
As the group used the room's computer to find news of the outbreak, a zombie appeared at the window, having fallen out from above and tangled itself on the hose. Cheong-san, Su-hyeok, and Gyeong-su worked together to knock the zombie off of it, but Gyeong-su suffered a nosebleed and a cut on his hand during the violent struggle; Lee Na-yeon pointed this out, spreading fear that Gyeong-su may be infected. Despite Cheong-san's protests, Gyeong-su was reluctantly quarantined in the adjacent recording chamber.
Na-yeon was then reprimanded by the other survivors for treating Gyeong-su so poorly, and was forced to apologize to him. Unknown to them, she took a cloth doused in zombie blood and put it on Gyeong-su's cut while pretending to treat him, causing the student to become a zombie. Cheong-san was then forced to bait his former friend into jumping out the window, saving everyone again. Realizing Na-yeon's betrayal, he knocked her to the ground and declared that she was a murderer, prompting Na-yeon to leave and for Ms. Park to follow after her. On-jo would then console him, and the two best friends shared in the hope that their parents were still alive.
The next morning, the group discovered that the rescuers never arrived. Despite On-jo's concern, Cheong-san and Su-hyeok decided to climb out and reach the teachers' office to retrieve another smartphone; On-jo lost the first one during the fight to the science room. En route, Cheong-san suddenly asked Su-hyeok about his romantic intentions for On-jo; Su-hyeok quickly detected his friend's jealousy, and teasingly asked if he should go out with her. Cheong-san suddenly feigned indifference, and lied that he was only asking out of curiosity.
In the office, the pair were startled to encounter Min Eun-ji, who was smashing all the phones, and then attacked Cheong-san when she saw him reaching for one. Su-hyeok pulled her off Cheong-san, but the commotion drew the attention of nearby zombies; Cheong-san managed to grab an intact phone before being separated from Su-hyeok. He would eventually reach the principal's office and witness Yoon Gwi-nam murdering the principal. Gwi-nam then pursued him, culminating in a tense struggle in the library, where Cheong-san was able to stab Gwi-nam's left eye and throw him to the zombies. Jumping into a plumbing duct to hide, Cheong-san attempted more emergency calls only to find that cell services had been severed in Hyosan by the military.
Terrified, Cheong-san thought about On-jo and Gyeong-su, and then found the courage to dodge the zombies and make it to the music room. Using the intercom system, the group told Cheong-san that they would come to him; knowing the danger of this, Cheong-san was about to leave until he heard On-jo's voice, pleading for him to stay put. The group would eventually reunite with him, and On-jo scolded Cheong-san for endangering himself. When Choi Nam-ra's bite wound was discovered, and it was revealed to have been from Gwi-nam, Cheong-san was immediately prepared to kill her and came to odds with Su-hyeok, who insisted that Gwi-nam wasn't a zombie when it happened. The two eventually fought when Nam-ra almost bit Su-hyeok, but On-jo broke it up upon suggesting that Nam-ra may be immune, just like Gwi-nam.
After recording some personal messages to their loved ones on a camcorder, Cheong-san and the others aided On-jo's plan of building a barricade in the middle of the music room, and then luring the zombies in from out of the corridor so that the survivors could make a run for the rooftop. To Cheong-san's surprise, Su-hyeok privately told him that he liked Nam-ra, finally answering Cheong-san's earlier question about his intentions. Assuaging Cheong-san's jealousy, Su-hyeok wished his friend luck with On-jo and advised him to stop treating her like a "guy".
Su-hyeok allowed the zombies into the room, and On-jo's plan almost succeeded until the group reached the rooftop doors, which were electronically locked. Cheong-san and Su-hyeok fought off pursuing zombies on the nearby stairway until Gwi-nam reappeared; Cheong-san struggled to stop him before Nam-ra intervened with her newfound superhuman strength, which she used to throw the bully back down the stairs. A fire set by Eun-ji in the teachers' office finally unlocked the rooftop doors, but the group was too late: a helicopter that just rescued Kim Cheol-soo had failed to notice them as it flew away.
By nightfall, the group managed to build an SOS signal and make a campfire, around which the survivors conversed and bonded. When it came to Cheong-san's turn to speak, he was asked by Seo Hyo-ryung and Yang Dae-su if he had a crush; On-jo was intrigued and pressed her best friend for an answer, and Cheong-san finally confessed his feelings to On-jo for everyone to hear. The confession shocked On-jo, and caused her to walk away. With Su-hyeok's encouragement, Cheong-san approached On-jo and assured her that she did not have to like him back; On-jo was upset that she had lost him as her best friend. He then asked her if she ever liked him at all, but she couldn't answer him; she instead asked to be left alone to sort out her own feelings. Cheong-san complied, and walked to the other side of the rooftop to give her space.
Cheong-san soon heard On-jo screaming, and turned to see Gwi-nam menacing her. He was the first to charge at Gwi-nam and was soon joined by the others, but they were all overwhelmed by the bully's incredible strength and almost got his eye burst until Nam-ra managed to overpower him and throw him off the roof. Cheong-san and the others gathered around the fire to nurse their bruises, and eventually saw an approaching helicopter, which they excitedly signaled down. As the soldiers came down from it to inspect them and carry out their mission, Cheong-san stayed by On-jo's side to reassure her that they were safe. The group would soon realize that the soldiers had been ordered to abandon them; Cheong-san took On-jo's hand and pleaded for them to rescue at least a few of them, implying that On-jo should be one of those considered. After the soldiers and helicopter leave, Cheong-san angrily kicked at the campfire and SOS signal, knowing that no one else would be coming.
A sudden thunderstorm gave the disheartened students much-needed hydration, and Cheong-san, who also did not cry, saw it as an opportunity to save the group: He rallied the survivors by acknowledging that they could only save themselves, followed by a plan to escape the school grounds and reach the mountain by using the storm as cover. He then had everyone pair up and hold hands for protection, and took On-jo as his partner; On-jo resisted at first, but then relented when Cheong-san assured her that this was simply for survival - discussing their relationship would come later. The pair led the group down to the ground floor and to the main entrance, where Cheong-san spotted a zombie in their way; he informed On-jo that he would lead it away, but reconsidered when On-jo touched his hand, concerned for his safety and insisting that they sneak around it instead.
Coming across a truck that crashed into the school, Cheong-san saw a zombie snarling at him on the other side of the truck bed; a zombie he recognized as his mother. Several survivors then tried to kill it, but stopped when Cheong-san intervened and announced who it was, becoming hysterical. On-jo and Su-hyeok begged Cheong-san to calm himself, seeing that the commotion had attracted nearby zombies. As On-jo led him away, Cheong-san looked back at his undead mother stumbling after them, and mournfully cried out to her - knowing it would be the last he would ever see of her.
The survivors would soon reach the auditorium, joining with Jang Ha-ri's group, unaware of losing Kim Ji-min along the way, and then running into the equipment room to take shelter from the zombies attacking them. The exhausted students caught their breaths; On-jo embraced Cheong-san as he wept, trying to comfort him. Cheong-san stayed awake the whole night as On-jo slept against his shoulder. When she awoke the next morning, he told her that he wasn't sure how he could go on living; On-jo promised that they would talk about that after reaching safety, guaranteeing that they had a lot to discuss about their relationship. The two reconciled best friends then encouraged each other to stay strong, no matter what.
Su-hyeok eventually came up with an idea to use the metal carts and sports equipment to form a moving barricade, which the group could use to reach the auditorium's back exit. In a vote led by Nam-ra, On-jo raised her hand together with Cheong-san's for the option to keep the barricade high, which won the vote. Cheong-san would find an old chocolate bar in one of the bins, which he would share with most of the group. He and On-jo would then help each other put on some sports padding for bite protection, and help the group fight their way to the back door (losing Oh Joon-yeong along the way), only to find it locked. Luckily, On-jo's father - Nam So-ju - unlocked the door just in time and allowed the students to escape, embracing his daughter and then Cheong-san at long last.
The survivors made it to the tennis court, where So-ju would sacrifice himself to the zombies to save the group for a final time. Cheong-san led On-jo away as the group headed to the construction site. They took shelter on a concrete ledge, where Cheong-san comforted On-jo as she wept, letting her cry into his chest. Cheong-san continued to console his best friend afterwards, who expressed her survivor's guilt from having seen so many of their friends and loved ones sacrifice themselves, but he reminded her to stay strong just as she reminded him. He then finally answered her question about her hair from days earlier: her left side looked prettiest to him when it was down. On-jo was confused, unable to remember having asked that question, but Cheong-san shyly promised to remind her "tomorrow".
Nam-ra's enhanced hearing eventually heard a military broadcast announcing that they would bomb several locations throughout Hyosan to eliminate the zombies, which included Hyosan High. Gwi-nam suddenly appeared, blocking the group's only path to escape. In a brief struggle, Gwi-nam took Cheong-san's arm and bit him, and was about to bite his neck before the high-pitched noises from nearby military drones distracted him; Cheong-san took the opportunity to push him off the building. He then looked at his bite mark in horror.
On-jo approached Cheong-san, tearfully trying to reassure him that he would be alright. Knowing his inevitable fate, Cheong-san ripped his name tag off of his uniform and offered it to On-jo, which she accepted; he told her to hold onto it, producing On-jo's name tag and declaring that he would hold onto hers. He then kissed her, and the couple embraced passionately for one last time, before Cheong-san pushed On-jo into Su-hyeok's arms and ran off.
Proudly announcing he was the "happiest guy in the school", Cheong-san lured the zombies away and allowed his friends to escape. He reached the top floor of the site and led the zombies into falling down an unfinished elevator shaft, effectively clearing the building. He then made a final standoff against his archenemy Gwi-nam, slowly succumbing to the infection while injuring the bully several times. This time Cheong-san appeared to be much stronger and able to put up a better fight against Gwi-nam than he did in their former fights (however, it is still unconfirmed that he got this strength by becoming a Hambie). But Gwi-nam ultimately defeated Cheong-san and gouged and ate his left eye in revenge. Cheong-san painfully crawled towards the shaft to try and escape while Gwi-nam taunted him. When the military finally bombed the school, Cheong-san grabbed Gwi-nam and used him as a shield against the explosion, before, apparently, falling down the elevator shaft as the flames consumed them.
On-jo, Nam-ra, and Su-hyeok returned to the site the next day and tried to find him, but none were able to discover a trace.
Post-Outbreak[]
Four months after the explosion, On-jo continued to mourn the apparent death of Cheong-san, and visited a Memorial Tree for Hyosan High School's victims to place some offerings. Among the many messaged ribbons hanging from the branches was a ribbon On-jo hung, which read "Cheong-san, I love you". She then looked at her best friend's name tag and longingly whispered his name.
Physical Appearance[]
Cheong-san has a thin but athletic build, with dark brown eyes and a short bob of black hair that came down to his eyebrows, and a dimple on his right cheek. During the outbreak, he wears the standard Hyosan High School male uniform, as well as white Pro-spec sneakers, and his hair got messed up. In the flashback of Episode 1, he was seen wearing the Hyosan High School male summer uniform along with Gyeong-su. He then puts on a pair of arm pads and ankle pads to protect him from zombie bites. After getting bitten by Gwi-nam, he took off his nametag and gave it on On-jo, and his tie is slightly messed up.
Personality and Traits[]
Cheong-san was a typical high school student possessing few concerns beyond his grades, parents, and friendships - which included his burgeoning unrequited crush towards Nam On-jo, his best friend since childhood. During the outbreak, Cheong-san stepped up and often took an unofficial leadership role for the Class 2-5 survivors, conceiving most of their plans of escape while volunteering first for many dangerous tasks that were required for the group's survival. Courageous to the point of recklessness, Cheong-san proved himself a very noble and heroic figure who was very protective of On-jo, loyal to his friends, and willing to do anything to keep them all alive. He was not as physically gifted as Lee Su-hyeok, but he made up for this with his cunning and being very quick on his feet, while his thin frame and incredible cardiovascular fitness allowed him to be very spry and fast when dodging the zombies or fighting them. He hesitated to kill Oh Joon-yeong after he turned, showing that he has difficulty putting down zombies he used to know.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
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Others[]
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Appearances[]
| Season 1 Appearance | |||
| Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 |
| Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 |
| Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 * |
- Cheong-san appears via flashbacks in Episode 12.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the webtoon, Now at Our School, Cheong-san was more of a supporting character as On-jo fulfilled the role as the main protagonist (and narrator as the story was told in her point of view) instead. Additionally, the two were more romantically involved instead of a love triangle between them, Su-hyeok, and Nam-ra. Plus, it was unknown if the two were childhood friends to begin with.
- In the webtoon his fate is never shown as he stayed behind in a classroom in order to allow On-jo more time to climb to the roof from the window, but it's implied he died in the webtoon, while in the Netflix show his current status is unknown but it's highly possible he's still alive.
- He was not Gwi-nam's main target, rather it was Ha-ri.
- In an article interview, Yoon Chan-yeong revealed that Cheong-san first kiss with On-jo in the show was his actual first kiss with Park Ji-hu. Due to his lack of experience in kissing, the actor attempted to aim for the lips but the collision of the noses blocked it during the take. The crew ended up keeping it because Chan-yeong found it cute.[1]
- Cheong-san is implied to have survived for many reasons:
- Cheong-san already has a habit of cheating death, as seen by the end of both episodes 2 and 4, seemingly getting killed only to be revealed to be fine in the next episode.
- He was bitten on the arm, just like Nam-ra who became a hambie afterwards. Whereas other characters like Min-jae and Na-yeon were bitten on the neck and shoulder respectively and became regular zombies.
- Cheong-san lasted longer than any other characters that were bitten (not counting Kim Hyeon-ju, as she was injected with a serum by Lee Byeong-chan that slowed the infection). The only symptom he had was a nosebleed either from a hit or as a result of the infection, a symptom that Byeong-chan also showed before he (supposedly) became a half-bie.
- Cheong-san was physically stronger against Gwi-nam during their battle in the unfinished building after he was bitten. All the previous encounters against half-bie Gwi-nam before being bitten had Cheong-san (along with a few others, not including Nam-ra) struggle in attacking Gwi-nam.
- When Cheong-san was knocked back into an elevator shaft by the explosion, he grabbed Gwi-nam with him and used him as a shield before being engulfed in flames.
- Also noticeable as Cheong-san and Gwi-nam fall, one can see the orange glow of the flames start to appear on Gwi-nam’s body but not Cheong-san’s.
- It takes intense heat to ripen up the white blood cells and make someone a half-bie. Plus, Cheong-san and Gwi-nam were in the middle of an explosion.
- At the beginning of Episode 12, Cheong-san and Gwi-nam's bodies are not clearly shown due to the ashes and additional corpses surrounding them. There’s no body with the elbow pads that Cheong-san wore nor do any of the bodies have Gwi-nam’s jacket or the red sneakers that he wore.
- On-jo’s name tag is shown to have survived the fire and not been completely burnt.
- When the group is searching for Cheong-san, Nam-ra says that she does not smell anything.
- If the viewer listens closely at the beginning of Episode 12 with headphones at full volume, bones can be heard cracking. This is the same sound made when a half-bie (like Gwi-nam) regenerates.
- When asked if Cheong-san was alive in a YouTube video by TV Guide with Ji-hu, Lomon, and Cho Yi-hyun, Chan-yeong replied that he does not know as nothing was decided yet but he personally hopes that Cheong-san lives.[2]
- When the director of the show himself was asked about the fate of Cheong-san, he explained season one was written with season two in plans and that he has ideas for "all the characters, including Cheong-san, to appear in season 2." He said some people will not like if Cheong-san returned but others would and he has plans for what will happen.
- Chan-yeong was one of the four actors to promote the first teaser for season 2 of the show.
- In Episode 1, a scene of Cheong-san is seen texting to a person named Jin-sol on his phone, it is unknown whether this person was actually Kim Jin-sol, a minor character.
- Both Cheong-san and Sun-hwa are the only members of the Hyosan School Group with unknown status.
- Ironically, Chan-yeong and Yoo In-soo, the actor of Gwi-nam, are best friends in real life.
- Cheong-san's voice actor is Harrison Xu, who voiced Lee Eun-hyeok in the English dub of Sweet Home.
