'All of Us Are Dead' cast interviewed by American broadcaster NBC

The cast of Netflix Korea's original series ″All of Us Are Dead″ pose for a photo during an online press event to promote their series on Jan. 26. [NETFLIX]

The cast of Netflix Korea’s original series “All of Us Are Dead” took part in an interview with American broadcaster NBC.

The zombie apocalypse drama is seeing immense popularity, topping daily and global charts. The series also topped Netflix’s weekly viewership chart for the second consecutive week with 236.2 million hours of streaming and rose to No. 5 on the all-time viewership chart for non-English TV programs.

Actors Cho Yi-hyun, Yoon Chan-young, Park Ji-hu and Lomon said in an email interview with the broadcaster that the series “captures Gen Z feelings of dual identity.”

Adapted from a Naver Webtoon published between 2009 and 2011, the series centers around a group of teenage students who have to battle through a zombie virus outbreak which starts at their high school.

Cho, who portrays the cold and indifferent class president Nam-ra, said she related to her character’s feeling of confusion regarding her identity, quoting a line from her character when she says “You know how students are not children but not yet adults either? I’m like that. I’m neither human nor a monster.”

“Everyone faces an identity crisis at one point in their life,” Cho said in the interview. “As a teenager, I also felt like an adult but not yet an adult. I went through stages like that. In those aspects, I related to Nam-ra.”

NBC introduced the series as a show that “includes moral messages about the role adults play in protecting children during times of crisis.”

Other actors said that the global fame of “Squid Game” affected their acting.

Yoon, who portrays Cheong-san, said that he was so touched by actor Oh Young-soo’s performance that he repeated his lines from the show to himself. Park, who portrays On-jo, was inspired by actor Lee you-mi’s performance in the series.

Lee You-mi, who rose to global stardom through “Squid Game,” portrays Na-yeon in “All of Us are Dead,” a wealthy student who looks down on her peers who lives in low-income housing.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]