Yeon Sang-ho is working on a new zombie movie through which he can finally redeem the underwhelming sequel toTrain to Busan. The zombie genre is full of hits and misses both in film and TV, but in 2016, Yeon Sang-ho brought one of the biggest successes of the genre withTrain to Busan. The film was a critical and commercial success, spawning a movie series with a prequel, a sequel, and an American remake that is currently trapped in development hell.
Train to Busanfollows Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), a workaholic and divorced father taking his estranged daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an), to Busan so she can spend her birthday with her.Once on the train, they learn about the sudden break of a zombie apocalypse, and, unfortunately, one of the passengers is infected. What follows is the rest of the passengers’ desperate efforts to survive and get to Busan, the closest safe zone. Now, five years afterTrain to Busan’s sequel,Peninsula,Yeon Sang-ho is working on a new zombie movie,Gunche, which won’t be a stranger from the world ofTrain to Busan.
Gunche Will Be Set In Yeon Sang-ho’s Train To Busan Universe
Gunche Is A New Addition To The Train To Busan Universe
The last entry in theTrain to Busanuniverse was the sequelPeninsula, in 2020, and since then, Yeon Sang-ho has moved on to other projects. Yeon has one movie,Revelations, released in 2025, and he’s now working on another zombie movie that’s taking him back to the world ofTrain to Busan. In March 2025, it was reported that Yeon’s next project isGunche, with Jun Ji-hyun, Ji Chang-wook, and Koo Kyo-hwan already signed to be part of the cast. At the time of writing, there’s no word on whatGunche’s English title will be.
“Gunche” in Korean means colony in a biological context.
The announcement includes the confirmation ofGunchebeing part of theTrain to Busansaga, with distributor Showbox describing the project as the “culmination” of Yeon’s universe that began withTrain to Busanand continued withPeninsula. However,it’s unclear if Gunche is a direct sequel toTrain to Busan,Peninsula, or evenSeoul Station, in which case it would be set between this andTrain to Busan.Gunchecould also be a standalone sequel, meaning it would expand this universe without continuing where the previous movies left off.
Train To Busan Ending Explained
Yeon Sang-ho and Gong Yoo’s critically acclaimed 2016 zombie movie, Train to Busan, has a bittersweet ending that leaves audiences wanting more.
Gunche Must Be A Better Sequel To Train To Busan Than Peninsula
Peninsula Completely Failed As A Sequel To Train To Busan
As mentioned above,Train to Busangot a continuation four years after its release. TitledPeninsulaand also directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the movie is a standalone sequel toTrain to Busan, so none of the surviving characters are in it.Peninsulais set afterTrain to Busan, with South Korea now taken over by zombies. Four years later, former soldier Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won), who years before let his sister be bitten by zombies after she refused to leave her infected son, is recruited along with two others by Chinese mobsters to retrieve a truck with millions of dollars in South Korea.
Peninsula has a 55% critics' score onRotten Tomatoes, with critics calling it disappointing and generic, and finding that it forgot everything that madeTrain to Busanso good.
However, the zombies aren’t the only obstacle they have to face during this mission, as others are also interested in taking the money at any cost.Peninsulaperformed well at the box office, grossing $42.7 million against a $16 million budget, but it didn’t really match the quality and success ofTrain to Busan.Peninsulahas a 55% critics' score onRotten Tomatoes, with critics calling it disappointing and generic, and finding that it forgot everything that madeTrain to Busanso good – however, most agreed that fans ofTrain to Busanwould findPeninsulaentertaining, at least.
Train To Busan 2: Peninsula Ending & Twist Explained
Director Yeon Sang-ho’s sequel to Train to Busan, Peninsula, delivers a heart-pounding, bittersweet ending that packs a gut-punch and a few twists.
General audiences were a bit more welcoming ofPeninsula, giving it a 76% popcornmeter onRotten Tomatoes, yet still not enough to matchTrain to Busan(which has a 95% critics score and an 89% popcornmeter). Viewers liked the combination of a more fast-paced action movie with a zombie setting but admitted that it didn’t capture the essence, greatness, and horror factor ofTrain to Busan. WhetherGuncheis a direct sequel to the previous movies or a standalone one, it must learn fromPeninsula’s mistakes and make up for itsdisappointment as aTrain to Busanmovie.
At Least Train To Busan’s Prequel Movie Was A Great Addition To The Franchise
Seoul Station Benefited The Train To Busan Universe
WherePeninsulafailed,Seoul Stationhad already succeeded. Just a couple of months afterTrain to Busanwas released,the animated prequelSeoul Stationwas released, written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho.Seoul Stationexplores the beginning of the zombie epidemic seen inTrain to Busan, and for that, it follows three characters: a young sex worker called Hye-sun, her father Suk-gyu, and her boyfriend Ki-woong. The latter two are trying to find Hye-sun as the zombie epidemic quickly rises, with some dark secrets about all of them being revealed in the process.
Seoul Stationwas a critical and commercial success, and it managed to replicate what madeTrain to Busanso good: a personal story amid the suspense and horror of the zombie epidemic.Guncheis already an exciting project simply because it’s part of the world ofTrain to Busan, but it must learn from what madeTrain to BusanandSeoul Stationso good and what madePeninsulafail.
