NARRATIVE

The magazine portrays how different kinds of people in Train to Busan acted to the
zombie attacks based on the International Relations Theory. Realists are the more practical
people who act mostly based on what will benefit them the most. They are selfish, but not
necessarily in a bad way. They simply prioritize themselves as they feel strongly responsible for
their own. In the movie, the antagonist, Yon Suk embodies realism. His actions are done with
the intention of saving himself because, truthfully, he knows that it will not benefit him to
prioritize others. He does everything possible to avoid becoming one with the zombies which
includes even sacrificing others as it is his instinct. Yon Suk’s only instinct is to survive, and
nothing more.

As for the daughter of the protagonist, Soo An, can belong in the liberalism sector.
Liberalism refers to the theory that aims to create favorable conditions for long-term peace and
harmony by ensuring the right of an individual person to life, liberty and property. How Soo An
was able to consider everyone’s rights and perspectives despite the zombie attack - giving her
seat to the grandma after being chased by zombies and quarreling with her dad by saying his
selfishness is wrong are some things that make her a liberalist. Other liberalists in the movie
include Sung Gyeong, the pregnant lady who respects others more than herself (Stops a
mysterious person who’s biting the train crew, stops a fight that happened because Suk Woo
closed the door preventing her husband and her to enter, accompanies Soo An all the way to
Busan, etc.), Sang Hwa, the muscular husband whose priority included Sung Kyeong, his wife,
Soo An, and basically everyone who couldn't survive alone during the attacks, and the captain of
the train who was willing to do his job which is to transfer the people to the safest location.

The homeless man in the movie is a good example of a constructivist. At the beginning,
his instinct was always to fend for himself and simply act based on how the other people in the
train do. Because he sees that people are doing what they can to survive, he follows this.
However, as the movie progresses and he interacts with other people, he realizes how worthy
their survival will be. He learned to set aside his own needs to protect those who will be able to
hold out the longest and possibly be able to escape. With this, he ends up screaming to avert the
zombies' attention to him so that the others can escape. Another character in the movie
embodying constructivism is Seok Woo, the main character. He first prioritized his and his
daughter’s survival and worked alone to get out of tricky situations. He then figures out the
strengths and weaknesses of each person he's come across with to work a solution together for
all of them to get away. Seok Woo observes how the zombies acted when they couldn't see the
people nor hear noises then applied this realization to divert the attention away from them
instead of killing each one.

Marxism is another international relations theory which believes in a society without

capitalism. By restricting and controlling each individual’s access to resources, marxists aim to
achieve a classless society throughout the world. Among the characters of Train to Busan, Jin
Hee, the baseball girl can be best considered as a marxist. This can be observed during the last
part of the movie when a bunch of people including her friend, Yong Guk were trying to go to
the safe section of the train where she was in. The antagonist of the movie was convincing the
people of the last section that they must secure the place so no humans can enter their place in
case they were infected. Jin Hee then stood up for the other uninfected people who made it away
from the zombies. Even when they were first to make it to the safe section of the train, she did
not become selfish to prevent them from entering their area. Another marxist in the movie is
Jong Gil, the younger grandma appeared in the movie. She was one of the passengers in the
section where Yon Suk had convinced to secure so no people could enter. The reason why she
belongs in marxism is because “drum rolls please” she decides to open the door of the safe
section to avenge her sister’s death (her sister, In Gil has died due to the antagonist securing the
last section of the train). This causes everyone in the section to become zombies, therefore,
establishing a “classless” society as the section now contains a bunch of zombies without any
power or superiority.