What actually happens
A deer gets up, which is the first problem
A deer is hit by a truck, then gets up again once the truck has gone, which is the first sign something is wrong. In Seoul, Seok-woo, a cynical, divorced workaholic, gets his estranged daughter Su-an's birthday present wrong and misses her recital. Her mother, Na-young, lives in Busan, and Su-an wants to visit, so he agrees to take her on the KTX 101. They board at Seoul Station with Seong-kyeong, who is pregnant, and her husband Sang-hwa, a blue-collar worker, a high-ranking executive named Yon-suk, a high school baseball team with a player named Yong-guk and the cheerleader Jin-hee, his girlfriend, a homeless man and two elderly sisters, In-gil and Jong-gil. Just before departure, a woman covered in scrapes slips aboard unnoticed. News reports say an outbreak is spreading across the country. The woman turns into a zombie and bites a train attendant, and now the outbreak is on the train.
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Everybody off at Daejeon (a mistake)
The survivors close the doors on the horde and move on. The train passes Cheonan and stops at Daejeon, where soldiers were meant to hold the infection back, and Seok-woo hears that his company has sent a team to pick up him and Su-an. Everyone gets off and finds that the soldiers and the company's team have already fallen to the horde, so they rush back on and get split up across carriages. The conductor cancels every stop but Busan, where the army has set up a quarantine zone. Yong-guk, Sang-hwa and Seok-woo arm themselves and push through the horde to reach the carriage where the homeless man, In-gil, Seong-kyeong and Su-an are waiting. The passengers in the next carriage fear the group is infected and block the door. Sang-hwa is bitten while they try to force their way in. He asks Seok-woo to look after Seong-kyeong and to give their baby the name he picked, then holds the horde off so the others can get through. In-gil is left behind.
Nobody on this train is good at sharing
The train attendant Ki-chul, Yon-suk and the other passengers demand that the newcomers leave and wait in the front vestibule. Jong-gil, disgusted by everyone's selfishness and paranoia, opens the door and lets the horde in on the passengers who locked the others out. Yon-suk and Ki-chul survive by hiding in a bathroom. Meanwhile Seok-woo learns by phone that his company was partly to blame for the outbreak. At Dongdaegu Station a blocked track stops the train, and the driver goes to look for another one. Yon-suk pushes Ki-chul into the horde to get away. A burning locomotive then crashes into passenger carriages full of zombies, and a toppled carriage traps the homeless man along with Seok-woo, Su-an and Seong-kyeong. Yong-guk and Jin-hee have been separated from the group, and Yon-suk uses them as bait to get onto the new train. The conductor starts another train on a different track and tries to help the injured Yon-suk, but is mauled. The homeless man sacrifices himself so the other three can find a way out.
A goodbye at the back of the train
Aboard the new train, Seok-woo, with Su-an and Seong-kyeong, finds Yon-suk infected and begging for help right before he turns. Seok-woo fights him and throws him off, but is bitten on the hand. This is the scene people dread most, and it comes near the end: as the infection takes hold, he shuts Su-an and Seong-kyeong into the engine room, explains the driving to Seong-kyeong and says goodbye to his daughter. Then he walks to the back of the train, remembers the day Su-an was born and throws himself off.
The ending, explained
Su-an and Seong-kyeong are the surviving pair. They reach a blockade of corpses and barbed wire at a tunnel near Busan and walk into it, with Su-an singing the Hawaiian folk song she missed performing at her recital, as a way of steadying herself and honoring her father. The army meets them on the other side and takes them to safety. Seok-woo, Sang-hwa and the homeless man gave their lives for the others. Yon-suk, who left Ki-chul to the horde and used Yong-guk and Jin-hee as bait, turned and was thrown off the train.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: no dog, but there is a deer.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Train to Busan scary?
Yes, Train to Busan is a 5.5 out of 10 with medium dread. It is a fast, loud zombie outbreak with sudden jump scares and some graphic moments, and it has a sad ending.
How does Train to Busan end?
Seok-woo is bitten and throws himself off the train after getting his daughter Su-an and a pregnant passenger, Seong-kyeong, into the engine room. The two of them walk through a tunnel near Busan, and the army takes them to safety.
Does the dog die in Train to Busan?
No dog dies in Train to Busan, because there is no dog in it. A truck hits a deer in the opening scene, and it's graphic.
Is there a post-credits scene in Train to Busan?
No. Train to Busan has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
What starts the outbreak in Train to Busan?
A woman with injuries slips onto the train just before it leaves Seoul Station, turns into a zombie and bites a train attendant. Seok-woo also learns by phone that his company was partly responsible for the outbreak.
