Director Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan 2, Peninsula, delivers an emotional gut punch in its ending, much like its predecessor. However, it leaves audiences with more than a few questions about the ending and the franchise's future. Peninsula follows a group of people who have agreed to take on the dangerous mission of retrieving $20 million from an abandoned truck on the Korean peninsula, overrun by zombies. After the first Train to Busan, both North and South Korea had few survivors, with massive zombie hoards as a harrowing reminder of the fallen civilization.

Set four years after Train to Busan, Peninsula's connection to the original movie isn't direct but a continuation of the event and how the zombie virus has spread. None of the characters from Train to Busan return for the sequel, but the spirit of it is felt throughout, especially in the movie's ending. Jung-Seok leads the charge as the movie's hero, a man who is haunted by the tragic loss. The peninsula is run by a lawless militia who see outsiders as "wild dogs" to be hunted and pitted against zombies for entertainment, proving zombies aren't the only threat now.

What Happened In Train To Busan: Peninsula's Ending

The Survivors Were Rescued After Suffering Great Losses

Jung-Seok (Gang Dong-won) and his new companions, Min-jung (Lee Jung-hyun), Joon-i (Lee Re), and Yu-jin (Lee Ye-won) make a final attempt to escape the zombie hoard after they see a UN medic helicopter trying to make a landing on the Korean peninsula. At first, Min-jung begs Jung-Seok to repay her daughters' kindness - they saved his life earlier in the movie - by ensuring that they made it to the helicopter, no matter what.

Min-jung was injured in a shootout with Captain Seo (Koo Kyo-hwan). She couldn't move as efficiently or run as fast — it was more important to her that her daughters survived and got off the peninsula. Min-jung caused a diversion by getting into a truck and blaring the horn, as zombies are easily drawn to both noise and light, which is an interesting take on traditional zombie lore. She intended to distract the zombies and then kill herself. Jung-Seok realized what she was attempting to do, and risked his own life to get them all to safety, together.

Jung-Seok knew that it was his duty to keep a family together at all costs.

Because he had experienced so much familial loss, Jung-Seok knew that it was his duty to keep a family together at all costs, even if he died and ended up ing his own as a result. It was a final act of heroism that finally allowed Jung-Seok to save someone he cared for: he couldn't save his sister and nephew, couldn't save his brother-in-law, and couldn't save Elder Kim. However, he could finally put himself in a position to ensure no more people had to suffer the same profound losses.

The survivors were rescued by a woman named Jane (Bella Rahim). This was a fun twist, as Major Jane had been referred to by Elder Kim (Kwon Hae-ho), Min-jung's father and the girls' grandfather, who succumbed to his wounds and died just before the rest of the group made their final attempt to escape. Jane's appearance confirmed Elder Kim had been speaking to a real person the whole time rather than suffering delusions. Her appearance was a bittersweet moment that opened up the chance of a hopeful future for those who made it off the peninsula.

Where Are The Survivors Heading Next?

They Are Likely Homeless & Need To Find Their Next Home

Since the helicopter was a UN CH-47 from Malaysia, it can be assumed that the survivors are heading back there. Min-jung, Joon-i, and Yu-jin are likely Korean natives - either from North or South Korea - just like Jung-Seok, but they were never taken to a secondary location after the outbreak. Therefore, they're most certainly refugees, and homeless, since they left everything they once knew behind for a chance at a new life.

Jung-Seok was part of the military during the initial outbreak, and ended up in Hong Kong with his brother-in-law, but wouldn't have necessarily stayed in the service after being moved. Since he was looking for work and volunteered for the mission to obtain the $20 million, he likely needed something to start over somewhere else; that was what he had discussed with Chul-min. Both men wanted to put the past behind them and use their share of the money to finally rebuild and try to work past everything they'd lost.

However, Jung-Seok and Chul-min were both struggling in Hong Kong to make ends meet — they were living a refugee lifestyle there and were essentially homeless as well. Being displaced is never easy, and it isn't easy to think of never being able to return home again, which seems to be the case. As far as the world seems to be concerned, Korea is a lost cause, and the entire peninsula is to be abandoned and, in time, forgotten as a wasteland.

It's unclear whether the zombies will naturally die or decompose completely. Both Train to Busan and Peninsula don't spend much time explaining the various inner workings of the zombie virus, how it spreads, or what happens to zombies over time. However, since the initial outbreak occurred four years ago, and—as depicted by Peninsula's trailer—full societal collapse happened quickly, it's possible that the zombies could continue to survive and pose a threat for years to come.

The survivors seemed to feel that family is all the wealth one truly needs to be rich.

Therefore, the survivors will likely have to start over again in Malaysia, where, hopefully, they'll find more accommodating surroundings than what was available for other refugees. The $20 million was left behind on the truck and went unclaimed, so whatever future the survivors are planning to start, they'll have to carve out for themselves without that financial boost. While it's certainly disappointing, especially what Jung-Seok lost getting the money, the survivors seemed to feel that family is all the wealth one truly needs to be rich.

How Peninsula's Ending Mirrors Train To Busan's

The People Lose Loved Ones But Keep Faith Until They Are Saved

In Train to Busan's ending, Su-an (Kim Su-an) and a pregnant Seong-kyeong (Jung Yu-mi) are the only survivors — Su-an lost her father and Seong-kyeong lost her husband. All they had was each other and the chance to rebuild for a better future. Due to Su-an's singing, the military forces set up and prepared to kill any zombies that came out of the tunnel recognize them as humans and not a threat, so they were rescued.

The survivors are recognized by military forces and taken to the safety of an unknown future.

This ending mirrors Peninsula's in a few ways. First, the survivors are recognized by military forces and taken to the safety of an unknown future. Second, the ending is bittersweet because everyone has lost people dear to them and is grateful, though slightly torn, for their own survival. Finally, the fact that children survived the unspeakable horrors in both zombie movies presents an ongoing theme — the next generation will save the current, and a culture or society's youth are the future, no matter how bad or dire the past has been.

While Peninsula's ending mirrors Train to Busan's, it finishes on a much more optimistic note. Both families have experienced separation from their loved ones, but they may form a family unit of their own to honor that loss. Trauma and hardship tend to bond people, and in cases where a group of strangers would sacrifice themselves to see someone else to safety, it's clear there's already a bond building, which might strengthen once they get settled in their new location and had the opportunity to distance themselves from the past enough to start over.

The Real Meaning Of The Peninsula Ending

Family Is More Important Than Money

Train to Busan 2 - Peninsula - is a movie similar to Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead. In that film, a group of mercenaries is sent to Las Vegas to retrieve money from a casino after zombies overrun the town. In Peninsula, a group of people is sent to recover money from a truck in an area overrun by zombies. In both movies, the heroes must decide what is more important - money or saving those they love. That is the main real meaning of Peninsula. The heroes here lose loved ones and realize money isn't important.

That money could help them start over by getting them to where they go next. However, there is no guarantee that they can survive where they go next, so they must figure out what is more important in the world. The people they found who tried to kill them prove that humans are more evil than zombies, as they are more cruel and calculating. The people this movie follows realize that they have something to live for - and that is each other. They give up their chance for the money, and as a result, they end up getting saved to live another day.

How The Peninsula Ending Was Received

The Big Problem Was Connecting It To The First Train To Busan

Train to Busan 2 - Peninsula had average reviews, with a barely positive 55% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a better 76% from audience voting. Most of the poor audience reviews were because they compared it to the first film, which many consider a zombie masterpiece. One reviewer wrote, "PENINSULA is a confident and engaging zombie film that carries forward some of the atmosphere and attitude of Train to Busan, but doesn't hit the high water mark of that film's kinetic tension and deeper themes."

However, one critic saw how the movie plays into real-life, modern-day society and how the ending rewarded those who retained their humanity. Nick Schager of Daily Beast wrote, "Peninsula plays things somewhat conventionally, to diminished returns. And yet in our coronavirus-wracked era of fear and disarray, there’s still significant bite to its grand, breakneck portrait of individuals banding together to fight both a relentless plague and the fellow citizens who care only about themselves."

A Reddit thread dedicated to Train to Busan 2 - Peninsula had the same arguments. The biggest problem was calling it a sequel to the superior Train to Busan. One Redditor wrote, "If you want to watch this film thinking it is a sequel to the original you will find this movie to be a huge disappointment." Another fan pointed out the ending and felt the movie being more action-based made the call-back to the melodramatic ending not work, writing, "It could still have the hero moment without the delay and call back."