Introduction
If you were a fan of The Walking Dead and want to see another take on the Zombie genre, Netflix may have something for you. Kingdom, Netflix’s first Korean original series, premiered in January 2019 with six episodes. Six more were released in March 2020, with an additional “special episode” this past July. The series is based on a webcomic named “The Kingdom of the Gods” written by In-Wan Youn and Eun-hee Kim. The latter taking writing credits for all thirteen episodes of the series.
Kingdom sports a large cast featuring Ju Ji-Hoon (Asura, Hyena) as Crown Prince Lee, Bae Doona (The Host, Sense8) as Assistant Physician Seo Bi, and Kim Sang-Ho (The Happy Life, City Hunter) as Royal Guard Moo Young. Rounding out the cast with Hye-jun Kim (Another Child, Byeonshin) as Queen Consort Cho, and Seung-Ryong Ryu (War Of The Arrows) as Chief State Councilor Cho Hak Joo.
Overview
The series takes place during the Joseon period. While not dated, it’s assumed to be around 1601, three years after the Imjin War with the Japanese. The King of the Joseon Dynasty has perished due to smallpox, and was brought back to life with a plant called the “resurrection plant.” The problem with using this plant is that the resurrected person will awaken with an insatiable appetite for human flesh.
There are a lot of comparisons of this story to Game Of Thrones. At first, you may scoff at the idea, but as you progress deeper into the series, you may find that there is some truth to that claim. There certainly is a power struggle to claim the throne of the Dynasty. Nepotism is also rampant, as is the backstabbing. The theme of “winter is coming” is also a big factor in this show as well.
The city where the plague originates from is named Dongnae, which is an old name for Busan. Fans of the 2016 South Korean zombie film Train To Busan should get a kick out of that trivia.
A common theme between Kingdom and the Train To Busan film is class struggle. Both properties show the divide between the upper and lower-class citizens of Korea. While Kingdom dwells on royalty/nobility and their disdain for peasants, Train To Busan shifts the classes to executives and authority figures looking down on those with a lesser education, and the homeless.
As Kingdom is a series based on zombies, yes, there is a lot of blood. If you are a bit squeamish about blood, body parts, and cannibalism, you may want to give this a pass. The following is a quick rundown of the series.
Season One
Season One of Kingdom starts out with the King being treated by a physician and his assistant. The King had become sick with smallpox, and rumors had begun to spread that he had succumbed to his illness. The Royal Court begins a campaign to quash any discussion on this matter.
To further complicate matters, the direct heir to the kingdom is the son of the King (Lee) whose mother was a concubine. The King’s wife, who is not Lee’s mother is carrying the true heir to the throne. If only the baby could be born before the truth about the King is revealed, stopping Lee from taking the throne.
The queen’s father is the Chief State Councilor (Joo) who lusts for power more than anything, He will stop at nothing to gain it through his daughter’s marriage to the king. Unbeknownst to him, his daughter has miscarried the child and is desperately looking for a surrogate mother to birth a son to assume the throne.
While all of this scheming and plotting is going on throughout the Kingdom’s initial episode, a victim of the King’s appetite has begun the process of turning a small village into a literal ground zero of the zombie apocalypse.
Lee is on the hunt for clues as to what happened to his father. He’s also on the run for his life, as Joo wants to ensure that his Clan is in full control of the Dynasty. Lee delves deeper into the mystery of his father’s death and resurrection. He discovers that the heroes of the Imjin War have some terrible secrets that, in the end, may destroy the entire Kingdom.
Season Two
Season two jumps in right where the season one cliffhanger ends so you are right back in the action. The nice thing about the story is that what we were led to believe about the zombie behavior was wrong and the protagonists of the story have to start over again. The rules have changed!
Meanwhile, the Queen has hatched her own plans about the future of the throne. She will stop at nothing to achieve those goals, even going as far as using the undead to accomplish her goals.
Season two actually does a time jump at the end and for a while, it looks like the series is coming to an end. Fortunately, there are several twists in the final minutes that will dissuade that notion. In fact, with the reveal at the very end, you can see that the story is not close to being done.
Ashin Of The North
Kingdom: Ashin In The North does not have any of the main cast members and is considered a “side-sequel”. While this installment also serves as a prequel via flashbacks, the main storyline happens during the timeframe of the main series. This feature-length special stars Jun Ji-hyun in the titular role who was last seen in the last few seconds of season two.
As this story takes place over several timeframes, Ashin is also played by a younger actress, Si-ah Kim. She carries a large part of the story and was a highlight of the special. In this story, we learn of how zombies are created, and the reason why they run rampant in medieval Korea.
It is very much a revenge story and you have to ask yourself how far will you go to avenge the loss of your family and those around you. If/when Kingdom season three arrives, there will be a moral conundrum if Ashin’s actions are justified, or if she is the villain.
A common complaint made against this special is that it answers too many of the questions raised during the run of the first two seasons of Kingdom. You will have to decide if this story helps or hinders the series.
The Future
Netflix has not yet confirmed that there will be a season three. But when you see how the end of season 2 ties into Ashin In The North, it is clear that there is more to be told. Netflix had ordered the second season before the first even aired and was the most popular export until Squid Game premiered earlier this month.
With the current craze over Squid Game, you may want to check out this other South Korean production if you have not yet seen it. As there are only 12 episodes and a ninety-minute special, you could binge-watch this in a couple of days.
