Kingdom

Kingdom is a South Korean period horror television series set in the Joseon dynasty and distributed by Netflix. Its first season premiered on January 25, 2019, followed by a second season on March 13, 2020. The series was written by Kim Eun-hee and adapted from her webtoon, The Kingdom of the Gods, illustrated by Yang Kyung-il. Kim Seong-hun directed the first season and returned to direct episodes of the second, alongside Park In-je. The story begins after King Lee of Joseon falls gravely ill. Rumours of his death circulate, while the powerful Haewon Cho clan attempts to conceal his condition. Crown Prince Lee Chang, played by Ju Ji-hoon, is prevented from seeing his father by the king’s young queen, Consort Cho, and her father, Chief State Councillor Cho Hak-ju. Chang travels to Dongnae, where he discovers that the king has been revived through a mysterious medicinal plant. The treatment has created a plague: victims become violent, flesh-eating undead after sunset. As the infection spreads through villages and military posts, Chang must fight both the outbreak and the political campaign to remove him from succession. Bae Doona plays Seo-bi, a physician’s assistant who investigates the resurrection plant and records the disease’s symptoms. Ryu Seung-ryong portrays Cho Hak-ju, whose control of the court and food supplies makes him one of Chang’s most dangerous human opponents. Kim Hye-jun plays Queen Consort Cho, who seeks to secure power for herself and the Cho family. Kim Sung-kyu appears as Yeong-shin, a skilled fighter with a personal connection to the famine and corruption affecting the kingdom. Kingdom combines palace intrigue with zombie-horror action, using the era’s rigid class hierarchy, famine, and regional inequality as major parts of its conflict. The infected are especially dangerous because they attack in large groups and their behaviour changes as the story reveals more about the disease. The show’s historical setting also shapes its weapons, travel, medicine, and communication: characters rely on swords, muskets, horses, boats, and handwritten records rather than modern technology. Netflix released a feature-length special, Kingdom: Ashin of the North, on July 23, 2021. Directed by Kim Seong-hun, it explores the origin of the resurrection plant in the northern region of Joseon. Jun Ji-hyun plays Ashin, a woman introduced at the end of the second season, while Kim Si-a portrays her younger self. The special explains events connected to the plant’s discovery and Ashin’s devastating history.