«Kingdom» is a 2019 South Korean political period horror thriller, that is based on the webtoon series «The Kingdom of the God».
Let’s find out more about the series!
- Kingdom is a 2019 South Korean political period horror thriller streaming television series.
- It was created and written by Kim Eun-hee.
- It is based on the webtoon series The Kingdom of the Gods by writer Kim Eun-hee and artist Yang Kyung-il.
- It’s Netflix’s first original Korean series.
- It premiered on January 25, 2019.
- It stars Ju Ji-hoon, Ryu Seung-ryong, Bae Doo-na, Kim Sang-ho, Kim Sung-kyu and Kim Hye-jun.
- All the episodes in the series were directed by Kim Seong-hun, with the exception of most episodes of the second season, directed by Park In-je.
- Set in the 16th century and three years after the end of the Imjin War, Kingdom takes place in a fictional, medieval-inspired Joseon (modern-day Korea) and blends political thriller and elements from zombie horror. The story follows Lee Chang, the Crown Prince of Joseon, who attempts to investigate the mysterious illness recently afflicting the King, only to find himself caught in the middle of a deadly epidemic ravaging the Kingdom of Joseon. While trying to save the Kingdom from the plague, he must also stop his political opponents from seizing the throne.
- The series was positively reviewed.
- It was renewed for a second season which was released on March 13, 2020.
- A special feature-length episode of the series, titled “Ashin of the North”, was released on July 23, 2021, presenting a focus on the supporting character played by Jun Ji-hyun.
- The episode acts as a sidequel to the second season of Kingdom and explores the backstory of Ashin, the mysterious character Lee Chang’s group encountered on their journey north to discover the origins of the infected.
- Principal photography for the first two seasons took place on location in Seoul, South Korea, including the Gyeonggi Province and North Gyeongsang Province between 2018 and 2019.
- Filming for Kingdom: Ashin of the North took place in Jeju Island in 2020.
- The series overspent the budget, with each episode costing more than $1.78 million.
- Dongnae, the city where the zombie plague first broke out, is an old name for Busan. Ironically, Busan was the safest place in Korea in another Korean zombie movie, Train to Busan(2016)
- The notice in Episode 1 that is ripped down has Traditional Chinese writing on it – which might confuse some viewers because this is a South Korean production. Korean as a written language, Hangul, was not invented until the 1440s; the educated and upper-classes read and wrote in Traditional Chinese. Even after Hangul was created (the intention was to help the less educated learn how to read and write), there was backlash from the upper-classes, and in the end, it wasn’t widely adopted until the late 1700s/early 1800s
- Actor Song Joong-ki was courted for the lead role but decline
- The screenwriter of “Kingdom” (2019), Eun-hee Kim also wrote “Signal” (2016)
- The drama boldly broke the cliche of Hollywood zombies that showed pregnant women and children not dying or becoming zombies.
- It is Bae Doona’s second Netflix appearance since Sense 8
- It was originally planned as an eight-part series, but when the internal premiere received good responses, it was reduced to six-part series and changed to a seasonal system, and the production of Season 2 was confirmed.
- Since watching this drama abroad, became more interested in Joseon costumes, especially Joseon hats.
- The New York Times named Kingdom one of “The Best International Shows of 2020.”
- Screenwriter Kim Eun-hee began thinking about the story behind the series in 2011, wanting to reflect the fears and anxiety of modern times through the lens of the historical Joseon period.
