That time when a zombie outbreak swarmed The Joseon Dynasty: from Rampant to Kingdom
I was never a Korean drama or horror enthusiast, let alone zombie stories.
Upon finishing watching the first episode of Kingdom, I realized later that this series was filled with every genre that was out of my appetite: horror, thriller, and gore. Most importantly: zombies. And, to my amazement, I eventually became a huge fan of Kingdom, the first series to make me this courageous to dive out of my comfort zone.
I watched Kingdom (2019) long before discovering that it wasn’t the first zombie story set in the Joseon Dynasty. There is Rampant (2018) with the same premise of a zombie attack mixed with a conflict about revolting new power, but had a different treatment to the zombies. As much as I hated zombie movies, Korea offered more alternative that makes the said phenomenon extraordinary, let’s name Train to Busan be the most successful one. The distinctive nature of zombies portrayed between Hollywood blockbusters and Korean movies is apparent. We can easily observe how zombies in Korean movies are more agile and ferocious. And leading to the climax, it always delivered emotional scenes and morality issues. Though I must say that Train to Busan didn’t grab my attention, regardless of being so devastating to watch. It just had something to do with the metropolitan setting, which made it seem eerily too realistic for me. Upon re-running Jewel in the Palace (Dae Jang Geum) on a local streaming platform, I began to take an interest in Korean historical drama series.
Curious about Dae Jang Geum’s remarkable quality for a 2003 release, I embarked on a journey to discover more contemporary productions of historical Korean dramas on Netflix.
And that was how I found Kingdom.
Hearing the premise of Kingdom from my sister, I eventually took an interest in it. A zombie-themed series with a historical setting? Sounded promising. I watched it and hardly arrived at the starting point when the first minute of the opening already struck me in awe. No matter how many times I watch it, it will always lure me in: the mummified king, the strange 'ritual' of something being poured into a man’s mouth, and a sudden roaring zombie inserted between the procession. Suddenly the man’s eyes opened up, showing blank, white pupils. Creepy, shuddering, awestriking. Before even getting to the real story, I already loved how the opening exhibited the hints of conflict cleverly. It gave the audience a glimpse of what the Kingdom would be about. The plot was rapid and straightforward, and the conflict was revealed immediately. My favorite horror part from episode 1 was the scene where Prince Chang broke into the King’s palace, and consequently met a giant, monstrous silhouette at the door (man, I thought this was a series about zombies…). The combination of a zombie outbreak with the intricate politics of the Joseon Dynasty was brilliant. To top it off, Kingdom has strong, memorable side characters. From the smart, thoughtful physician Seo-bi, the ferocious yet reliable civilian, Yeong-shin, the loyal guard Moo-young, and the clumsy Haewon Cho Clan inheritor, Beom-pal. Also, it is not a Kingdom without its wicked yet formidable antagonists, Cho Hak-ju and The Queen. Full of intrigues, the Queen couldn’t be taken for granted for her age, for her wickedness had surpassed Cho Hak-Ju himself. Would you rather die in the zombie outbreak, or fall into these two’s scheme?
Kingdom is a combination of great writing (hello Kim Eun Hee, teach me your way), great directing, great acting (how Kingdom brought me to learn more about its actors and watched their subsequent dramas), and great cinematography. Joo Ji-Hoon, as the main character, is a top-notch actor who is reputable for the roles of a charismatic leader since Princess Hours (I mean it, if the role of Prince Chang was offered to someone else, I’d probably had not watched it). Ryu Seung-Ryong, the gallant antagonist who is arguably the biggest source of suspense and tension throughout the episodes, depicted the cunning nature of a corrupted politician so expertly (that scene where he didn’t blink for an entire minute almost made me forget to catch a breath). Bae Donna’s acting as a meticulous physician inspires me that being powerful isn’t always about using your punch (watch her on Silent Sea as a genius doctor!). Kim Sung-kyu astonished me for his rebelious character and proficient combat skills as a poor civilian (prior to Kingdom, he co-starred in big action movies along with a senior actor, Ma Dong-seok; in other words, I’m a fan).
Now, it isn’t fair to compare Rampant and Kingdom on the same shoes, as both have their own uniqueness. As the vanguard of zombie Joseon, Rampant deserved plaudits for its epic and mawkish ending, although Kingdom has a better exploration for its side characters (note that Rampant is a 2-hour movie, while Kingdom is almost 12 hours long). Still, both are great entertainment (and fresh air). As for Kingdom, the only flaw perhaps was the ending for season 2. Story-wise, the cut of the scene that occurred while Prince Chang lifted his sword (last episode, if you know what I mean) was quite too abrupt. As an audience, I wanted to know what truly happened before the sudden time skip. Later, we were enlightened that Prince Chang had an emotional speech during that cut, and if it weren’t for the unexpected jumping, I would have had an ugly cry over his words (because either way, we would’ve still been informed whether he was safe or not post-time-skip). So yeah, I wish the order was kept to a chronological plot. And of course, there had been a director’s choice behind this. But well, quoting someone on IMDb, it was just a small flaw in an otherwise perfect, novel zombie story. []
