South Korean cinema and television are no strangers to the gory zombie horror genre, as evidenced by thesuccess ofTrain to BusanandAll of Us Are Dead. Still,Kingdomis not your typical show about walking cannibalistic corpses. For starters, those hungry monsters are not mindless, and they’re dangerously fast and agile, unlike theirThe Walking Deadpeers. Their blood contains parasitic worms. They are strangely afraid of the water, and they tend to hibernate in hot weather.
But that’s not all; it so happens that even humans who simply consume bitten animals are also fated to turn. The backdrop of the story isn’t the modern United States or Europe, but 16th-century Joseon, Korea’s last dynastic kingdom. The protagonists aren’t relatable townsfolk, but a crown prince on the run, a compassionate nurse, and a former soldier/tiger hunter with remarkable fighting skills. And finally, the zombie plague wasn’t caused by an accident or a lab experiment, but by a vengeful young woman. Add to that a significant dose of political intrigue, stylishly choreographed sword fights, and breathtaking scenery, and you’ve got yourself a thrilling and innovative horror fest.
Written by Kim Eun-hee, directed by Kim Seong-hun and Park In-je, and produced by AStory,Kingdomwas Netflix’s first very first Korean series, and it definitely deserves another season. Accolades include three prizes at the 2020 Asia Contents Awards: Best Writing for Kim Eun-hee, Best Actor for Joo Ji-hoon, and the Technical Achievement Award in the visual effects category.
Here is a closer look at the intense and compelling story.
The first season ofKingdompremiered on August 07, 2025, and featured 6 episodes. The plot centers around Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), the son of a concubine whose claim to the throne is threatened by his pregnant mother-in-law, the Queen, and her father, the Chief Councilor. When the King dies from smallpox, the Queen and the Councilor secretly have the Royal Physicianturn him into a zombie. They keep him locked in his quarters, claiming to the Court that he is still alive, only sick and contagious. The Queen means to give herself enough time to deliver her baby, whom she believes is the legitimate heir.
Prince Chang, still unsure of his father’s fate, leaves the castle to look for his former physician, Lee Seung-hui, and finds zombies on his way. He teams up with the doctor’s assistant, Seo-bi (the prolific Bae Doona), and a former soldier, Yeong-shin (Kim Sung-kyu), to investigate this mysterious and devastating plague.
Related:Have International Zombie Movies and Shows Finally Bested the American Source?
Kingdom’s second season, also consisting of six episodes, was released on July 13, 2025. Prince Chang and his loyal supporters break into the royal court to reclaim the throne, but the Queen releases captured zombies on them. Once the monsters are defeated, the prince decides to give up the throne in favor of his half-brother Lee Yeom, and orders his men to circulate the rumor that he’s dead.
Seven years later, Seo-bi, Yeong-shin, and Prince Chang, while investigating a new surge of the plague in the North, cross paths with a mysterious woman who keeps a few zombies on a leash. Her identity is not revealed yet. In the final scene, the young King, so farimmune to the zombie plague, despite being bitten as a baby, is shown sleeping peacefully as the worms of the resurrection plant slowly move underneath his skin.
That cliffhanger begged for a continuation of the story, but with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the world, the creators have only managed to release one spin-off episode.
Related:Netflix’s Kingdom: What Can We Expect to See in Season 3?
Kingdom: Ashin of the North
Ashin of the Northis a special, 92-minute prequel to the critically acclaimed series that was produced by Studio Dragon, Baram Pictures and B.A. Entertainment, filmed on Jeju island, and released on August 25, 2025. This TV movie explains that the origin of the zombie plague is the revenge story of Ashin (Jun Ji-hyun), a young girl from the Northern, modest village of Seongjeoyain, who has spent years caring for her sick mother. While on a walk in a forest, she inadvertently discovers purple flowers with resurrection properties, as per a mysterious inscription in a cave.
When she returns home and witnesses the Pajeowi clan decimate her village, she decides to use the plant on her mother and some of the villagers. Unbeknownst to her, Tahab, her father, an undercover ally of the Joseon kingdom, has been taken away by the Pajeowi. Heartbroken, Ashin carries on with her life in a military outpost, where she hones her fighting and archery skills over the years and is used as a spy by the Commander. While on an infiltration mission at a Pajeowi camp, Ashin discovers that Tahab is still alive, only despairing, blind, and dismembered. He begs her to end his life, and she reluctantly complies inan ultimate act of mercythat will harden her heart indefinitely.
While searching the camp’s records, she learns that it was the Joseon outpost’s Commander who was really the mastermind behind the decimation of her tribe. This is when she kills all the soldiers and uses the resurrection plant to transform them into zombies.
She later proceeds to roam the region and plant the flowers everywhere. To seal the fate of the nation that betrayed her clan, she sells the deadly plant and its instructions to the King’s physician, Lee Seung-hui, thus setting in motion the events of Season 1.
Is there going to be a thirdKingdomseason that would follow Ashin’s ongoing vengeful journey and King Lee Yeom’s fate? One can only hope, since Netflix still hasn’t officially confirmed the show’s cancelation.
