Two nights ago, my wife who had been trying to urge me to watch a South Korean TV series (or famously known as DraKor = Drama Korea) finally convinced me to give this one a try. I thought it would be an interesting experience, seeing it was a zombie series and was shown on Netflix a couple of months ago. So both of us started to watch it on Sunday and I finished up last night (though she finished it earlier in the afternoon as she could not wait). Now let's move on to more details of the series.
Brief Story Line
The series was set during the Joseon dynasty period where the crown prince Yi-chang (Ju Ji-hoon - Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days etc) was having a conflict relating to the King's health with the queen (Kim Hye-jun) and her father, Minister Cho (Ryu Seung-ryong - Extreme Job etc). Suspicious of their motives, Yi-chang embarked on a journey with his trusted bodyguard Moo-young (Kim Sang-ho - The Negotiation etc) to find the doctor who previously treated the King, in the city of Dongnae.
Meanwhile in the doctor's hometown village, a dangerous virus outbreak resulted to people inhabiting dangerous symptoms where they became vicious and ate living people while transferring the virus to them. Seo-bi (Bae Doo-na - Sense8 TV series etc) a young physician and a mysterious man called Yeong-shin (Kim Sung-kyu) were among the survivors who knew about this tragedy. When Yi-chang and Moo-young finally found them, they realized that the matter was a lot more dangerous then they thought so. To further complicate things, they were also being chased by a small army led by Cho's son, Beom-il (Jung Suk-won - Rooftop Prince etc).
So could the country be saved from the zombies attack? And what would happen to all the people in Dongnae? Find them all in this highly entertaining, suspenseful zombie series.
End of Brief Story Line
Ok, this was one heck of a series. It had quite fast pace where every episode did not dillydally for too long and went straight to the point. Even from the first episode we knew what we would be in for (as proven by my wife's surprise to the jump scare in the early part). Almost every episode had its own part of a rather major fight between humans and zombies. It was a very short 1st season having only 6 episodes overall. Fortunately being a Netflix original series, it had the longer than usual duration of each episode (more than 50 minutes each including the short opening and ending theme song), except for the last one which lasted surprisingly short, leaving us wanting for more.
As a series focusing on zombies, this one certainly did not disappoint. The zombies here were more similar to the ones in South Korean movies like Train to Busan or Rampant where they were very fast and the people seemed unable to escape quick enough, adding the elements of suspense. In fact, the setting of historical period in this series actually brought out a familiar sense with Rampant (even the main character lead was also a crown prince). But from what I noticed in the opening theme, it was not based on that particular movie, instead it was adapted from webcomic series titled The Kingdom of the Gods written by Kim Eun-hee (who happened to be the writer of this TV series as well). And due to its success plus high rating, it had been renewed for a second season.
Due to its unique nature of the zombies, we would only be seeing the zombie major fight (and chase) with dark background, and thus making us felt the suspense even more. With solid background music and good sound effects of the zombies eerie & loud shrieking voices, we would be feeling the intensity of those zombies appearance. Oh and that make up effect plus their sudden eye opening really made the zombies looked realistic. But, there was one thing that probably could have been added was the blood effect which I thought was a bit lacking. Yes it was violent, but it did not seem bloody enough for zombie attacks. This one probably more towards the taste of viewers and other audience may felt it was sufficient. And because of its violent nature, even though there was no romantic/sexual scenes, I still think this series is definitely not suitable for children.
Even with only 6 episodes, it did not feel too short. Probably because it was not filled with overly melodramatic moments. If there were, usually it was quite brief and proceeded with more suspense. There were few touching moments and very brief humorous scenes usually involving the bodyguard Moo-young and the judge of Dongnae (played by Jeon Seok-ho). The characters in here were mostly impressive, with Ju Ji-hoon in particular very convincing as the outcast crown prince Yi-chang. Since Bae Doo-na was playing a completely different character from her other films, we were not able to see her showing off her specific capabilities. Oh and Ryu Seung-ryong was also amazing as the ambitious minister. There were also additional supporting characters like Heo Joon-ho as Ahn Hyun who I think would have major part in second season.
When I saw the title Kingdom, I thought that it would be focusing more on the political part. But after watching the whole 1st season, I felt that the story about the politics was quite balanced with the zombies part. I thought the series managed to combine the zombies as integral part of the story rather than making them just the background or vice versa. In a way it did kind of reminded me a bit of the Game of Thrones series with the fights for power combined with danger from creatures from the North. Although this one was less complicated with the power struggle only between a clan and the crown prince.
When I saw the title Kingdom, I thought that it would be focusing more on the political part. But after watching the whole 1st season, I felt that the story about the politics was quite balanced with the zombies part. I thought the series managed to combine the zombies as integral part of the story rather than making them just the background or vice versa. In a way it did kind of reminded me a bit of the Game of Thrones series with the fights for power combined with danger from creatures from the North. Although this one was less complicated with the power struggle only between a clan and the crown prince.
Overall I thought this was quite an impressive South Korean series. I personally quite enjoy it, even if the supposed grand finale was rather irritating and made my wife "cursed" a bit for having to wait till next year for 2nd season. It was not the kind of zombie apocalypse story where the world had come to an end and people must learn how to survive. Instead it was a series where people must try their best to avoid such catastrophe. If you are looking for a series where people fight the very very fast zombies combined with political power struggle during the historical time in Korea, then this one would be a wonderful option. But if you prefer the post-apocalypse story focusing more on the people's survival, then another hit & famous Western series would be more suitable for you. The choice is yours.
Happy watching!
Mike's movie moments rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
PS: Thanks to Yennymakanmulu who convinced me to watch this quite amazing series
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