It’s been two years since “Kingdom” was announced and touted as a South Korean supergroup collaboration between two of Korea’s strongest storytellers— director Kim Seong-hun whose last movie “Tunnel” was a top five movie at the Korean box office in 2016; and writer Kim Eun-hee whose series “Signal” was one of the top Korean dramas of that year. Together, they had joined forces for an ambitious genre mashup: “Kingdom” is set in Korea’s medieval Joseon period where a crown prince is sent on a suicide mission to investigate a mysterious outbreak that leads him to a brutal truth that threatens the kingdom. Read between the lines this is a historical, period-piece zombie movie with touches of supernatural fantasy.
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“I have been working on Kingdom since 2011,” writer Eun-Hee said at the time. “I wanted to write a story that reflects the fears and anxiety of modern times but explored through the lens of a romantic fascination of the historical Joseon period. Working with Netflix helps us to unlock this creative vision for Kingdom, and I am excited to further build this unique story with the director for whom I have tremendous respect.”
Now, the first trailer for the eight-episode series is here and will debut in the New Year. “I am thrilled about partnering with an eminent writer like Kim Eun-hee. ‘Kingdom’ presents the opportunity to work on long-form television at its most ambitious and on a truly cinematic scale because of the unparalleled creative freedom that Netflix as a global internet television network provides,” Seong-hun said.
If you haven’t clued in already, South Korean cinema is the growing leader in genre film, and their film industry is just busting out modern classic after modern classic. Seong-hun, already known for “A Hard Day,” a thrilling South Korean crime thriller that premiered at Cannes in 2014, is just one of the many rising stars that include world-renowned directors like Park Chan-Wook, Kim Ki-Duk, Lee Chang-dong, Bong Joon Ho and many, many more.
Apparently “Kingdom” will have two seasons, and the second will go into production shortly after the original debuts on Netflix globally. “Kingdom” is a hugely ambitious show and apparently each episode cost over $1.78 million.
“Kingdom” stars Ju Ji-hoon, Bae Doona (“Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance,” “The Host,” “Cloud Atlas”), Ryu Seung-ryong (“Miracle in Cell No. 7“) and debuts globally on Netflix January 25, 2019.