The show comes from director Kim Seong-hun, and it will be about a
prince going on a quest to “investigate a mysterious outbreak that leads
him to a brutal truth that threatens the kingdom.”
Kingdom will premiere on Netflix around the world in 2018.
I kind of bristle at the thought of trying to paint Korean history with a Western lens since Korea shouldn’t need to be shoe-horned into Euro-centric definitions of history, but I suppose if one must make a comparison, the Joseon era is perhaps most like the High Middle Ages in Europe. I also suppose I can’t fault the wording in the article, since people unfamiliar with Korea wouldn’t know what “Joseon” means but could perhaps easily grok that “Medieval” means “historical” – I hope they’re not expecting knights in shining armor, though.
Anyway, the most important thing to note (which the article ignores, alas, because apparently the AV Club cares little about Dramaland) is that Kingdom (both the webtoon and the drama script) is written by my beloved Kim Eun Hee. Most will know her work from from Signal, although I’ve been been a devotee ever since Harvest Villa – so you know at least the script will be good because even the worst drama she’s done has been tolerably decent.
Plus, if it goes straight to Netflix, that means she can go as dark and twisted as she would like without fear of repercussions (and if you’ve seen her dramas, you know she can go there).
The Obsessive Dilettante 