'Kingdom' cast hint that young queen will play big role in season 2

Cast members pose for a photo during a press conference for the new Netflix series “Kingdom” Season 2 in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Netflix Korea

By Kwak Yeon-soo

The much anticipated Netflix original series “Kingdom” season 2 will premiere on March 13 with the original cast. The new season will pick up from the ending of season 1 with a more intense storyline and additional characters.

“Kingdom” is a zombie mystery thriller set during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1897). Consisting of six episodes, the story revolves around Crown Prince Yi Chang, played by Ju Ji-hoon, who fights against a mysterious plague and the people behind an evil scheme.

Season 2 will star the previous main cast, including Ju, Bae Doo-na and Ryu Seung-ryong, and will feature a guest appearance by Jun Ji-hyun. Details about Jun's character are still under wraps.

Screenwriter Kim Eun-hee, who also wrote popular TV series “Signal,” drew the story from a 19th century royal court document that recorded tens of thousands of deaths in the capital amid the outbreak of an unidentified epidemic.

Kim Seong-hun, the director behind the previous season, produced the first episode of season 2 while another director Park In-jae newly joined to produce episodes 2 to 6.

The first season of “Kingdom” was released in January last year and grabbed viewers' attention worldwide for combining the concepts of zombies and historical drama.

“Compared with season 1 when zombies rise, season 2 will feature how the Joseon Kingdom falls. It will be an absolute rollercoaster,” director Park said.

“The young queen, played by Kim Hye-jun, will be playing a bigger role so please look forward to her new transformation.”

He also expected the drama's international audience to display their interest in Korean architecture during the Joseon Kingdom.

In season 1, many viewers showed interest in “gat,” a traditional Korean hat seen in the show. In the past, Koreans wore varying styles of “gat” based on their social status and circumstances.

“You might want to look closely into Korean architecture. It's very detail-oriented and colorful,” Park said.

Writer Kim said she wanted to focus more on familial politics and power struggles. “For this season, I wanted to feature how blood ties and family were of particularly great importance during the Joseon Kingdom. Bloodline also played a role in dividing social classes,” she said.

Actor Ju expressed satisfaction about his character, who transforms his role to become the savior of his people from that of a wanted man in season 1.

“In the first season, I was running away from the evil Cho Hak-joo clan, the queen's family. In the second season, I'll be going after them to become the next king,” he said.

Ju said he enjoyed working with Netflix because of the freedom and sufficient time they granted him.

“Because 'Kingdom' had only six episodes unlike any other Korean TV series that usually consist of 16 episodes, we were able to make it high quality,” he said.

Actress Bae explained that while season 1 is about witnessing the rise of the new plague, season 2 is about figuring out what causes the zombies to stay active and how to prevent infection.

“Kingdom” season 2 will be seen in over 190 countries through Netflix. Subtitles will be available in 27 languages, and dubbed versions will also be available.