Explaining the Lore of Kingdom

Given that this is a largely Hallyu-oriented blog, there could be three things I could be referring to in the title. The Netflix drama, the reality idol competition, or the rookie idol group. If you guessed the rookie idol group, or looked at the title image, you would be correct!

Now, Kingdom's music has so far been a mixed bag, with the concept and base elements being really, really strong, but an actual melody being somewhat lacking. Nonetheless, the group's concept is certainly interesting.

Each of the members is named after a famous ruler from one region of the world, with one comeback themed after each king. For instance, in a comeback about King Arthur, the theme will be Arthurian, and member Arthur will be the 'main' member.

While the internet community is diverse, I rarely see much history discussion amongst the K-Pop scene. As a history enthusiast, and someone who instantly recognized the names of basically all members' legendary counterparts (except for some of the ambiguous ones, but we'll get to that soon), I thought this post would be fun. Here, I will basically explain some facts and the history of the rulers the members are named after.

Debut: Arthur

Song: Excalibur (Review)

Ruler: King Arthur Pendragon

Nation: Great Britain

We are starting it off with one of the best-known semi-mythical rulers of all time. By this point, we all know the basic story of King Arthur. Trained by the wizard Merlin, lifts the sword in the stone to get Excalibur, had a rivalry with Morgan Le Fay, Lafayette, and Gueniver have an affair, Mordred uses this conflict to start a rebellion, Arthur goes to Avalon, and the story ends.

You also probably know that much of the story is fictional. Arthur was likely based on a real ruler, a coastline chieftain who may have fought against the invading Angles and Saxons. However, he also could be an amalgamation of several figures in an effort to create an identity and hero for the Britons.

A large portion of Excalibur's MV focuses on the legendary sword. Curiously enough, the sword is not even mentioned in the original version of the legend. In many ways, Arthur is a strange part to start the story. Largely mythical, Excalibur shows that Kingdom is more about the vibe rather than the music.

For more information on him, I'd highly suggest this video by Red from Overly Sarcastic Productions.

1st Comeback: Chiwoo

Song: Karma

Ruler: Chiyou of the Jiu Li tribe

Nation: China

Of all Chinese rulers, Chiyou is a weird choice for several reasons. Perhaps the most notable is that he is not really the true founder of China. In fact, his claim to fame is losing a major battle against the founder of China, Huangdi, translated as the Yellow Emperor.

However, this does not do Chiyou full justice. His battle prowess made him legendary as one of the three cultural founders of China, and he was largely worshipped as a deity of war in later times.

This brings me to the next point. Chiyou is also pretty ahistorical. He lived at the end of the era of three sovereigns and five emperors, around 4000 years ago. While they certainly may have existed, and the conflicts noted are mythical versions of what actually did happen, it leaves a lot of doubts in the mind.

Perhaps an even bigger crime is an MV largely just takes generic Chinese elements, rather than the specific mythical ones of Chiyou. You could have told me that the MV was about any other famous Han emperor; Qin Shi Huang, Liu Bang, Cao Cao, or Yuanzhang, and it would make as much sense. The outfits are even from the wrong era! The worst part is that Chiyou was not even Han. Conceptually, this is more fun than unique.

To put it into perspective, it is like if the members in Excalibur were dressed in powdered wigs drinking tea!

2nd Comeback: Ivan

Song: Black Crown

Ruler: Ivan IV 'The Terrible'

Nation: Russia

Musically, I personally enjoy Black Crown the best of all Kingdom comebacks, its dramatic style fits me well.

Ivan IV might just be the greatest and worst ruler in Russia's history. On one hand, he strongly improved the economy and infrastructure of the nation, while expanding it through Siberia, making the Rus confederation the modern Russia we all know. He also introduced the printing press to Russia.

At the same time, he largely went insane in his later years after a large drought throughout his land, and the death of his beloved wife. He introduced the serf system, which was largely a slave system, and strongly attacked and murdered any rivals in a reign of terror. He also murdered his capable and wise eldest son in a fit of rage, an act which brought his madness into a phase of depression that eventually killed him. Due to his chaos, Russia was thrown into a dark age soon after his death.

If that sounds theatrical, it should. Ivan is known as the terrible, and his story is perfect for a story MV. Here, the white-dressed members are Ivan and his court. You see white-Ivan take the rightful crown, and work closely with his advisors. However, he is eventually killed by black-Ivan in a bloody conflict. Black-Ivan almost certainly represents Ivan IV after his madness, taking over the crown by killing the wise Ivan IV pre-madness.

 

We now reach the members who have yet to receive their album.

4th Comeback (Upcoming): Dan

Song: ???

Ruler: Disputed

Nation: Korea (Presumably)

You see, it is the teaser at the end of Black Crown's MV for Dan's comeback that got me writing this post. More than any of the other members, the identity of Dan's king has always been for debate.

Based on his name, many assumed Dan was a Nordic king. Only a small issue, there all like a bajillion, semi-mythical, Nordic kings. One of the most likely options would be the mythical Dan of the Rigsthula. However, eventually, a large section of the fandom decided the name was referring to a Halfdan king.

The issue, there are WAY too many Nordic kings named Halfdan. However, it was largely believed to be one of the three following Halfdans. Halfdan from Beowulf, Halfdan the Black, first king of unified Norway, or most likely, the legendary conqueror Halfdan Rangarsson.

However, it turned out to be none of them. The ending of Black Crown confirms that Dan's king is Korean, and certainly a royal monarch. Instantly, everyone started googling Korean kings with Dan in their names.

According to Kprofiles, the king is likely king Dangun, the legendary founder of Gojoseon (ancient Joseon, not the later, more attested kingdom), and Korea as a whole. He is celebrated with a national holiday, is worshiped by several native Korean sub-faiths, and is almost certainly somewhat mythicized after all the years, perhaps like Arthur, being an amalgamation of several figures.

While Dangun certainly would be interesting, I think based on Dan's outfit, it is another famous Korean founder. King Taejo of Joseon, later personally renamed himself, Yi Dan. Taejo was the founder of the legendary Joseon kingdom in 1401. He was a strong ruler, and a unifier of Korea. Plus, Dan's outfit in the teaser is far more reminiscent of Yi Dan than Dangun.

The remaining members are listed alphabetically

Member: Jahan

Ruler: Shah Jahan

Nation: India

You know the Taj Mahal? It was built by Shah Jahan. Now you know exactly how Jahan's comeback will be themed.

Shah Jahan was a brutal yet effective leader, successfully outmaneuvering his siblings to become the ruler of the Mughal empire, a Turkic empire from modern-day Uzbekistan ruling most of the Indian subcontinent. However, he is perhaps best known for his architectural achievements, such as those of the Red Fort, Shah Jahan mosque, and the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal (whom he was obsessively in love with), the Taj Mahal. He owned the Kohinoor and was likely one of the richest people of all time.

At the same time, I kind of doesn't like Jahan's ruler pick more than any other member. Notably, Shah Jahan was actually a pretty bad ruler to his people. His reign saw the slow abandonment of his grandfather Akbar's tolerant religious policies and the replacement of them with fundamentalist Islam, eventually turning into his son Aurangzeb's messy and violent religious policy. He also mismanaged a famine and suffered rebellions as a result.

However, it would be a crime not to mention his treatment of Sikh subjects. During the later days of previous emperor Jahangir's reign, the Sikh religion, a Dharmic tradition, once again was on decent terms with the Mughals. However, Shah Jahan attempted to undermine the Sikh authority and destroyed Sikh property. When Sikh leader Guru Hargobind led a rebellion, local Sikh temples were destroyed. This would eventually lead to a bitter wound of the Mughals, one that would fail to heal due to the intolerance of Shah Jahan's successor Aurangzeb.

And we know the MV will only be about the Taj Mahal.

I'd have honestly picked some other rulers. Maybe the great Mughal Akbar, or Chandragupta Maurya.

Member: Louis

Ruler: Louis XIV

Nation: France

Once again, I fear the true evils by a ruler will be overshadowed in the MV by their cool architecture and power. In this case, Versailles.

Louis XIV was Europe's longer-ruling monarch and an absolute dictator. He was powerful, clever, magnificent, and certainly clever. At the same time, he was an evil ruler, abolishing protestant rights, taking absolute power, and eating up the people's hard-earned money.

During his early days, he was largely a puppet of feudal landlords and ministers. Thus, he focused especially on destroying their power, and he did so quite efficiently. He also was a spend-thrift, with Versailles' infamously expensive rooms and fountain just being the most famous example.

While his buildings are certainly worth marveling at, he is hard to really appreciate for all the wrong he did.

Member: Mujin

Ruler: Jinmu

Nation: Japan

Mujin is another member fans had issues guessing. Initially, it was supposed that he was named after the historical name for Gwangju, Mujinju, and thus was a famous ruler from that region. However, it is now considered that he is named after emperor Jinmu of Japan.

Just like Arthur, Chiyou, and Dan, Jinmu is likely a semi-fictitious ruler. The difference is that the people claiming descent from Jinmu are still in power. That is right, Japan has had one dynasty since 660 BCE, the Yamato dynasty (though the initial generations are crowded in folklore).

As the founder of Japan, you'd guess that Jinmu would have crazy folktales and legends about him, and you'd be 100% correct. His ancestors are Kami, divine deities in the native Shinto religion. Quite notably, he is a direct descendant of Amaterasu, the sun goddess. Thus, the Japanese emperor is considered a direct descendent of the sun.

This was a long post to write and took a lot of work, hopefully you all enjoyed it!

Image Source: The Bias List