The Kingdom (formerly known as Kingdom) is a group built around the idea that each member represents a different well-known king from a different country; in order, King Arthur of Britain, Emperor Chiyou of China, Emperor Ivan (the Terrible) of Russia, King Dann of Korea, King Louis XIV of France, Emperor Jinmu of Japan, and King Jahangir of India. Chiyou left for personal reasons in 2022, and an eighth member named Hwon was added afterward; Hwon later left in 2025.

Here are my credentials. I’ve been a casual fan of The Kingdom since around 2022. This discography deep dive may get me there though. When I first did this review in mid-2023, I was considering going to their US tour this year, but unfortunately I didn’t get the chance. I’d still like to revisit them, now that I’m much better at doing reviews.

A quick note: for a group with such a focus on internationality, all 7 members are Korean, which means that they’re inevitably going to be representing cultures that they aren’t a part of, and, indirectly, profiting from them. Personally, I’m unsure what to think about this. As a lover of history, I really enjoy what they’re doing, and it’s clear to me the amount of work that went into the research and stories for each piece. That being said, with the exception of the Russian one, I don’t belong to any of these cultures, and it’s not my place to declare it all fine. Everyone needs to make up their own mind.

So, with that out of the way, let’s start.

EP #1: History Of Kingdom; Arthur

Excalibur feels otherworldly, from the angelic choir to the outfits that are an odd combination between common k-pop leather stage clothes and medieval knight’s armor. The song itself is also a fusion, between a usual k-pop track and a more unique, classical piece. Though I don’t know how to classify it, whatever it is, it’s certainly powerful. Overall, what’s most notable about Excalibur is that it truly feels like a beginning: the song exalts Arthur and shows none of the later cynicism of the other monarchs featured. It seems to be the start of his reign, full of hope and bravery, and a revolution, with the phrase, “Follow me now, history begins with us.”

From the EP, History I: Arthur, I enjoyed both the sinister feeling of the intro and the smoothness of Picasso, but my hidden gem was Night Air, and more specifically the acoustic version, which stands out as a welcome softener to the army-like march of the title track.

EP #2: History Of Kingdom; Chiwoo

The next song, Karma, may be their prettiest, a unique blend of traditional Chinese strings and flutes and modern trap. Surprisingly for a song about a god of war, it’s not about battles, but the opposite: a song about moving on from the pain of loss that they bring and the need to find salvation for both oneself and future generations by striving for peace, with the visuals balancing the red-tinged fighting the song warns against and the blue-tinged tranquility it’s is advocating for, as dancers spin with colorful fans. It’s not my own personal favorite, but I do like it a lot.

From the EP, History II: Chiwoo, I enjoyed the lovely guzheng in the instrumental intro Echoes Of Nirvana, the gentle piano of Eternity, and the build-up in the pre-chorus of Warning. My hidden gem was Magical, which manages to do the best of both worlds, feeling very much like a k-pop song but with an interesting, vocal-led chant and a unique mix of strings and EDM. While this era isn’t my personal favorite, I do think it’s the one that best captures who they are as a group.

EP #3: History Of Kingdom; Ivan

Black Crown is both the first song to feature a real person and the first song to paint its protagonist in a more negative light, as Ivan struggles with whether to let the darkness corrupt him after taking control. The song itself is neither their best or worst, but does an excellent job of building tension with classical strings and very sharp ballet movements. This idea of power, who has it, and the price they’d pay to keep it is a running theme in Kingdom’s work, but this song is the most upfront about it. My biggest gripe is that I wish its intro, which has lovely combinations of electronic and classical, carried into the song as Karma’s intro does. Also, I’m not sure that leather pants and crop tops are exactly accurate for 16th century Russia, but I digress.

From the EP, History III: Ivan, I enjoyed the gentle tone of Fallen Star, the catchy electro chorus of Burn, and the great melding of voices in On Air. This album is alright, although I prefer the first two.

EP #4: History Of Kingdom; Dann

Ascension is the most historically accurate of them all, being filmed at an actual Korean palace, and in a way, feels the most comfortable of the titles. The main character of this album is Dangun, the legendary founder of Korea, who spends Ascension lamenting the failures of his reign that have caused the people to revolt; they’re now outside, prepared to break the palace gates down, and he has nowhere to run. Like Ivan, Dann has let power corrupt him, but unlike Ivan (and Arthur), Ascension is his ending, not his beginning. The instrumental of this one is rife with ancient drumming, a high pitched flute, and EDM, a combination that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. Also, the dancing with scarves is so lovely, and makes for very unique choreography when combined with more usual K-pop moves, especially at the climax in the bridge.

Promise, the other title track from this EP, isn’t only a song with a music video that could best be described as a three minute and twelve second historical kdrama, but also just absolutely beautiful. It’s a very traditional Korean ballad, with a backing piano, building strings, and of course, a soft drum beat as the base layer. It was while listening to this song that I noted that Kingdom has lovely voices and a real talent for harmonizing with each other, and I desperately wish more of their title tracks would use it. It starts quietly, as many ballads do, but it’s at its post-chorus, which is full of pained yearning and the begged question, “Why does my love hurt so much,” (and which I’ve heard accurately described as “utterly transcendent”), that the song catapulted its way into my absolute favorites, not just of Kingdom, but of k-pop in general. It’s as close to perfect as you can get.

From the EP, History IV: Dann, I enjoyed almost every track, from the monumental drums and flutes of the intro to the minimalistic production of Illusion, to the summery lightness and freedom of Blinder. Similarly, the accompanying album is the best of the six so far, and somehow it hangs together despite seeming as miscellaneous as the others. I would say that the dual title tracks definitely help with the balance and cohesion.

EP #5: History Of Kingdom; Louis

The title track Long Live The King is about the “Sun King” Louis XIV of France, who was famous for his very long reign, and his struggles with watching those he loves die and the world change around him since he lives to be so old. Again, another thing someone exchanges for power, although he isn’t as vilified for it. Normally with Kingdom’s title tracks, the East Asian songs are more historical while the European ones are more fantastical, which isn’t surprising, although this one looks as though it could’ve been filmed in Versailles (albeit a fantasy version of it) with its 18th century costumes and gilded decor. Besides the car. As for the song itself, it wasn’t one of my favorites the first time around, and I wish it would’ve pushed its classical influences farther. But, the powerful chorus and the tension it builds won me over, and I enjoy it much more now.

From the EP, History V: Louis, I enjoyed the waltz-like ethereal feeling and the ticking clock of the intro, the tropical influences in Waka Waka, and the light percussion mixed with the lovely vocals in Period. I didn’t think that this album was as strong as the past few, however.

EP #6: History Of Kingdom; Mujin

The title track Dystopia, despite its name, moves away from the price that rulers pay for power and instead, like Excalibur, appeals directly to the audience, this time asking them to throw off the chains of society and break free from the pain inflicted on them. Unfortunately, again like Black Crown, it doesn’t incorporate the classical sample close to enough to be on par with the others, and also doesn’t have the slowly built tension of Long Live The King or the beauty of Karma, and so kind of…meanders around without a strong identity of its own. It’s not a bad song by any stretch; the slowly creeping pre-choruses and the higher, more melodic parts of the hook are quite good, but the choice it makes to do something of an anti-drop just isn’t for me.

From the EP, History VI: Mujin, I enjoyed the gentle Japanese flutes of the intro and the distorted vocalizing of My Wave. My hidden gem was Song of The Wind, which absolutely should have been the title track, or at least given the same treatment as Promise. It’s lovely and ethereal, drawing on the power in Kingdom’s voices and propelling them forward with a delicate yet affecting string background. Their ballads are all excellent and feel more genuine than their “cool”, rap heavy songs, like Warning, Burn, or Elements, the last of which is the first song of theirs I’ve actively disliked.

EP #7: History Of Kingdom; Jahan

Coup D’etat is the last part of their seven part series on kings, and here’s where the cultural appropriation argument I mentioned at the beginning comes back, because it was incredibly controversial. Part of that is due to timing—the song, which talks about a somewhat violent resistance against oppression—came out barely a week after the war in Gaza started. Besides that, its album cover was deemed incredibly similar to the cover of the Quran, and they actually recalled it.

Coup D’etat itself is a solid song, combining Indian strings and EDM for what’s quite a strong build-up. I wish that it didn’t go for a similar kind of anti-drop that Dystopia did, because if it had more of a pay-off, I think it could be one of their better tracks. I do like that bridge and its sense of danger, and the calls of “rise up” in the chorus add to that feeling. Also, it was filmed at an actual palace in India, so props for that.

From the EP, History VII: Jahan, I enjoyed the intro, and how well it flowed into the title (which I wish was as good as the intro), the post-chorus of On My Way, and the strength of the electric guitar hook in Sandcastle, which was my hidden gem.

EP #8: The Flower Of The Moon

Last Flower comes as Kingdom’s first comeback in nearly two years, and this also marks the first time I’ve updated this review since early 2024. It’s good to see them back. There isn’t an official music video, but instead a special performance, that for all its fairly simplistic design, is quite engaging to watch. The dancing is as lovely as ever, marrying a traditional fan dance with your classic footwork heavy kpop choreography. (The backing dancers are really the unsung heroes in all of this).

As for the song itself, after the first minute I was expecting your classic ballad, but the chorus came rocketing out of nowhere and upped my opinion of it tenfold. Not only is it great on its own, but it actually interpolates the most famous Korean folk song of all time, Arirang, which has come to stand for unity between North and South Korea. The bridge too is stunning, paring back the song’s bells and whistles for an emotional moment before the final chorus brings it home. It’s a really good song, probably my favorite title of theirs in years.

From the EP, I enjoyed the joyful sound of Festival and the ethereal, piano-led Forget.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. I especially enjoyed getting to learn about the members of the group, who I didn’t know much about when I started. Though I didn’t have that much time, I did watch their “Candid Conversations” with Everlast Korea and their string of interviews with The Seoul Story. I had a good time.

My top five songs are Promise, Excalibur, Night Air, Ascension and Song Of The Wind, with Karma as an honorable mention. Kingdom gets an 8.5 out of 10 from me. The first time I did this review, I didn’t give them that high a rating, and honestly I’m not sure why. Maybe I was more stingy back then. I also really wanted to shout-out their impressive dancing skills and stage presence. Who knows? Though I didn’t get a chance last time, maybe by the next time their tour makes its way to me, I’ll be cheering in the stands too. When finding groups, I always want to figure out what makes a group unique, worthy of my time, and to see if they have an established identity, which Kingdom has in absolute spades. The issue I have isn’t with any of their ideas or songs themselves, but with their work as a whole. While they do have this clear identity in their title tracks, they don’t follow through with it in the rest of their discography, and end up sounding a lot like other groups of their time. But when they’re good, they’re really good, delivering songs full of questioning power and catharsis.

So, see you next time for a girl group!