the North explores the backstory of Ashin, the mysterious heir of the Northern Seongjeoyain tribe village, and the origin of the resurrection plant that triggered an unprecedented cascade of tragic events that swept through the Kingdom of Joseon. Plot Kingdom is set during Korea's Joseon period, three years after the famous "Battle of Unpo Wetland" near the city of Sangju during the Japanese invasions of Korea, where 500 Korean soldiers, led by Governor Ahn Hyeon, defeated an army of 30,000 Japanese invaders. Unbeknownst to the common people, this victory was achieved by using an herb known as the "resurrection plant", which transformed the diseased villagers of Sumang into ferocious zombies; after the battle ended, the zombies were executed and buried in secret. Season One At the start of the series, the King dies of smallpox. Chief State Councillor Lord Cho Hak-ju decides to hide the King's death until his daughter, Queen Consort Cho, produces a son. Such a son would have a more legitimate claim to the throne than Crown Prince Lee Chang, whose mother was a concubine. As a result, the King is inoculated with the resurrection plant and subsequently becomes a monster at night, restrained with chains and fed with the bodies of court servants. Refused permission to visit his father, the Prince leaves in disguise to search for Lee Seung-hui, the doctor who last treated the King. Shocked by what he finds in the process of investigating the King's illness, he heads to the Southern province of Gyeongsang with his loyal bodyguard Mu-yeong to search for more answers. At Lee Seung-hui's clinic outside the city of Dongnae, physician's assistant Seo-bi cares for dozens of patients, but is running out of food to feed them. Yeong-shin, one of the patients, makes a stew for the people from what he says is deer meat. However, the meat is later revealed to be from the cadaver of someone bitten by the King and all the patients quickly turn into zombies. The next day, the magistrate of Dongnae and nephew of Lord Cho Hak-ju, Cho Beom-pal, disregards Seo-bi and Yeong-shin's advice to cut off the head of each cadaver, leading to a night of chaos when the dead awaken. When the Prince takes control and orders that the bodies of the undead be destroyed, the yangbans secretly flee on the only boat, carrying their belongings and the corpse of a precious