I am fascinated by KINGDOM and their concept already and I decided to do some digging online to try and pick out who exactly each King they are representing in their personas is. I haven’t seen a lot of this information floating around yet so I went searching. None of this is guaranteed or for sure who the members are based on, except for King Arthur as we know that due to their debut song Excalibur. However, it is a fun thinking exercise and I hope you enjoy! If you have any other information please share it with me! I would love to know more.
Chiwoo:
From what I can find Chiwoo is the Korean name for a man, Chiyou, who led the Nine Li tribes in Chinese history. His full title in Korean is Chiwoo Cheonwang which means “Chiwoo, King of Heaven.” In the articles I found Chiwoo fought and defeated the Yan Emperor and then killed the Yellow Emperor from whom Yan asked for help. However, the interesting bits are from legends. It is said that Chiwoo was able to breathe thick fog and blocked the sun during the battle. Chiwoo was able to create a giant storm and the Yellow Emperor had to summon a demon to blow the storm away.
In the Excalibur music video during Chiwoo’s one set of lines we see him sitting and moving his hands about, then at the end of his lines and hand motions the images blurs out. I am wondering if this is due to the legend that he blocked the field of view during battle with his thick fog.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiyou
Jahan:
There are a couple different ruling Jahan’s in History, but I believe Jahan is named after Jahangir (real name Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim). Jahangir means ‘Conqueror of the World’. He was a Mughal Emperor. Jahangir’s story of a love with a Mughal courtesan had been used a lot in film, art, and literature. I believe he is the one Jahan’s persona is based on because much of the imagery of Jahangir has him wearing a golden hat. This is seen by Jahan in the Excalibur MV. I also think that it makes sense to pick him when he is a figure that has been seen in movies and art.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jahangir
Mujin:
Mujin is said to be based on the Japanese Emperor Jimmu. We see the Japanese influence in the Excalibur MV with his use of a Katana and his hair style is similar to that of historic Japanese styles as well. Jimmu is interesting in Japanese mythology because it is said he was a descendant of the Sun Goddess and the Storm God. I wonder if these elements will be seen later in his storyline.
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Jimmu
Source: https://godofhighschool.fandom.com/wiki/Park_Mubong
Ivan:
I believe it is obvious Ivan is based on Ivan the Terrible. He was an unstable and violent man who even killed his own son and heir. The Russian Tsar seems to be getting a fantastical update through KINGDOM, however. Ivan is shown using a magic staff and appears to have lightning ice abilities. I really look forward to a possibly dark and chilly era when Ivan’s concept comes around.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_the_Terrible
Dann:
The only Dan I can find in history comes from Denmark. He went to war with the Germans and when the people saw his bravery they declared him their King. It is said Denmark was named in his honor as well as where the phrase “the danes” stems from. I don’t have a lot of evidence as to how this Dan of Denmark is the one Dann from KINGDOM is based off of, but we do see him in a blue and white scenery as well as with blue hair. Denmark is largely surrounded by water. We also see him with a tear on his face, pushing the water concept more.
Source: https://europeisnotdead.com/denmark-king-dan/
Louis:
There are a bunch of King Louis’s in history but the most notable is King Louis XIV. He was known as Louis the Great or the Sun King. He holds the longest reign of any monarch of a sovereign country within European history. He was a king who brought much art to France as well as might. I find it interesting that one of the only solo scenes we see of Louis in the Excalibur MV is on him in a snow empty landscape with a large moon in the background. I wonder if this is to suggest he is the sun and there is the moon? I also have to wonder about what looks to be wind powers that he is summoning in his hands. I am interested to see if that gets expanded upon more with time.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV
Arthur:
And of course, we have King Arthur. Showcased beautifully in the Excalibur MV. This debut was obviously based off of King Arthur and his sword Excalibur. They did a great job with the concept and imagery and it was a strong starting point as most people know of King Arthur.
Overall:
I hope we find out more about the history of each of their personas soon but I couldn’t help doing some digging and trying to see what historical figures and evidence I could find. I may be wrong on some of these, but it is fun to theorize and I hope you enjoyed doing so with me. Stan KINGDOM! These boys are really showing themselves to be extremely talented and they deserve the attention! Hopefully we will see more from them soon.
