Kingdom: Ashin of the North – Who Is Ai Da Gan?

Echoes of Han: How Ashin and Ai Da Gan Forged the Darkest Corner of Netflix’s Kingdom

When Netflix’s acclaimed zombie-sageuk series Kingdom burst onto screens, it redefined the historical horror genre by blending high-stakes Joseon Dynasty politics with terrifying, fast-moving undead. Yet, before Crown Prince Lee Chang fought to save his kingdom from a creeping plague, the roots of the catastrophe were sown in the freezing, forgotten northern frontier.

The 2021 special episode, Kingdom: Ashin of the North, serves as a devastating bridge and origin story. At the heart of its brutal geopolitical conflict are two unforgettable forces of nature: Ashin, a young woman hollowed out by betrayal, and Ai Da Gan, the fierce and imposing chieftain of the Pajeowi Jurchen tribe.

The Frozen Border: Setting the Stage

To understand the friction between Ashin and Ai Da Gan, one must look at the volatile borderlands of Joseon. The story focuses on the Seongjeoyain—Jurchen people who settled on Joseon soil and found themselves trapped in a multi-layered identity crisis. Treated as outsiders by their own kin in the northern tribes and used as disposable pawns by the Joseon military, they live in perpetual precarity.

Ashin’s father, Ta-hab, acts as a loyal liaison for the Joseon military, desperately trying to secure a modicum of respect and safety for his marginalized village. However, political scapegoating changes everything. When a group of Pajeowi Jurchens are found dead in Joseon territory under mysterious circumstances, commander Min Chi-rok covers up the incident by manipulating Ta-hab into framing a wild tiger.

This single political deception sparks a chain reaction of bloody proportions, directly dragging Ai Da Gan and his warriors into a warpath against Ashin’s people.

Ai Da Gan: The Imposing Force of the Pajeowi

Played with chilling charisma and raw intensity by actor Koo Kyo-hwan, Ai Da Gan is far more than a standard, one-dimensional villain. As the ruthless head of the Pajeowi tribe, he commands absolute terror across the northern frontier.

• Fearsome Presence: With his striking long hair, rugged furs, and calculating demeanor, Ai Da Gan cuts an intimidating figure long before he draws a blade.
• Ambition and Pride: He is deeply protective of his people’s honor while casting ambitious eyes toward the perceived weakness of the Joseon borders.
• The Catalyst of Tragedy: Believing that Ashin’s village harbors traitorous secrets or bears responsibility for the slaughtered Jurchen hunters, Ai Da Gan leads a merciless assault on the settlement. His troops massacre nearly everyone in sight, sparing only a young Ashin who watches from the shadows—a mistake that ultimately dooms them all.

Koo Kyo-hwan’s performance breathes a strange, magnetic life into Ai Da Gan, making him a formidable antagonist whose brute strength matches the harsh climate he rules.

Ashin: The Vessel of “Han”

If Ai Da Gan represents external violence and systemic oppression, Ashin represents han—a uniquely Korean concept denoting an unyielding, deep-seated feeling of grief, sorrow, and suppressed rage against absolute injustice.

Played brilliantly in her youth by Kim Shi-a and as an adult by superstar Jun Ji-hyun, Ashin’s life is systematically dismantled. After Ai Da Gan’s raid destroys her village and slaughters her family, she crawls through mud and blood to survive, eventually discovering the mysterious “resurrection plant” (the Saersacho plant).

Instead of seeking simple comfort, Ashin learns the secrets of the plant. She realizes that she does not need an army to enact vengeance; she has dominion over a terrifying biological weapon—an army of the undead.

The Collision Course

The brilliance of Ashin of the North lies in how it frames the conflict. Ai Da Gan and the Pajeowi think they are fighting a geopolitical turf war against Joseon, unaware that they are merely stepping stones in a far darker, supernatural vendetta.

Ashin uses her knowledge of the resurrection plant to systematically dismantle those who wronged her, blurring the line between victim and monster. By the time she turns her crosshairs toward Ai Da Gan and his warriors, the lines of sympathy and horror twist together. The confrontation underscores the central thesis written by creator Kim Eun-hee: empires and tribal chiefs alike wage wars for power, but it is the ordinary people caught underneath—the Ashins of the world—who absorb the blow, only to unleash an unstoppable reckoning.

Legacy in the Kingdom Universe

The dynamic between Ashin and figures like Ai Da Gan permanently alters the landscape of the Kingdom universe. It transforms the zombie outbreak from a random viral tragedy into a deliberate act of architectural revenge.