What Is Kingdom: Legendary War? Mnet's New K-Pop Reality Show Explained

Kingdom: Legendary War is a high-stakes K-pop reality competition series produced by Mnet.

Originally airing from April 1 to June 3, 2021, the show served as the high-profile sequel to the 2020 preliminary series Road to Kingdom.

The program’s primary goal was to crown a “King” among established boy groups through a series of intense, large-scale performance rounds.

As of April 2026, the series is remembered as a pivotal moment for the “Fourth Generation” of K-pop, particularly for its role in solidifying the global dominance of its participants.

The Lineup: Six “Legendary” Contenders

The show featured six boy groups, ranging from industry veterans to rapidly rising stars. Each group brought a distinct identity to the stage:

Stray Kids: Known for their self-produced, experimental “dark” sound.

ATEEZ: Renowned for their high-intensity, “pirate-themed” theatrical performances.

The Boyz: The winners of Road to Kingdom, famous for their creative and acrobatic use of props.

BTOB: The vocal powerhouses of the competition, focusing on emotional live harmonies and ballad rearrangements.

iKON: Brought a “hip-hop festival” energy and relaxed, street-style charisma.

SF9: Utilized their “model-like” visuals and sophisticated, cinematic choreography.

Competitive Structure and Scoring

Unlike traditional survival shows where individuals are eliminated, Kingdom was a cumulative points-based battle where all six groups stayed until the finale.

The scoring was weighted to balance industry expertise with global fan power:

Experts’ Evaluation (25%): A panel of 30 professional judges.

Self-Evaluation (25%): Groups voted for each other’s performances.

Global Fan Vote (40%): Conducted via the Whosfan app.

Video View Count (10%): Measured YouTube performance metrics.

Key Rounds of the War

The competition was divided into four main stages, pushing groups to reinvent their sound and image:

Round 1 (To the World): Groups performed rearranged versions of their own representative hits.

Round 2 (Re-born): A “song swap” round where groups reimagined a competitor’s track (e.g., Stray Kids covering BTOB’s “I’ll Be Your Man”).

Round 3 (No Limit): This was split into “Unit Stages” (Rap, Dance, and Vocal collaborations between groups) and “Individual Stages” with zero creative restrictions.

Final Round (Who is the King): The groups released brand-new digital singles and performed them live in a grand finale.

The Winner and Legacy

Stray Kids emerged as the final winners on June 3, 2021, after earning the most points across all rounds.

Their victory was a massive catalyst for their career; in the years following the show, they achieved multiple #1 albums on the Billboard 200 and became one of the most-streamed groups globally.

As of 2026, the show is credited with establishing the “Big 3” of the fourth generation- Stray Kids, ATEEZ, and The Boyz (often calledKingdom: Legendary War “ZZA”).

While Mnet has recently shifted its focus to other formats like Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace (2024-2025), the original Kingdom: Legendary War remains the gold standard for high-budget K-pop performance production.