Why is a 1,300-year-old king suddenly all over Korean entertainment news this week? Because KBS is about to air its first full-scale historical epic in about three years. Sword & Silence, known in Korea as Munmu (문무), premieres on KBS2 on Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 9:20 p.m. Korea time. It follows Kim Beop-min, the prince who became King Munmu of Silla, through the wars that ended the Three Kingdoms period and then pushed Tang China off most of the peninsula.
If you are an overseas fan, you probably have three questions: where you can watch it legally, who is in it, and how much of the story is real. This guide answers all three, using KBS's program page, Korean press reports and standard histories. We checked everything on November 11, 2026. We also cover something most English guides skip: the real places in Gyeongju (경주) where Munmu's story still stands, including the rock in the sea that is said to be his grave.
Key takeaways
- Sword & Silence (문무) is a 28-episode KBS2 weekend epic. It airs Saturdays and Sundays at 9:20 p.m. KST from November 14, 2026, with Lee Hyun-wook as the future King Munmu.
- Korean press reports say it will also stream on Netflix worldwide. As of November 11 we could not confirm a country list or a Netflix title page, so check the app in your region.
- The core history is well documented: Baekje fell in 660, Goguryeo in 668, and the Silla–Tang War ran from 670 to 676. Some battle details are still debated.
In this guide
1. Sword & Silence at a glance
KBS has a long tradition of weekend daeha dramas (대하드라마), big historical epics that run for months. Its last one, Korea–Khitan War, aired from November 2023 to March 2024. Sword & Silence is the next in that line. Director Kim Yeong-jo told a November 2025 press event that the team had built a large panel of history advisers and would not make Tang China look worse just to make Silla's victory feel sweeter. He wants the series to be accurate enough to "take a history test" on. That is a big promise, and it is a useful way to judge the show as it airs.
| Item | Details (as of November 2026) |
| English / Korean title | Sword & Silence / 문무 (Munmu); also listed as "Great King Munmu" on some sites |
| Network | KBS2 (South Korea) |
| Premiere | Saturday, November 14, 2026, 9:20 p.m. KST |
| Schedule | Saturdays and Sundays, 9:20 p.m. KST, about 75 minutes per episode |
| Episodes | 28, running into the first half of 2027 |
| Directors / writers | Kim Yeong-jo and Gu Seong-joon / Kim Ri-heon and Hong Jin-yi |
| Rating | 15+ in Korea |
| Streaming | Netflix reported by Korean press; TVING lists it in Korea from November 14 |
Running 28 episodes at two per weekend works out to 14 weekends. With no breaks, the finale would fall around mid-February 2027, and the Korean Wikipedia entry currently shows February 14. Sports coverage or holiday specials often push Korean weekend dramas back a week, though, so treat that date as an estimate.
2. Where to watch outside Korea, and when
What is confirmed and what is not
On October 14, 2026, KBS, the cast and the city of Gyeongju held a launch event at the Munmu Daewang Marine History Museum. Korean outlets covering it, including Aju Business Daily and KNS News, reported that the drama will also reach viewers worldwide through Netflix. That is the best evidence available. Still, as of November 11, Netflix had not published a country list that we could find. On November 10, Korea Portal wrote that no international partner was confirmed in the sources it had seen. In practice, look for "Sword & Silence" in your Netflix app on the weekend of November 14. If it isn't there, don't assume an unofficial site is your only option. Licensing can differ by country, and KBS titles sometimes appear on other licensed services later.
Inside Korea, the show airs on KBS2, and TVING's title page lists it as available from November 14.
Premiere time in your time zone
Saturday 9:20 p.m. KST is 12:20 UTC. US and European clocks have already switched back from daylight saving time, so the conversions below apply for the whole run:
| Location | Episode 1 (Sat, Nov 14 KST) | Episode 2 (Sun, Nov 15 KST) |
| Seoul (KST) | Sat 9:20 p.m. | Sun 9:20 p.m. |
| Los Angeles (PST) | Sat 4:20 a.m. | Sun 4:20 a.m. |
| New York (EST) | Sat 7:20 a.m. | Sun 7:20 a.m. |
| London (GMT) | Sat 12:20 p.m. | Sun 12:20 p.m. |
| Paris / Berlin (CET) | Sat 1:20 p.m. | Sun 1:20 p.m. |
| Manila / Singapore | Sat 8:20 p.m. | Sun 8:20 p.m. |
| Sydney (AEDT) | Sat 11:20 p.m. | Sun 11:20 p.m. |
These are broadcast times in Korea. Streaming services usually post an episode after it airs, sometimes with a short delay while subtitles are prepared. Netflix has not announced the exact upload time.
How to set yourself up for premiere weekend
- Open the KBS program page (below) and confirm the schedule hasn't changed.
- On Saturday, search Netflix for both "Sword & Silence" and "Munmu". Tap "Remind Me" or "My List" if a title page has appeared.
- If you are in Korea, use KBS2 live or TVING. Elsewhere, stick to services that list the show officially in your country.
- Turn on subtitles in your language and keep the cast table in section 3 open. Many of the names are similar.
- Remember there are two episodes a week, so the first weekend gives you a two-part opening.
Check the official schedule and cast before Saturday
KBS's official 문무 page lists the broadcast slot, character introductions and previews. It's the first place a schedule change will show up. The page is in Korean, and your browser's translate option works well on it.
3. Main cast and the real people they play
Almost every main character is a real historical figure, so the casting doubles as a history lesson. The writer, Kim Ri-heon, told Soompi he chose the Silla–Tang War because it is "even more dramatic than David defeating Goliath" and yet not widely known, even in Korea.
 Lee Hyun-wook (이현욱), who plays Kim Beop-min, the future King Munmu (2021 photo, not from the drama). Photo: VGT TV - Giải Trí / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |  Jang Hyuk (장혁), cast as Goguryeo strongman Yeon Gaesomun (2017 photo, not from the drama). Photo: K-POPIT 케이팝잇 TV10 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |  Kim Kang-woo (김강우), who plays Kim Chun-chu, later King Taejong Muyeol (2019 photo, not from the drama). Photo: PARKJAEHWAN (kinocine.com) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
| Actor | Role | Who that was in history |
| Lee Hyun-wook (이현욱) | Kim Beop-min, later King Munmu | 30th king of Silla (626–681), reigned 661–681; son of Kim Chun-chu and nephew of Kim Yu-sin |
| Jang Hyuk (장혁) | Yeon Gaesomun (연개소문) | Goguryeo military dictator (594–666) who seized power in a 642 coup and resisted Tang invasions |
| Kim Kang-woo (김강우) | Kim Chun-chu, later King Taejong Muyeol | 29th king of Silla, crowned in 654; master diplomat who built the alliance with Tang |
| Park Sung-woong (박성웅) | Kim Yu-sin (김유신) | Silla's great general (595–673), central to the wars against Baekje and Goguryeo |
| Jung Woong-in (정웅인) | Kim Jin-ju | Silla noble general; per KBS's character notes a political realist with a large private army |
| Jo Sung-ha (조성하) | Go Geon-mu, King Yeongnyu (special appearance) | Goguryeo king killed in Yeon Gaesomun's 642 coup |
Why this cast is interesting
Lee Hyun-wook isn't new to royal roles. In 2025 he played Lee Bang-won, the future King Taejong of Joseon, in tvN's The Queen Who Crowns. Before that, international viewers saw him in Mine and Netflix's Remarriage & Desires. At the November 2025 press event he described Kim Beop-min as "cool-headed, rational and realistic." The writer said Jang Hyuk was cast to make Yeon Gaesomun someone "viewers will find themselves rooting for even as they dislike him." Expect the drama to give Goguryeo, Baekje and Tang their own points of view, not just Silla's. Korean previews say the show was written that way on purpose.
4. The real history behind the drama
You don't need to know this period to enjoy the show. But a simple timeline makes the political scheming much easier to follow. Here are the key turning points, based on standard histories. Dates are CE.
| Year | What happened | Why it matters for the drama |
| 642 | Yeon Gaesomun kills King Yeongnyu and takes control of Goguryeo | Sets up Jang Hyuk's character as the strongman of the north |
| 654 | Kim Chun-chu becomes King Muyeol of Silla | His son Beop-min is now heir to the throne |
| 660 | Baekje falls to the Silla–Tang alliance | The alliance works, but Tang troops stay on the peninsula |
| 661 | Muyeol dies; Beop-min becomes King Munmu | The title character takes the throne mid-war |
| 668 | Goguryeo falls; Tang sets up a protectorate in Pyongyang | The former ally now wants the whole peninsula |
| 670–676 | Silla–Tang War, ending with a Silla naval victory at Gibeolpo in 676 | The story writer Kim Ri-heon most wanted to tell |
| 674 | Munmu orders the palace and pond now called Donggung and Wolji | A Munmu-era site you can still visit |
| 681 | Munmu dies and asks to be buried in the East Sea | The origin of the "underwater tomb" legend |
 Cheomseongdae (첨성대), the stone observatory linked to Queen Seondeok, who also appears in the drama's cast list. Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |  The tomb of King Taejong Muyeol (Kim Chun-chu), Munmu's father, in Gyeongju. Photo: Cultural Heritage Administration / Wikimedia Commons, KOGL Type 1 |  The approach to General Kim Yu-sin's tomb in Gyeongju. Photo: 현철환 / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain |
From ally to enemy
The Silla–Tang alliance is the big twist of this period. Silla needed Tang to beat its two stronger neighbors. After Goguryeo fell, though, Tang tried to rule the conquered lands, and, by most accounts, Silla too. Munmu answered with a coalition that included Goguryeo and Baekje loyalists, and Silla pushed Tang forces out of most of the old Baekje lands by 671. He also used diplomacy. In 674 the Tang emperor Gaozong named Munmu's brother Kim In-mun as king instead. Munmu sent an apology and tribute, and the emperor backed down. That mix of fighting and bowing is what the Korean title "Munmu" (文武, literally "civil and military") hints at.
The dragon king
On his deathbed in 681, Munmu reportedly asked to be cremated and laid to rest in the sea so he could become a dragon and guard Silla against invaders. His son, King Sinmun, honored that wish at Daewangam, the rocky islet shown at the top of this page. That is why later Koreans called Munmu the Dragon King of the East Sea.
 Iron helmet and armour excavated in the Gyeongju area, Gyeongju National Museum collection (shown for general context, not from Munmu's reign). Photo: Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain |  A Silla gold crown on display, the kind of royal regalia found in Silla tombs (shown for context). Photo: Matt and Nayoung Wilson from Atlanta and surrounding, US / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 |  Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond (동궁과 월지), built on King Munmu's orders in 674 CE, at blue hour. Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
5. What historians still argue about
Since the director promised a show you could "take a history test" on, it's worth knowing where history gets uncertain. These are open questions, not mistakes.
- The Battle of Maeso Fortress (675). The Korean chronicle Samguk Sagi describes a huge Tang army of 200,000 being defeated there, with more than 30,000 horses captured. Some modern scholars read the same passage differently. They think it describes Silla catching a Tang army that was already retreating, and that "200,000" stands for all Tang forces on the frontier. Chinese records don't mention the battle at all.
- Was it really "unification"? Silla's victory is often called the first unification of Korea. But Silla controlled only the land south of the Taedong River. Much of Goguryeo's old territory later became the kingdom of Balhae. For that reason, many scholars give Goryeo the title of the first state to unify the Korean people.
- What is under the rock? According to VisitKorea, historians still debate whether Munmu's ashes were scattered at Daewangam or placed there in an urn under the central granite stone.
Knowing these debates makes the show more fun to watch. When a battle scene looks bigger than life, you'll know whether the drama is following the chronicle or its critics.
6. Visit King Munmu's Gyeongju
Gyeongju was Silla's capital, and its historic areas are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. KBS hasn't published a list of filming locations, so the places below are the real historical sites tied to Munmu, not confirmed sets. The city is openly connecting the drama to its coast: at the October launch, Gyeongju said it hopes the series will bring visitors to the tomb and the marine history museum.
The East Sea coast: tomb, temple and trail
VisitKorea's "King's Legend Trail" links four stops over about 9.8 km. They are the Gameunsa temple site, begun by Munmu to protect the kingdom from sea invasions and finished by his son in 682; Bonggil Daewangam Beach; the Tomb of King Munmu, a rocky islet about 200 meters offshore; and the 1.7 km Padosori Trail past the columnar joint rock formations at Yangnam. The tomb has no admission fee, is open all year and has parking and restrooms, according to VisitKorea (as of November 2026). You view the islet from the beach. It is a protected historic site, not somewhere to climb.
 Sunrise over the tomb, a popular photo subject on the East Sea coast. Photo: 손묵광 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |  The twin stone pagodas at the Gameunsa temple site (감은사지), a temple begun under Munmu and finished in 682. Photo: by Junho Jung at Flickr from South Korea / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |  Reliquary found in the east pagoda at Gameunsa, now in a museum collection. Photo: ddol-mang (a flickr user) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 |
Central Gyeongju: palace, tombs and museum
In town, Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond date from Munmu's reign, built on his orders in 674. The tombs of King Muyeol and General Kim Yu-sin let you stand in front of the graves of Kim Kang-woo's and Park Sung-woong's characters. Gyeongju National Museum holds Silla crowns and many objects excavated from Wolji Pond.
A simple one-day plan for drama fans
- Take the KTX to Singyeongju Station and start in central Gyeongju.
- Morning: Gyeongju National Museum, to see Silla artifacts in context.
- Midday: the tombs of King Muyeol and Kim Yu-sin.
- Afternoon: travel east to the coast. Walk from the Gameunsa site to Bonggil Beach to see the tomb, then continue to the Padosori Trail if you have time.
- Evening: return to town for Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, which is most popular after dark.
The coast and the town center are a fair distance apart, so check bus or taxi options locally before you go. A rental car or a tour makes the coastal half much easier.
 Columnar joints at Yangnam, seen from the Padosori Trail at the end of the coastal walk. Photo: vatar/편성재 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 |  Wolji Pond at night. Evening is the most popular time to visit. Photo: lumoplank / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 |  Singyeongju Station, the KTX stop for Gyeongju. Photo: Abasaa / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain |
7. Before you press play: our take
This is our editorial opinion, not a review, because no one outside KBS has seen the episodes yet. Sword & Silence looks like a different kind of watch from the short, bingeable K-dramas that top Netflix lists. It is 28 long episodes released two a week, with dozens of named characters across four states. If you loved the politics of Mr. Sunshine or the court intrigue of other Korean period dramas, it is probably worth starting from episode one. If you only want romance, this probably isn't your show. The thing we're most curious about is whether the drama keeps its promise of balance: Goguryeo's resistance and Tang's ambitions get real weight in the history, and they deserve it on screen too.
A practical tip: watching the first weekend live (or as soon as it uploads) helps, because international fan discussion forms around the premiere. With weekly releases, you also get time to look up the history between episodes. That's when the timeline above becomes useful.
Planning a trip to Korea? Walk King Munmu's coast
VisitKorea's official King's Legend Trail page maps the Gameunsa site, Bonggil Beach, the underwater tomb and the Padosori Trail, with a description of each stop. It's a quick way to plan the coastal half of a Gyeongju day.
8. FAQ
Is Sword & Silence on Netflix?
Korean press coverage of KBS's October 14, 2026 launch event reported a Netflix release for viewers worldwide. As of November 11, we could not confirm which countries are included or when episodes will upload, so search the Netflix app in your region from November 14.
How many episodes does Sword & Silence have?
28. Two air each weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 9:20 p.m. KST), and the run continues into the first half of 2027.
Is Sword & Silence based on a true story?
Yes. It's based on the real wars of the 7th century that ended with Silla defeating Baekje (660) and Goguryeo (668) and then fighting Tang China (670–676). The main characters are historical figures, but dialogue and personal scenes are dramatized.
Who plays King Munmu?
Lee Hyun-wook plays Kim Beop-min, who becomes King Munmu. Kim Kang-woo plays his father Kim Chun-chu, and Park Sung-woong plays his uncle, General Kim Yu-sin.
Can you visit King Munmu's tomb?
You can see it from Bonggil Beach in Gyeongju, about 200 meters from shore. VisitKorea lists it as free and open all year. You view it from the beach rather than visiting the islet itself.
Conclusion
Sword & Silence is KBS's biggest bet on historical drama in years, and it tells a story most international viewers have never seen on screen: a small kingdom that used an empire to beat its rivals, then turned on the empire. The premiere is Saturday, November 14 at 9:20 p.m. KST. Netflix is the reported global home, but check your own region. If the show makes you curious about the man behind it, Gyeongju is where his palace pond, his father's tomb and his grave in the sea still are.
Sources
- KBS — 문무 (Munmu) official program page
- Aju Business Daily — Gyeongju launch event, Nov 14 premiere, 28 episodes, Netflix (Oct 14, 2026, Korean)
- KNS News — Launch event at the Munmu Daewang Marine History Museum and Netflix release (Oct 15, 2026, Korean)
- Single List — KBS epic returns after about three years; cast and directors (Nov 2, 2026, Korean)
- iMBC — Munmu press conference, director and cast remarks (Nov 18, 2025, Korean)
- Soompi — Sword & Silence writer on the cast (Nov 5, 2026)
- Korea Portal — Sword & Silence release date, cast, plot (Nov 10, 2026)
- TVING — 문무 title page (Korea)
- Korean Wikipedia — 문무 (drama): schedule, runtime, characters
- Wikipedia — Munmu of Silla
- Wikipedia — Silla–Tang War
- Wikipedia — Yeon Gaesomun
- Wikipedia — Muyeol of Silla
- Wikipedia — Kim Yu-sin
- Wikipedia — Lee Hyun-wook
- Wikipedia — Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond
- Wikipedia — Gameunsa
- Wikipedia — Gyeongju Historic Areas (UNESCO)
- Wikipedia — Gyeongju National Museum
- VisitKorea — Tomb of King Munmu (fees, hours, location)
- VisitKorea — Gyeongju Coastal Walk: A King's Legend Trail
By the Korea Vibe Hopper team · Updated November 11, 2026