Who’d Make a Perfect ‘Hades’ and ‘Persephone’ if ‘Lore Olympus’ became a K-Drama?

The popularity of Japanese manga and South Korean Webtoon comic strips has grown substantially. Their drama adaptations propelled the content’s phenomenal success and soared subscriptions even further. From cult classics like Boys Over Flowers to more contemporary hits like All of Us Are Dead, Hellbound, Business Proposal, and Twenty Five-Twenty One, Webtoon adaptations have proven to be a superhit formula for K-dramas. In this context, one romance webcomic has risen to unprecedented success since its debut on Webtoon. Yes, I’m referring to Rachael Smythe’s brilliant masterpiece, Lore Olympus.

The comic is a contemporary version of the Greek Goddess and God ‘Persephone”s love affair with ‘Hades’, based on the traditional Greek story ‘The Abduction of Persephone’ but set in a predominantly modern setting. ‘Hades’ attends ‘Zeus”s party and notices Persephone. Later, an encounter between the two, causes Hades and Persephone to become attracted to each other.

Persephone seeks Hades’ assistance to resurrect friends who perished when mortals removed sacred plants. A conspiracy hatched by ‘Minthe’, ‘Thanatos’, and ‘Thetis’ to scandalize Persephone; ‘Apollo”s indecent advances towards her; and her confused feelings about a college scholarship that requires her to avoid physical relationships–form the central plot of season one of Lore Olympus. Season two includes Persephone’s abduction, and Hades and her blossoming romance.

If this superhit webtoon is made into a K-drama, I’m sure it will make a bigger hit! Who exactly would play the protagonists? Let’s take a look at Persephone first. She is the Goddess of Spring, and has extraordinary abilities. Her rosy skin and lovely charm, add to her naïve disposition. She owns prehensile hair that responds to her emotions. Despite her gentle and kind nature, ‘Demeter”s (God of the Harvest) daughter once slaughtered a mortal community! Persephone’s persona has many colors, portraying which is no easy task, and even though there are many outstanding Korean actresses, I’d like to see Kim Yoojung play the role of the Goddess.

Yoo Jung has the naiveté, innocence, and sweetness befitting the character of young Persephone—a teenager who comes to Olympus to study Biochemistry. As proven by her prior works such as Love in the Moonlight, and Lovers of the Red Sky, Yoo Jung is also a superb choice for historical plays and fantasy love dramas. Furthermore, Yoo Jung’s development as an actor will be fascinating to follow as Persephone evolves into the formidable ‘Queen of the Underworld’ as the story progresses. 

Hades, on the contrary, is the ‘God of the Dead and Wealth’, as well as the ‘King of the Underworld’. He is older than Zeus and Poseidon, and is featured as the ‘Blue Businessman’. Hades is the CEO of a massive underworld organization that oversees the souls of the deceased and is a member of ‘The Six Traitors Dynasty’ as well. When he meets Persephone for the first time in the Mortal Realm, sparks begin to fly. In Persephone’s presence, despite being a gloomy character, he is empathetic and thoughtful.

You know from the moment I read about the character, I’ve had Cha Eunwoo (ASTRO) on my mind.  Who else but the ‘face genius’ can play Hades, after all? With his picture-perfect stylish looks and suave mannerisms, I’m guessing Eunwoo will do a fantastic job as the blue businessman. Also, what an amazing screen couple Yoo Jung and Eun Woo might be; their smoldering chemistry and romance could be the right blend for an awesome K-drama.

As intriguing as this may sound, Webtoon has already created a promotional video for the comic that features Sydney Sweeney. Sydney portrays two characters in it: the innocent and defenseless Persephone and the fearsome ‘Queen of the Underworld’.

I can only hope this amazing story gets a K-drama remake soon, and if it occurs with the ideal duo mentioned above, then nothing like it! As Webtoon states, “Witness what the gods do…after dark. The friendships and the lies, the gossip and the wild parties, and of course, forbidden love. Because it turns out, the gods aren’t so different from us after all, especially when it comes to their problems. Stylish and immersive, this is one of mythology’s greatest stories — The Taking of Persephone — as it’s never been told before.”

While season one of Lore Olympus is available on Webtoon, season two is due for release on April 23rd, this year.