UNDERWORLD

**UNDERWORLD** (Korean: 지하세계; RR: *Jihasegye*) is an idol music group. Extremely popular from debut around five years prior to the start of the story.

## History

Hongjoong and Chan met Jisung and Changbin in the underground rap scene. Together they formed UNDERWORLD. UNDERWORLD was scouted by NOVA Entertainment, a subsidiary of the BANGTAN label.

UNDERWORLD's biggest selling point was that their music, aesthetic and member personas were all based on Greek myths. More specifically, the Chthonic Gods that ruled the Underworld where the souls of those who had passed go for eternity.

UNDERWORLD went on a world tour titled *Crossing the STYX* which sold out in seconds, crashing the ticket sites. Originally planned for three months, the tour was cut down to one month due to Hongjoong's recovery for his throat.

Nominated for Best Album at the Grammys, UNDERWORLD performed a medley of English versions of their greatest hits at the Grammys. The performance was extremely intricate so they the Academy an ultimatum, and won. Their medley ended on the not yet translated song PERSEPHONE. UNDERWORLD won Best Album, making them the first Korean act to win a Grammy.

Their world tour ended in Athens, Greece presented to the Minister of Culture and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports as a show of goodwill and gratitude for all that their mythology and culture has impacted the group.

## Members

### Hades

*Main article: Hongjoong*
Kim Hongjoong, known professionally as Hades, is the leader of UNDERWORLD and his domain is the Temple of Styx. In Greek mythology, Hades is the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld.

### Thanatos

*Main article: Bang Chan*
Bang Chan, known professionally as Thanatos, is the eldest member of UNDERWORLD and his domain is Elysium. In Greek mythology, Thanatos is the god of death, not to be confused with Hades, the god of the dead who oversees the dead souls.

### Charon

*Main article: Changbin*
Seo Changbin, known professionally as Charon, is a member of UNDERWORLD and his domain is Asphodel. In Greek mythology, Charon is the one who ferries souls to Hades/the underworld.

### Furies or Erinyes

*Main article: Jisung*
Han Jisung, known professionally as the Furies or the Erinyes, is the youngest member of UNDERWORLD and his domain is Tartarus. In Greek mythology, the Furies or Erinyes are in charge of punishing those in Tartarus.

## Discography

### Shackles of Olympus

* Has the lyrics "Shatter the restraints of the past, you and I are better free than chained together"

### Fighting from the Depths

* UNDERWORLD's second full-length album.
* It has songs that relate to loss as it writing it was what got Hongjoong through his parents' death.

### Umberlee's Dirge

* Hongjoong/Hades performs it with Hyunjin and both of them utilize their Siren Call.
* Hongjoong hid the track in the early physical copies of their debut album hours after the last song played.
* Umberlee's Dirge is harder than APHRODITE.
* The song is representative of Hongjoong's boundless ambition and his desire to always challenge himself.
* Lyrics inspired by what Umberlee said to Hongjoong in his childhood.
* Contains the lyrics "O' my Son, come home to the sea / Are you afraid? / Fight and Reclaim"

### Cry of Achilles

* Presumably an empowering/inspirational song as it helped Jongho through a really tough time

### POSEIDON

* It is Bang Chan/Thanatos's song.
* The MV features accurate depictions of mer, with Chan wearing a crown and his Royal Guard decked out in their own armaments.
* One of UNDERWORLD's best known songs, it's advertised as a love song to the sea with a sweeping melody.
	+ In actually, it was written as a love song to Uiure.
* Hyunjin helped Chan write the song.

### APHRODITE

* Written about Seonghwa, Hongjoong's childhood crush and best friend.
* In Seonghwa's eyes: "It's about Hades singing about Aphrodite; aware that their relationship is not a romantic love, but her support and platonic love has given him strength despite everyone else not fully understanding their bond. Aphrodite is beautiful, but also strong and cunning, turning people's perceptions of her on their head and making what should be weakness into her strength, and that too gives Hades strength."
* In Hongjoong's eyes: "Hades, trapped in the Underworld under the word of Olympus, with the only sympathetic soul being the oft-maligned and slut-shamed Aphrodite. They were an odd pair, finding a platonic support and strong bond in their similar yet vastly different experiences: scorned Hades with his taciturn and stand-offish attitude, and beautiful Aphrodite with her often misunderstood abilities. Aphrodite understood and admired Hades' hard working attitude and passion for order, and Hades admired Aphrodite's ability to use what others perceived as weakness and 'womanly hysteria' as her greatest weapon."
* As Hyunjin put it: "APHRODITE [is] so fucking difficult you nearly shredded your vocal chords before a big show"

### PERSEPHONE

* Written about San
* The EP came out during Chapter 4 of *Looking for that Place (We're about to Reach)*
* PERSEPHONE was chosen as the title track.
* The MV featured Hades, "bloodied and beaten down, finding his Persephone in a field of flowers that grew around the death that surrounds him."
	+ The person playing Persephone was dressed in a flowing gown that resembled San's tail and fins.
* The reception was overwhelmingly positive with Shades "crashing" YouTube, WeVerse, Twitter and TikTok with their reactions.
* Considered a comfort song.

### ETERNAL

* The full name is ETERNAL: The Ballad of Achilles and Patroclus.
* A love song of a tragic story with a bittersweet ending where the lovers meet each other in Elysium, in the afterlife.
* Considered a comfort song.
* San's personal favorite song before PERSEPHONE came out.

### AMBROSIA

* Has a darker vibe to the MV.
	+ The MV takes place in a forest and centers around a glass goblet with green liquid that has smoke coming out of it.
	+ Thanatos (Chan) wears an Uiurean (if not Uiure inspired) crown and his guards are dressed as mer holding Royal Guard armaments.
* It's about taking something that was made for a select few, and giving it to everyone.
* Considered a comfort song.
* Popular enough to be in karaoke rooms.

## Trivia

* UNDERWORLD fans are called Shades.
* Their introduction/cheer is "Fighting from the Depths, we are UNDERWORLD"

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Hephaestus*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 *Looking for that Place (We're about to Reach),* Chapter 5: Hades
3. ↑ *I Found a Star Called You,* Chapter 10: The New Moon
4. ↑ *Looking for that Place (We're about to Reach),* Chapter 2: Poseidon
5. ↑ *Looking for that Place (We're about to Reach),* Chapter 7: Persephone
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *I Found a Star Called You,* Chapter 2: The Lost Merman
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *The Chocolatier's Tail,* Chapter 2: The Sushi Boat
8. ↑ *Trapping Me in the Frame,* Chapter 3: Chapter 2
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 *Looking for that Place (We're about to Reach),* Chapter 3: Aphrodite
10. ↑ *Looking for that Place (We're about to Reach),* Chapter 8: Olympus
11. ↑ *The Chocolatier's Tail,* Chapter 4: The Dishwashing Gloves
12. ↑ *Looking for that Place (We're about to Reach),* Chapter 4: Icarus
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 *I Found a Star Called You,* Chapter 7: The Crescent Cave
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 *I Found a Star Called You,* Chapter 4: The New Development