10 K-Pop Group Comebacks That Were Inspired By Greek Mythology

All of these comebacks were inspired by Greek mythology, and they all brought the stories to life in their own ways!
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Renee Davis
Renee Davis

K-Pop groups take on tons of concepts for their debuts and comebacks, and one theme, in particular, seems to be fairly popular among them! Lots of groups have had a Greek mythology story as a theme for their concepts, and have retold these stories in their own beautiful ways. Here are 10 groups who made comebacks inspired by Greek mythology, and absolutely slayed!

1. BTS

BTS as a group have been known to be heavily inspired by Greek mythology many times! From their 2016 comeback with “Blood, Sweat, and Tears”…

To their recently released songs like “Dionysus”;

As well as multiple award show performances, the members of BTS always pay homage to their inspirations with style!

 

2. GFRIEND

GFRIEND has always been known for their fairly light and innocent-centered concepts, and their February 2020 comeback with the Greek mythology-inspired album Labyrinth (and title track “Crossroads”) continued their concept once more.

With their latest comeback, however, GFRIEND transformed themselves into their most nature concept to date, with the album Song Of The Sirens (title track, “Apple”), and have continued the Greek mythology theme with “Apple”, albeit with a completely reformed concept!

 

3. Sunmi

For her 2018 comeback, Sunmi released the song “Siren” from her second minialbum Warning. Heavily inspired by Greek Mythology and “warning” sirens, the MV for the song features Sunmi as a mermaid in a tank. This particular scene alludes to the sirens of Greek mythology, who were originally seen as half-female and half-bird, and were later represented in art as mermaids instead.

 

4. SF9

SF9 released their sixth mini-album Narcissus in 2019, and promoted the album with the title track “Enough”. The album name and MV for “Enough” alludes to the Greek story of Narcissus, a man so beautiful he scorned any man or woman who fell in love with him, and was eventually punished to fall in love with his own reflection in a lake. He ultimately melted away in grief after realizing he couldn’t marry his reflection, and was turned into the narcissus flower after he died.

But SF9’s “Enough” puts a positive spin on the story instead, and encourages listeners to practice self-love, also telling them that they’re beautiful

5. gugudan

gugudan also released an album titled Act 2. Narcissus in 2018, and promoted the album with title track “A Girl Like Me”. Similar to SF9, gugudan focused instead on themes of positivity and self-love, and alluded to the modern meaning of narcissistic in instances such as gazing into mirrors, self-portraits and making photocopies of your face!

 

6. KARD

When DSP Media released teasers for KARD‘s 2019 comeback with “Dumb Litty” fans were pleasantly surprised to see the members don personas of Greek gods and goddesses (except Thor). B.M. was Zeus and Thor:

 

J.Seph was Dionysus and Ares:

 

Somin took on the personas of Aphrodite and Chloris:

 

And maknae Jiwoo was Hera and Athena.

While the actual comeback didn’t have much to do with Greek mythology as a concept, fans nonetheless loved the visuals they served in their teasers!

 

7. VIXX

In 2016, VIXX dedicated an entire comeback series called VIXX 2016 Conception trilogy to Greek mythology, calling the albums Zelos (title track “Dynamite”), Hades (title track “Fantasy”) and Kratos (title track “The Closer”).

“Dynamite” was focused around the Greek god Zelos, who personified dedication, jealousy and zeal.

It featured a dark image fit for the concept, and laid the foundation for the remaining comebacks in the trilogy.

“Fantasy” took on a darker concept than “Dynamite,” and emphasized the attributes of Hades, the god of the Underworld.

Finally, “The Closer” was centered around Kratos, the personification of strength, might and authority, and focused on bringing out these attributes with the comeback.

 

8. SHINee

SHINee has referenced two different Greek mythology characters in their music; Selene and Medusa.

SHINee referenced Medusa not once, but twice! “Medusa I” is a track from SHINee’s 2013 album Why So Serious-The Misconceptions Of Me. It focuses on the myth of Medusa, who was one of the three Gorgons in Greek mythology. She had a head full of live snakes, and the ability to turn whoever gazed upon her to stone. They play on this theme of blindness, and also compare their fan to the light who will guide them.

The second allusion to Medusa is in their song “Dangerous (Medusa II)”, using Medusa’s myth as a way to compare women they are drawn to, but know that they are dangerous.

The third allusion to Greek mythology made by SHINee is through the ballad titled “Selene.623”, released in 2013 as an additional track to their first compilation album titled The Misconceptions Of Us. Selene is the Greek goddess of the moon, and SHINee uses the song to refer to the distance between them and international fans, saying they don’t get to see these fans as often and are far away, just like the moon. The number “623” refers to the supermoon that took place on June 6, 2013.

 

9. B.I.G

Although B.I.G debuted in 2014, they released their first mini-album in 2016, and promoted the album with the title track “Aphrodite”. The song alludes to a woman they desire, who is as beautiful as the goddess Aphrodite.

 

10. 9MUSES

While not having any particular comeback pertaining to Greek mythology, 9MUSES as a group were named after the Nine Muses in Greek mythology. The Nine Muses were very beautiful women, and the group’s name alludes to how some beautiful women have been named after them, which is very fitting for 9MUSES!

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