Cho Seung-woo, Park Shin-hye lead cast of fantasy-mystery K-drama ‘Sisyphus’

South Korean actors Cho Seung-woo and Park Shin-hye will lead the new series “Sisyphus,” which premieres on Netflix tonight.

According to Netflix, “Sisyphus,” which incorporates fantasy and mystery elements, centers on genius engineer Han Tae-sul (Cho Seung-woo), who will uncover dangerous secrets, and Gang Seo-hae (Park Shin-hye) who comes from the future to save him.

Cho Seung-woo has gained recognition for his roles on films such as “Chunhyang” and “The Classic,” stage musicals including “Jekyll & Hyde,” and television dramas “Stranger” and “Life,” among other works.

Park Shin-hye, meanwhile, is known for her dramas and films including “You’re Beautiful,” “The Heirs” and “Doctors.”

According to the series’ director Jin Hyuk, the two lead actors were highly sought after that “if we couldn’t get either Cho Seung-woo or Park Shin-hye, we would just work on a different drama.”

Fortunately, things went well with the casting, and actors Sung Dong-il, Tae In-ho, Chae Jong-hyeop, were also included.

Jin Hyuk, for his part, is also well-known for having helmed many popular titles, including “The Legend of the Blue Sea,” “Doctor Stranger,” and “The Master’s Sun.”

Apart from its fantasy and mystery elements, “Sisyphus” will also feature Shin-hye in action scenes as Seo-hae fights enemies with Tae-sul in order to save the world.

During filming, Seung-woo complimented Shin-hye’s powerful kicks and punches, describing her as “incredible.”

The drama will also simultaneously portray a present and a future Korea that resembles a wasteland. “We show the future, but the future isn’t glamorous. We put in a lot of effort to make the future look realistic and consulted many different experts and researched a lot of different things,” said director Jin Hyuk.

“A set that resembles Myeongdong was created, and it felt so realistic and like I was walking through the real Myeongdong. Viewers will be able to recognize some familiar shops in Myeongdong,” said Shin-hye. 

In a previously released teaser, Shin-hye’s character comes across a BTS poster and listens to the group’s song “Spring Day.” 

“Seo-hae lives in a future that is in ruins with people killing each other and struggling to survive. So I thought about what would be a source of comfort for her, and I thought that music would be a good fit,” said the director.

He shared that the series would feature more BTS-related instances since Seo-hae was a fan of the group.

Netflix also said that in addition to BTS-related Easter eggs, there would be a mysterious villain named Sigma, and that the actor’s identity had been kept under wraps.

“Sisyphus” premieres Feb. 17, 9:30 p.m. on Netflix, with new episodes every Wednesday and Thursday. – RC, GMA News