Typesetting/Rinz
"Yes, it's still a superhero story; but it's different from the West, and the songs are great."
It’s hard to imagine that K-POP has just ushered in a historic moment, and it’s all related to an animated movie.
In July 2025, "K-Pop Demon Hunters" (K-Pop: Witch Hunters) was launched on Netflix and quickly became one of the most watched movies in the platform's history.
Its theme song "Golden" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks. Western media calls it the "Frozen" and "Let It Go" of the current era, a shot in the arm for original American animation.
Immediately afterwards, this work wrote a new milestone for K-POP: this was the first time that K-POP won a Grammy Award. And it is not recognized as an "Asian pop culture phenomenon", but in the clear creative category of "original songs for visual media".
As the awards season progresses, "K-Pop Demon Hunters" and "Golden" continue to receive confirmation from mainstream awards: they have won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song, and both have been nominated for the same category of the upcoming Oscars (the awards ceremony will be held on March 15).
Director Maggie Kang thus became the first Asian female director to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Film; and the win for "Golden" is generally regarded as a historic breakthrough for K-POP that has long "missed out" in the Grammy system.
"Golden" singer EJAE accepted the award for Best Original Song. Photography: Kevork Djansezian/CBS
Non-English-language works, music-driven narratives, and explicitly Asian cultural backgrounds—elements long considered “non-mainstream”—seem to have finally gained some recognition in the mainstream awards system.
In media reviews and social platform discussions about this film, "identity" has become a recurring keyword.
The month after the film was released, the Los Angeles Times reported with an almost excited tone: Korean audiences are going crazy for this "American-made film" produced by Netflix, and its soundtrack even topped the charts on Melon, a local Korean music platform.
The report further analyzed that the reason for the film's success in South Korea comes from its high sensitivity and accurate capture of the details of Korean culture. From folklore, pop culture to people's living habits. This comes from a production team composed of K-POP fans and a field research trip to South Korea personally led by co-director Maggie Kang. It is said that the team even recorded the texture of local sidewalks and the appearance of urban surfaces.
As the film continues to win awards and the conversation continues to ferment, the cultural affiliation of this work, which was originally clearly named an "American-made film," begins to change.
On February 2, 2026, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung posted on official social media:
"The theme song "Golden" of "K-POP: The Witches" won the Visual Media category for Best Song Written for Film and Television Media at the Grammy Awards, writing a new historical chapter in Korean pop music (K-POP)."
He also pointed out that this is the first time a Korean pop music composer or producer has won a Grammy Award, and congratulated "the creators who have achieved this valuable achievement on the most authoritative stage that musicians around the world dream of."
In the mutual confirmation of media narratives, audience emotions and official statements, the position of "K-POP" as a cultural form in the global system seems to have been confirmed once again – this is a two-way search for identity.
However, this narrative itself also hides a question worthy of reflection:
When we talk about identity, what exactly are we talking about?
"K-Pop Demon Hunters" is produced under the leadership of the American streaming platform Netflix. Its narrative structure is highly mature and can even be said to be a very familiar "routine": the girl group Huntrix is both an idol on the stage and a superhero fighting against demons; the protagonist Rumi's character arc revolves around the "hidden true identity", which ultimately points to self-acceptance and trust in the team. From a genre perspective, this work undoubtedly continues the tradition of Hollywood superhero narratives: secret identities, inner divisions, and the tension between responsibility and desire. These central conflicts are not unfamiliar.
So, who did this story touch? How many different groups of imaginations does it carry? In the process of the labels such as "Korean culture", "K-POP", "American production" and "global success" being constantly superimposed, is the meaning of "K-Pop Demon Hunters" generated in this tension?
In order to answer these questions, this article will discuss from three levels: first, from the perspective of art and visual design, it will analyze how the work absorbs and reorganizes highly recognizable traditional cultural elements, but deliberately distances itself from the historical context in the narrative structure; second, from the perspective of music, it will examine how the film maintains an inseparable relationship with K-POP in public perception; and using "Golden" as the core case, discuss how this song is understood, recognized, and given symbolic meaning in the global circulation system.
01
"Both Korean and American" visual design: There is no history in this story
Director Maggie Kang has repeatedly mentioned in many interviews that "K-Pop Demon Hunters" is both a love letter she wrote to K-POP and a response to her Korean heritage.
Born in Seoul, she moved to Canada with her family at the age of five. In her fourteen-year career in the animation industry, she has never seen a Hollywood animation work that puts "Korea" at the center of its vision and narrative. "As a Korean woman who has worked in the animation industry for more than ten years, I have always wanted to see Korean culture presented through animation." She recalled the starting point of this work.
"K-Pop Demon Hunters" directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans
This opportunity came by chance. When "Shrek" producer Aron Warner asked her if she had any plans for an animated feature film, Kang said yes almost out of the blue – even though she didn't have a mature story at the time. She completed the basic idea within a week and completed the proposal in one sentence: "A K-POP girl group whose secret identities are witchers."
Before joining Sony Pictures Animation, Kang worked as a storyboard artist on large-scale projects such as "Shrek 4", "Kung Fu Panda 3" and "Puss in Boots", and has a long history of cooperation with Warner. At the same time, Sony Animation is also in the stage of looking for a new project with an "international flavor" – they have just completed the Sino-US co-production animation "The Wishing Dragon" (2021). Under this industrial background, the project of "K-Pop Demon Hunters" was quickly established.
In the worldview building stage, the production team conducted a lot of preliminary research on Korean mythology, demonology and shamanic beliefs, hoping to distance itself from mainstream American animation in terms of visual style. The stage of the story is set in modern Seoul and in an imaginary space that incorporates imagery from the Joseon era: landmarks such as Namsan Tower, Han River, Bukchon Hanok Village, and Hahoe Village appear frequently; the character costumes mix the aesthetics of contemporary K-POP idols with traditional patterns, colors, and decorations.
This approach is undoubtedly successful, it is very recognizable and cool, but it is here that the problem becomes apparent. The selection of these cultural symbols is not so much to restore the historical and cultural features, but more to serve the highly intuitive visual recognizability. Their primary function is to make the audience realize in the shortest possible time: “This is a Korean stage.”
In other words, there is no history in this story.
Cover of the online version of "The Art of K-Pop Demon Hunters". You can see the glowing lines on the protagonist Lumi’s body. You can listen to the music in this game while browsing the setting collection online (https://theartofkpopdemonhunters.com)
The set collection "The Art of K-Pop Demon Hunters" released on February 2, 2026 further confirms this point. The many interviews with the main creators included in the book clearly demonstrate the creative method of the film: cultural elements became visual materials that were disassembled, combined and redesigned.
Many settings in the film can indeed find clear prototypes in traditional Korean culture. For example, one of the inspirations for the three heroines is the Korean shaman known as "Mudang". They were both mediums and ritual performers, performing prayers, exorcisms and purifications through dance, music and rhythm.
In fact, there has always been a complex and contradictory relationship between Korean culture and "superstition." In daily life, when people encounter specific problems such as illness, marriage, exams or career, it is still a common practice to seek help from wizards. Reuters pointed out in a report titled "Young Korean shamans resurrect tradition through SNS": "In South Korea's society of about 51 million people, although more than half of the population claims not to be religious, shamanism has transcended the limitations of the times and regained popularity."
South Korea has even just launched a variety show "Tianji Trial Ground" with "superstition" as its selling point. It is a Disney Korean reality show created by Mao Yinxi, the screenwriter of "Black and White Chef: Culinary Class War". It takes numerology showdown as the core theme and brings together 49 Korean numerologists, fortune tellers, shaman groups and physiognomists.
However, "K-Pop Demon Hunters"'s borrowing of shamanism is more superficial. The girls in the film are not shamans in the true sense, but superheroes or magical girls dressed in shamanic elements.
This is not deliberately concealed in the official art set: one of the main creators said that the character design is largely influenced by Japanese magical girl animation, and the visual language emphasizes stylized proportions, exaggerated makeup and physical expression. Although the character's weapons are based on bells, swords and daggers used in shamanic rituals, in the setting, these objects are not given religious meanings, but abstract "musical energy". The musical notes flow like liquid light, symbolizing the natural fusion of performance and power.
Fundamentally, the film's setting of "demon" is also dehistoricized and has no direct connection with the understanding of "evil" in shamanism. "Good" and "evil" have therefore become highly abstract and functional concepts. For example, although the ghosts (Dokkaebi) and the messenger from the underworld (Jeoseung Saja) appearing in the movie are directly based on Korean folklore, their cultural origins have little impact on the development of the plot, and they were eventually unified and simplified as "evil existences" in the popular sense.
The design of "Soul Gate" refers to "Danqing", which refers to a flower-shaped pattern in Korean and is commonly seen in traditional architecture. Source of the picture below: naver blog
A specific example comes from the visual design and opening sequence of "The Ancient Witcher" in the film. Won Sul Hyun, the artist responsible for the visual development of this part, drew directly from his personal memory – his mother was a shaman. He recalled watching his mother perform ceremonies as a child: the intense rhythm, the body tremors from the percussion, and the charismatic action performances. The color scheme of the character is inspired by the folk song "Arirang", and the visual structure borrows from the traditional visual symbol "sam taegeuk".
Among the visual symbols of "Three Tai Chi", blue symbolizes the sky, the light of hope, and truth; red symbolizes the earth and the breath of life; yellow symbolizes human beings.
02
Music "from Korea to America": K-POP outside the Korean context
In the original conception, Maggie Kang wanted to tell a folkloric fantasy story surrounding the "Korean Devil". K-POP was an element that was introduced after this idea, bringing the narrative mechanism of a musical to the film. Therefore, it can be said that the background of the modern idol industry was added relatively later.
Kang mentioned in the interview that the association of "devils" naturally led to the concept of "demon hunters", and she hopes to create a group of female characters that are both powerful and cool, but also clumsy, real, and relatable. She has said: "The idea evolved naturally into a group of demon hunters. I wanted them to be handsome and strong, but also a little goofy and relatable. I had never seen characters like this before."
On this basis, she further set one of the protagonists, Rumi, as a "half-demon". In Kang's view, this setting introduces the concept of "inner demons". The character's inner demons are crystallized into actual demons. As a result, "shame" became an important theme in the story, and Rumi's character line gradually took shape.
From this perspective, the narrative focus of "K-Pop Demon Hunters" is actually not closely related to K-POP or idol culture itself. The film is less concerned with industry structures, stage competition, or fan culture; at the heart of the story is a contemporary expression of identity politics.
This is especially obvious in the setting of Zoey, a member of the protagonist group. As the only Korean-American on the team, she grew up in suburban Los Angeles and always felt anxious about not being "Korean enough." This unease reflects the identity dilemma that many Korean Americans face when discussing K-POP issues. The actor who voices Zoey, Ji-young Yoo, also described this character this way: "Zoey is the only Korean-American in the team. She has been thinking about what this means and where she belongs. She always feels that she is a little outside the world, so she keeps putting forward ideas to try to prove that she is irreplaceable. In fact, she is, but she is not so sure."
The official settings focus on Zoey
Because of this, if we look at K-POP-themed works, what is missing from the film is precisely the history of K-POP idol culture itself.
The girl group in the movie does not have a trainee system, a cruel competition mechanism, or tension within the industry, and the protagonists are not individuals who are screened, compared, or eliminated. This is very different from the reasons why fans love K-POP idols in reality. This setting makes the film's expression of K-POP culture seem neutral and gentle.
This aloof attitude is most concentratedly reflected in the song "Golden" in the film. Even viewers who don't like the film that much have to admit that "Golden" is a highly completed and emotional work. However, at the same time, the music style presented in this song does not completely conform to people's traditional imagination of "K-POP".
The producer clearly positioned it as the "I want song" in the structure of the musical, that is, the passage in which the characters express their desires, ambitions and inner motivation early in the story. Such songs are usually used to show the characters' ideals, self-declarations and emotional drives, closer to the tradition of Disney musicals.
In the plot, "Golden" is set to be the latest single released by the girl group Huntrix to build a "Golden Moon" protective shield. While presenting the background, struggles and common dreams of each member, the song gradually reveals the secret of the protagonist Rumi, who is half human and half demon. It is worth noting that this secret slowly emerged through the hesitation, depression and instability revealed in the singing. As the director explains, "Golden" is both a plot goal that drives the story forward and a container for the characters' personal emotions.
The film further amplifies the song’s “incompleteness.” The proclamation "Bury the past and shine it into gold" is repeated in the lyrics. For other members besides Rumi, this song symbolizes getting out of trauma and gaining liberation; but for Rumi, who has always tried to hide her tattoos and origins, she cannot identify with herself like other members.
Therefore, "Golden" is never fully sung in the film. Every time she sings, she is interrupted by the inner demons she avoids, or the forces that seek to erode her weaknesses. It wasn't until the final chapter, when Rumi accepted her past and imperfections, learned to forgive and recognize herself, that she allowed the tattoos engraved on her body to shine.
The reason why "Golden" was established is closely related to its real-life creator. EJAE, who composed and sang this song for the film, was a trainee of SM Entertainment for 12 years. In the variety show "You Quiz on the Block", she recalled her experience of entering the training system at the age of eleven and growing up with groups such as Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, and f(x). I enter the practice room at seven o'clock in the morning and leave at eleven o'clock at night. I train with high intensity for a long time, and I even fainted during practice. However, after a long career as a trainee, he ultimately failed to make his debut. EJAE said frankly that at that time, the company requested a "clean voice", but her timbre was considered too rough and too mature. Coupled with her age, she missed the opportunity to debut.
After leaving the idol system, EJAE once resented K-POP, but she did not give up music. After being exposed to more music types, she gradually re-established her confidence, and finally topped the Billboard with "Golden". When recalling this moment, he said that he remembered the scene when he went home alone after the contract ended, and for the first time he truly said to himself who had worked hard in the past, "You have done a good job." She also admitted that she was initially hesitant to sing "Golden" herself because of her inferiority complex about her voice, until she found that the audience not only accepted the song, but also her voice.
Because of this, the spread of "Golden" outside of the film is particularly intriguing.
What quickly became popular on platforms such as YouTube were not only covers within K-POP idol culture, but also interpretations from symphony orchestras and amateur singers. This song is even embedded in the daily lives of ordinary people in Europe and America on short video platforms. The cover version by Dutch singer Emma Heesters is particularly typical. She is not an idol, but her emotional processing is close to the original song, which has received a lot of Korean comments. Some users have rated it as "the overwhelming number one among all the "Golden" covers they have heard so far" and "the version closest to the original song."
The cover video has received more than 6.42 million views on YouTube
What the audience hears in this song is not just "K-POP". People's resonance reflects an emotional structure that can still be understood, resonated and reinterpreted by different cultural subjects after being separated from the context of Korean idols.
It is in this sense that "K-Pop Demon Hunters" is highly dependent on K-POP, but always maintains a distant distance from it.
03
Conclusion: So, what did we hear?
To sum up, the core thing that "K-Pop Demon Hunters" always revolves around is identity. The cultural elements in the film are not organized into a linear historical context.
In the final analysis, whether it represents culture "accurately" is not the most important proposition of this film. From a visual perspective, its success lies in the selection of parts of traditional culture that are easier to transform into visual symbols, and a high concentration of these elements into the art design rather than the narrative structure.
From a music perspective, the lead singer, who came from the K-POP industry system and later studied in the United States, used his own growth experience to make up the connection between the film and the real K-POP industry. This setting allows us to see that in the context of globalization, K-POP and other cultural forms that were originally regarded as "nationally specific" have long transcended national boundaries, and their connotations are also continuing to change.
So, I guess, while we can point out that K-Pop Demon Hunters is story-poor, the more productive question remains: What can we learn from it?
When I see the image of magical girls in series such as "Pretty Cure" again, the Witch Hunters may come to mind, this group of cool girls with both shamanic qualities and superhero qualities.
References
How pandemic-era BTS concerts and Korean folklore inspired 'KPop Demon Hunters' | Features | Screen
The Cultural Identity and Transcultural Reception of English-Dominant K-pop – A Case Study of the 〈KPop Demon Hunters〉 Original Soundtrack
More or less a foreigner: Domestic reception of multinational K-pop groups – ScienceDirect
What a Voice Studies Perspective Can Tell Us About the Success of KPop Demon Hunters – Association for Asian Studies
KPop Demon Hunters: Cultural Representation in Contemporary Korean Animation | Semantic Scholar
K-Pop Demon Hunters and Digital Cultural Diplomacy: Measuring Brand Identity-Image Convergence in Animated K-Content
South Koreans are obsessed with Netflix's 'K-pop Demon Hunters.' Here's why – Los Angeles Times
