KPop Demon Hunters, the wildly ambitious, English-language animated musical film, has been taking the world by storm. The documentary had its world premiere on June 21. Here’s the pitch It’s about a girl group called Huntr/x, whose hive-minded super singing acts as a metaphysical defense against interdimensional demons. It’s an unusual premise that has clearly struck a chord with audiences, shooting the film to #1 on Netflix’s charts in several countries.
In Australia, KPop Demon Hunters has been number one on Netflix. We’re proud—because with your help and support, it has remained in the top 10 for nine weeks now! With over 210 million views in this timeframe, it has become the platform’s second most popular film, trailing only behind the action comedy Red Notice. The film’s popularity is not just limited to Australia. It’s the number one film on Netflix in South Korea, a testament to its wide-reaching appeal to the Korean diaspora.
The expertly-directed film, co-written and directed by Maggie Kang, was largely inspired by her obsession with K-pop growing up. Kang, who was born in South Korea and raised in Canada, has poured a wealth of culturally Korean influences and folklore into the story. Dr. Sung-Ae Lee, a scholar of Asian cinema at Macquarie University, tells ABC Arts that mixing K-pop idols with the fantasy genre is a major twist. She characterizes it as a “totally cool, groundbreaking” concept.
K Pop Demon Hunters of the ferocious girl band Huntr/x. They fight long and hard with the evil boy-band Saja, who ironically features their oppressors in human form. Her name, “Saja,” in Korean has a double connotation—giving more cultural weight to the film. This curious detail was pointed out by Associate Professor Roald Maliangkay.
The cultural influence of the film spilling past the silver screen comes in the form of its soundtrack. The song “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters recently topped the Top 50 Singles chart, achieving a rare ARIA chart double. That success has counted in terms of higher return business at local merchants and service providers. Brisbane’s I HEART KPOP store reported a huge spike in sales immediately after the movie was released. They are responsible for hosting their last K-pop party, which brought in a whopping 1,200 people, not to mention the average crowd of 800 people.
Audrey Nuna, a voice actor in the animated film, shared her enthusiasm for its breakout success. Here’s how she described it. It’s great to see something that used to be so countercultural that it was almost criminal really take off in the mainstream,” she noted. Nuna noted the universal appeal of Korean music and culture: “I think so many people have a love — even people who are not Korean — have such a love for Korean music, Korean pop, Korean culture.”
I’ve been an inspiring fan of these tremendous artists and their work for years. It truly is a dream come true to have original songs, written and produced expressly for our film, by such legendary talent as The Black Label,” she added.
With KPop Demon Hunters only growing in popularity, it serves as a demonstration of how well fans might respond to becoming friends with non-human idols. According to Suk-Young Kim, a professor at the University of California, this phenomenon reflects a broader trend in contemporary entertainment.
The film’s unique narrative has resonated with young audiences, as reflected by McLeod, a parent who observed her daughter’s enthusiasm: “They were rocking out to the Demon Hunter soundtrack and every single kid there knew all the words.” Home’s ear-catching melodies will hook you from the start. Perhaps most importantly, they do an incredible job of amplifying the power of today’s youth culture.
Kang’s vision for KPop Demon Hunters isn’t just about the cultural infiltration of western entertainment. Her mission is to embolden audiences to stand in their distinctiveness. Leah Hyein Na emphasized this point by stating that characters like those in Huntr/x represent nonconformity: “We’re not the norm in society, and I think that she [McLeod’s daughter] feels like the Huntr/x girls embody that in a really cool way … she’ll [now] be like ‘I can have purple hair.’”
Despite initial concerns that Korean audiences might resist an animated musical featuring K-pop themes, Dr. Sung-Ae Lee noted that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “I was expecting Korean audiences to reject it but actually, it’s been hugely popular and they love it,” she said.
