A World Attracted by the Demons, K-pop Demon Hunters

Remember the animation that made headlines on Netflix last June? It was K Pop Demon Hunters. Although produced overseas, its catchy songs and authentic Korean aesthetics and culture have captivated both Korean and international audiences. ........Ed

     On June 25th, Netflix released K-Pop Demon Hunters, an animated series that has since captivated global audiences and is now sweeping the world. The series follows a K-pop girl group that fights against demons to protect the world, with Korean Canadian Maggie Kang serving as director. It garnered significant attention as the first overseas-produced animation with K-pop as its main topic. Due to the difficulties of authentically portraying Korean culture in animation, the production took a total of seven years to complete, including the pandemic period.

     This animation is attracting attention because it reflects Korean culture in detail, providing viewers with a greater sense of immersion. In fact, it stimulated public familiarity by inserting various K-pop music in the background, such as Strategy by Twice and Love Me Right by EXO. The OST(Original Soundtrack) in the animation also improved its completeness by participating in Korean composers, choreographers, and singers to save the unique sensibility of K-pop. In particular, the person who drew attention is EJAE, a Korean American who is responsible for the singing voice of the main character ‘Rumi’ and many OSTs in her work. When she was a teenager, she prepared for her idol debut by being a trainee at SM Entertainment for a long time. However, after her debut didn’t succeed, she returned to the U.S. and started working as a composer. She began her K-pop songwriting career with Red Velvet’s Psycho and has contributed to songs like Aespa’s Armageddon among others. In addition, several famous Korean celebrities participated, including Ahn Hyo-seop, an idol trainee turned actor, and Kevin, a former member of idol group U-KISS. Actor Ahn Hyo-seop was praised for playing ‘Jinwoo’ of the boy group ‘Saja Boyz,’ which appears in the work, and Kevin also received a lot of attention for playing the lead vocalist ‘Mystery’ of the same group. Reflecting on their high level of quality, eight OST tracks set a record by simultaneously entering the Billboard’s ‘Hot 100’ for several weeks. In particular, Golden proved its popularity by reaching 1st place on the Billboard’s ‘Hot 100’, surpassing Let It Go from Frozen, which was ranked 5th place in the top rankings. This made it the ninth No.1 song associated with K-pop, and the first ever by a female vocalist. Its unexpected popularity has even led to rare theatrical sing-along screenings in North America, a surprising achievement for an OTT(Over-the-top) release. In Korea, the film’s sing-along version will have its firstever screening at the 30th BIFF(Busan International Film Festival).

     Gimbap and cup noodles, which appeared in the scene where Huntrix members ate in the animation, represented K-food and promoted Asian culture to the world. After watching the scene of Rumi put gimbap in one bite, the one bite gimbap challenge went viral on TikTok. In addition, the appearance of the members pouring water into the cup noodles before they go to fight is interpreted as a parody of Gwan Yu’s wise saying, ”I’ll be back before this drink cools down.” In addition, it is noted that animation seamlessly incorporated Korean culture. This was achieved by consulting Korean staff members throughout the production process. Thanks to this, the movie captured familiar images of Koreans, such as the scene where the members are sitting on the floor instead of on the sofa, leaning their back on the sofa, and placing tissue under the spoon.

     In addition, the tiger character Duffy and the magpie character Sussie contributed to promoting Korean tradition by cutely expressing Korean elements that may be somewhat unfamiliar to foreigners. The two characters were inspired by Hojakdo (traditional Korean folk painting featuring magpies and tigers), which magpies contrast with the expression of wacky tigers are attractively designed. Because of their cute look, Duffy and Sussie’s characters became unexpectedly popular with global fans right after the animation was released. Even Netflix did not anticipate its popularity, so it launched and sold Duffy plush dolls as official goods on June 26. Due to this influence, magpie tiger badges sold at the National Museum of Korea have seen a surge in popularity. Although the badge has already been sold since last year, it has been recognized for its similarity with the characters in the animation. And thanks to their popularity, they succeeded in selling more than 20,000 products in three weeks. Traditional culture with sufficient competitiveness and trendy popular culture have created positive results.

     K-Pop Demon Hunters has transcended being merely an animation, earning recognition as a work that has once again solidified the presence of Korean content in global popular culture. The show’s popularity naturally extended to Korean culture, with demand noticeably increasing across various areas including the Hanguel, Korean food, and lifestyle. Furthermore, both K Pop Demon Hunters and Squid Game were mentioned at the Korea-US-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Japan on July 11th, demonstrating both works’ presence as global content. K-Pop Demon Hunters has emerged alongside global hits like Squid Game as a work leading a new wave of K culture, and expectations for the cultural future that Korean content will create have risen even higher.

Shin Ye-eun (ST Cub-Reporter)
ruiyin1027@soongsil.ac.kr

Ihm Jae-young (ST Cub-Reporter)
pausoon@soongsil.ac.kr