In 'KPop Demon Hunters,' Maggie Kang brings genre out of its comfort zone
by Korea JoongAng Daily
A still from Netflix's animated film ″KPop Demon Hunters,″ featuring Huntrix [NETFLIX]
Although K-pop is a global phenomenon, the most successful acts have traditionally stayed closed to its roots — Korean-made and Korean-language. That pattern is slowly cracking, as proved by the latest Netflix animation, “KPop Demon Hunters” that's taking the world by storm. And Korean Canadian director Maggie Kang was proud to tell the tale in English.
“I understand that it could be a little strange that a Korean story is told in English,” Kang said in a video Q. and A. released to press on Wednesday, switching between English and Korean. “I think that it is very powerful that a culturally Korean movie was produced by an American company.”
Kang moved to Toronto at the age of five due to her father's work. Although her family initially planned to return to Korea, after five years, they decided to settle in Canada. Kang hasn't lived in Korea since then, but she maintained a strong connection to Korean culture by visiting Korea every summer break and listening to Korean music when she was young.
“I think it tells us how far Korean culture has come and how big of a cultural force we have become.”
Director Maggie Kang of Netflix's animated film ″KPop Demon Hunters″ [NETFLIX]
Released on June 20, the film blends K-pop with Korean mythology and demonology, following Huntrix — a K-pop superstar girl group consisting of Rumi, Mira and Zoey — who secretly protect the world from evil demons with their performances. However, their mission takes a dramatic turn when they face a rival boy band, Saja Boys, consisting of Jinu, Romance, Abby, Baby and Mystery, who are demons in disguise. The film, directed by Kang and Chris Appelhans and produced by Sony Pictures Animation, is garnering major global attention, sitting at No. 1 in 41 countries as of Wednesday according to Flixpatrol and maintaining a 96 percent critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Kang admits that K-pop wasn’t her first idea. K-pop, exorcism, shamanism and action are elements rarely seen in the same movies, but the film smoothly carries out this unusual mix. But she decided that Korean shamanism, which often involves music and dance, could be considered an early type of concert.
“Demon hunting is mostly done in secret, so we needed something to help conceal their identities — and that’s when K-pop came to mind,” Kang said. “Once we added K-pop, it naturally took on a musical vibe. The concert-like spectacle also seemed like a great fit for the film, so K-pop became a central element.”
A still from Netflix's animated film ″KPop Demon Hunters,″ featuring Saja Boys [NETFLIX]
The film features catchy tracks like “Soda Pop” and “Golden,” created in collaboration with actual Korean K-pop producers and labels — including Teddy Park, known for his work with Blackpink, and his label, The Black Label, as well as other artists who have collaborated with BTS and Twice.
“We knew that we didn’t want the movie to be a very traditional musical, where characters sing their feelings and that is the only time when we hear music,” she said.
“Because we wanted the music to be really incredible and really speak to the K-pop fans and be legitimately fit into the K-pop space, we felt that it was important to partner with a Korean label.”
As the film thoroughly depicted K-pop idols, many fans have speculated that Huntrix and Saja Boys were inspired by specific real-life K-pop artists. But Kang dismissed those claims, saying, “The character designs didn’t come from a single group but were influenced by members from all K-pop groups.”
A still from Netflix's animated film ″KPop Demon Hunters,″ featuring Jinu's tiger [NETFLIX]
Much of the cultural detail, such as character styling and behaviors, Kang said, came from her own upbringing. The director visited Korea every summer break and did careful research to ensure the film “felt as Korean as possible” in every scene and design element, including the characters' reactions and laying a napkin beneath utensils.
For instance, Jinu’s tiger companion was inspired by traditional Korean folk paintings. She shared that she had an entire collection folder dedicated to Korean folk paintings of tigers.
Kang also credited her Korean colleagues on the team, who were equally passionate about accurately representing Korean culture.
A still from Netflix's animated film ″KPop Demon Hunters,″ featuring Huntrix and Korean food [NETFLIX]
“There was a time when a Korean word on a snack package appeared upside down, and a team member would point it out so I could fix it,” the director said. “From start to finish, I had constant conversations with Korean colleagues and received a lot of help to make sure everything felt authentic.”
The film also features Korean actors like Ahn Hyo-seop and Lee Byung-hun in the English voice cast — a deliberate decision “to make it feel legitimate,” according to Kang.
“It was just very important for us to feature voices of Koreans currently working in Korea,” Kang said. “Because we did feel this movie and this story is not a Korean American story; it’s a Korean story and features Korean characters living in Korea.”
“KPop Demon Hunters” is currently on Netflix.
Reference Written by KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr] Provided by Korea JoongAng Daily
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