AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
In 2025, there was no denying that it was their moment, and it was golden.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOLDEN")
EJAE, AUDREY NUNA AND REI AMI: (As HUNTR/X, singing) We're going up, up, up. It's our moment. You know together we're glowing. Going to be, going to be golden. Oh, oh, up, up, up...
RASCOE: Rumi, Mira and Zoey, the animated girl group at the heart of Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters," took over pop culture. The movie about three young pop stars who fight demons in their downtime became an international phenomenon. And in my household, it was a lifestyle. Now it's getting recognition from the Academy Awards, where it's up for best animated feature. Maggie Kang is the movie's writer and director and joins us now from Los Angeles. Thank you so much for joining us.
MAGGIE KANG: Oh, my gosh. It's my pleasure.
RASCOE: All right. So, I mean, this film was a massive success. I mean, the artwork, images everywhere, award nominations, songs being performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, to NFL halftime shows.
KANG: Yes.
RASCOE: Did you ever imagine it would be that big?
KANG: I don't think you can imagine any of this. Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
KANG: But it is incredible. It's been an insane - I don't know how many - it's been nine months, I think, since it's been out, but it feels like two years.
RASCOE: Yes, yes. But was there ever a moment during, like, production where you were like, I think we got one, I think we got a special one here?
KANG: You know, you can't really make these without thinking that way from the beginning. So my journey on this film from, you know, when the concept was conceived to release date, it was - it's seven years, almost to the day. So you kind of really have to believe that you got something. And - because along the way, you're also having to inspire hundreds of crew members that come on and make this thing with you. So, you know, I felt like this was special, probably from the beginning.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TAKEDOWN")
EJAE, NUNA AND AMI: (As HUNTR/X, singing) I'ma gear up and take you down.
RASCOE: And as you said, you created this story. You were one of the project's writers. Where did this idea of mixing Korean mythology and KPop in this animated way - where did that come from?
KANG: You know, I've been working in the business for, well, now over 20 years. And being somebody who's Korean - I was born in Korea - and I've always just wanted to see something in the animation space that really celebrated our culture, and so that's kind of where I started. And I landed on demonology, and that kind of led to demon hunters. And that felt like it wasn't quite enough of a concept, and so I tried to just mash it with some other Korean things, and K-pop felt like a fun thing to just add in there. And it felt weird but also really exciting. So it felt like we got something, you know?
RASCOE: Yeah. I mean, because there is this idea - with the girls, there's this idea that they have to be perfect at all times. We actually have a clip of Jinu, the leader of the Saja Boys, and he's talking to Rumi about the shame he's felt for centuries.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "KPOP DEMON HUNTERS")
AHN HYO-SEOP: (As Jinu) A demon girl, also hunter.
ARDEN CHO: (As Rumi) Just hunter, not demon.
AHN: (As Jinu) Then how'd you get the patterns?
CHO: (As Rumi) That's none of your business.
AHN: (As Jinu) I know what it feels like to have them.
CHO: (As Rumi) Feel? You're a demon. Demons don't feel anything.
AHN: (As Jinu) Is that what you think? That's all demons do - feel, feel our shame, our misery. It's how Gwi-Ma controls us.
RASCOE: What were you trying to show about how shame can affect, especially these generations where you're so concerned about how you look on social media and how you present and all of that?
KANG: The character of Jinu - he's ashamed of a decision that he made, a choice that he made years and years ago, and he's been, you know, haunted by that memory for hundreds of years, and he's been isolated. He's, like, this lone demon but, you know, who has a little bit of a soul. And then we have Rumi, who is part demon from, you know, her parents and who they were, and she can't really change that part of herself, where she comes from, her lineage and her origins.
So we have these two characters that are struggling with something about themselves that inherently they can't change. But they struggle with it, and they - and it's kind of plagued them through their lives, disconnected them from people that they love. And through this kind of shared experience of their shame, they connect because they can kind of see themselves in each other, and thus blossoms this kind of this semi-love story. We would call them more soulmates than anything.
And so we wanted to explore this idea of shame and hiding parts of yourself that you are not really proud of. And the message of the movie isn't to say that, you know, you should lean into these things or embrace them. It's not. It's really to say, you know, there's parts of yourself that you don't like that you cannot change, but you can choose to have them control you and affect you negatively, or you can rise above them, just acknowledge that they're there and choose not to let them affect you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SODA POP")
ANDREW CHOI, NECKWAV, KEVIN WOO, ET AL: (As Saja Boys, singing) My little soda pop. You're all I can think of. Every drop I drink up. You're my soda pop, my little soda pop.
RASCOE: (Laughter) And, of course, I mean, the Saja Boys have their own bops. We have "Soda Pop"...
KANG: Yes.
RASCOE: ...Right there. Which Saja Boy did you have a crush on, or I guess, in K-pop terms, who's your bias?
KANG: Bias, yes.
RASCOE: Because this is a heated debate in my house.
KANG: So I have to say, my bias is Abby because...
RASCOE: OK. Abby.
KANG: I don't know. I just...
RASCOE: OK (laughter).
KANG: Yes, yes. Those eyebrows are so crazy.
RASCOE: (Laughter).
KANG: But they do something for me.
RASCOE: Oh, my goodness. Yeah. My kids, they love Baby. They love the Baby one.
KANG: Oh, yes.
RASCOE: Oh.
KANG: Baby is a good one.
RASCOE: They love Baby (laughter).
KANG: Yes. Baby is really popular among girls and...
RASCOE: Girls, yes.
KANG: ...Younger kids, yeah.
RASCOE: Yes. They love Baby (laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SODA POP")
CHOI, NECKWAV, WOO, ET AL: (As Saja Boys, singing) My little soda pop. Make me want to flip the top. I'ma come make you hit the spot. Every little drip that drops, fizz and pop, ah. That's what I'm told, that it's gettin' hot. Yes, I'm sippin'...
KANG: You know, I've been listening to Korean music before the term K-pop even existed. Even though I was raised in Toronto, Canada, we went back to Seoul every summer, and I spent all my summers there. So I got, like, my two, three months of, like, Korean pop culture education every single year.
And so I just - you know, I loved it. I - you know, even as a kid, when it wasn't popular in North America, I would listen to it, and I would have to hide it, really, from my non-Korean friends 'cause they thought it was a little silly. But I still loved it. And so to see Korean music just take off and reach global popularity, it makes me feel like, yeah, I'm proud. Like, and I feel right, you know?
RASCOE: Yeah.
KANG: There's, like, validation in that. And so I really wanted to kind of feature it in a movie so that we could really, really celebrate it.
RASCOE: Well, and, you know, it's one thing to be embraced by the film's fans, but the film has won major awards at the Golden Globes and is now...
KANG: Yes.
RASCOE: ...Up for two Oscars. How does it feel to have that critical acclaim?
KANG: Absolutely amazing. I mean, we really, really pushed ourselves. And all the things that we learned - every skill that we had developed through our 20-plus years of working in the industry, we had to put every single ounce of it into this film. And so to have our peers, people who know how hard it is to make these things, really recognize that and honor that is really incredible, and it feels really great.
RASCOE: That was Maggie Kang. She wrote and directed "KPop Demon Hunters." Thank you so much for being with us.
KANG: Oh, my gosh, it was so fun. Thank you for talking with me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOW IT'S DONE")
EJAE, NUNA AND AMI: (As HUNTR/X, singing) For the show 'cause I'm going to show you how it's done, done, done. Hey. HUNTR/X don't miss how it's done, done, done. Hey. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
