Netflix’s newest animated movie, K-pop Demon Hunters, became one of the biggest cultural moments of the year in just a few months. The story follows three young and stylish women, Rumi, Mira, and Zoe, calling themselves Huntrix. They juggle being pop stars while secretly slaying demons who terrorize their world, protecting people with their bravery and singing voice. This animation quickly became a pop culture trend, catching the attention of not only children, but also teens and young adults. It has, “Charming storytelling, top-notch animation, and infectious musical numbers, ”according to Prestige.com.
A key factor to the film’s massive success is its connection to real K-pop culture. Most of the main characters in the film are voiced by some of the biggest names in the K-pop industry, creating a connection between an animated film and the real music world. K-pop fans instantly recognized the familiar voices of Arden Cho, May Hong, Rei Ami, and Andrew Choi. These K-pop stars are all famously involved in K-pop culture as singers, performers, and song writers. These star appearances made the film an extension to K-pop culture.
The biggest pull factor of the film’s popularity is the captivating music numbers. Multiple songs featured in the movie are skyrocketing up the charts in multiple countries. The fictional girl group, Huntrix, made the number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with their song “Golden,” making them the first girl group in 24 years to accomplish this. More importantly, K-pop Demon Hunters is the first in almost 30 years to keep four songs on the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10’s. The film album’s popularity makes the soundtrack feel more like a K-pop hit, rather than a children’s movie.
Supporting the soundtracks’ popularity and captivity, the animated choreography became just as popular as the songs. The choreography was made to imitate real K-pop stars on stage with the help of their real choreographers, supporting K-pop authenticity. The dances in the film have become a fun and popular TikTok trend, where many fans and TikTokers post dance videos impersonating Huntrix or the Saja Boys, the demon boy band plotting to take the Huntrix’s fans.
While K-pop has been an influence for decades, the genre has not expanded as big in the U.S. especially to the younger generation. With the release of K-Pop Demon Hunters, K-pop culture is reaching generations it has never touched before. Even parents on Tiktok have reported their children asking for dance lessons and exploring more K-pop songs. Super fans can even be spotted at the K-Pop Demon Hunters sing along, available in many movie theaters nationwide.
