With numerous media and countless works, it is now rare to encounter a piece that gives the feeling of 'this could be it' amidst an industry that has standardised upwards and a flood of new releases. There are few trailers that can catch the eye with excellent visuals, a glamorous cast, and a fresh story, and among those, even fewer works can be gauged for success. I confess. As soon as the official trailer for <K-Pop Demon Hunters> was released, I immediately shared the link with my colleagues. The reason was simple. When the grim reaper said, "We need to change our strategy," and then suddenly started dancing to the rhythm, and when they appeared as human idols, I felt that this work was 'something different'. And the Netflix original <K-Pop Demon Hunters>, released on June 20, is indeed receiving love from viewers with results that would surprise even Netflix itself.
What particularly surprised viewers is that this film is not 'made in Korea'. <K-Pop Demon Hunters> depicts the confrontation between the idol and exorcist 'Huntress', who aims to complete the barrier 'Honmun' to protect the Korean Peninsula, and the five-member grim reaper group 'Reaper Boys' who try to stop them. K-Pop, the Korean Peninsula, exorcists who sing like a nation of joy, and numerous Korean landscapes. Nevertheless, this film was produced not by a Korean production company but by the American 'Sony Pictures Animation'. They are trendsetters who have redefined the style of recent feature animations, showcasing works like <Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse> series and (like this film, distributed by Netflix) <The Mitchells vs. the Machines>. And their seasoned planning and direction are fully embedded in this <K-Pop Demon Hunters> as well.
In fact, it was because of this that there was more concern and worry than expectation until <K-Pop Demon Hunters> released its trailer. An animation about K-Pop idols made by an American company? Many viewed it as a planned film that merely aimed to cash in on the popularity of K-Pop. It is not easy to have a film or drama featuring K-Pop as the protagonist, let alone an animation with the setting of exorcists. Despite the reassuring name of Sony Pictures Animation, it was not enough to gather high expectations.
However, as seen in the trailer, the <K-Pop Demon Hunters> released on June 20 particularly showcased a clear understanding of Korean elements and K-Pop. It was not just a simple borrowing of 'K-Pop' but a 'full-fledged Hallyu film'. From the very beginning of the film, it captures classic elements like goblins and grim reapers, and (though exaggerated) traditional Korean attire, as well as modern culture like cheering culture, kimbap, ramen, fish cake soup, and shrimp chips. It is astonishing even for Koreans.
The part where <K-Pop Demon Hunters> sincerely captures Korean culture can be understood from the interview with director Maggie Kang, who planned and directed this film. Maggie Kang stated that from the beginning, she did not want to focus on K-Pop or exorcists but wanted to create an animation about “our culture” (she was born in Korea and lived in Canada from the age of five). Therefore, the most fundamental yet often overlooked aspect in recent cinema, 'understanding the subject', had to be the foundation for creating the work. And the know-how to accurately embed Korean culture into the work is certainly there. This is achieved by having staff who have a deep understanding of Korean and Asian cultures, including Koreans and those of Korean descent. It is easy to find Korean, Korean-American, and Asian individuals among the production team, including director Maggie Kang, who directed the film and wrote the original story and script, as well as production design and art directors who completed the film's direction. Their sincerity is also evident in the casting of the trio of Huntress, Lumi, Mira, and Joy, all played by Korean-American actors (Aden Cho, Maggie Hong, Ji-young Yoon), and the inclusion of Korean actors like Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Byung-hun, and Kim Yunjin in the original cast.
The praise has been lengthy. Seeing is believing, and I will provide a guide to enjoy <K-Pop Demon Hunters> fun. Since it is set in Korea, one might think that Korean dubbing is the standard. However, I recommend watching it in the original language, that is, English dubbing if possible. Most of the songs mix English and Korean, so when transitioning from dialogue to song, the English parts feel less out of place. Also, in the English dubbing, there are often instances where Korean is read as is (like 'ramyeon' in the trailer), adding a bit of fun ("gaja gaja gaja!"). The poem that Jin-woo recites when he first appears also has a nice ring in the original English rhyme (control-souls-cold). Of course, the performances of the Korean voice actors are excellent, so Korean dubbing is also a good choice. Among the cast, Lee Byung-hun participated in both English and Korean dubbing.
