\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen Maggie Kang had the opportunity to direct and pitch her own animated film, she knew exactly what was missing from Hollywood animation. After working in the industry for over a decade, the Korean-American filmmaker had never encountered a single Korean project. So she created \u201cKpop Demon Hunters\u201d \u2014 Netflix\u2018s animated musical that became the first feature animation with all Korean characters and a global phenomenon that surprised even its creators.<\/p>\n
\n\tDelivering a masterclass at the Netflix Creative Asia conference during the Busan International Film Festival, Kang detailed her journey from concept to worldwide success, revealing how she systematically infused every aspect of the supernatural girl group story with authentic Korean culture.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI always wanted to see Korean represented on screen,\u201d Kang told the audience Saturday. \u201cI really wanted to work on a Korean project, but I really never came across one in the 12 or 13 years of working in the animation industry in Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe film\u2019s origin story began with Kang\u2019s fascination with Korean mythology, particularly creatures like dokkaebi, dalsin and saja that she grew up hearing about. \u201cThe idea of demons naturally led to demon hunters, a group of really incredible women who fight demons,\u201d she explained. \u201cBut the idea needed something else. It just wasn\u2019t enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat missing element turned out to be K-pop, which transformed the project entirely. \u201cThe movie instantly became larger in scale. It became a musical, and it just there was just more spectacle,\u201d Kang said, noting how K-pop\u2019s ability to cross cultural barriers made it a natural fit for the story.<\/p>\n
\n\tTo ground the fantastical concept in authentic Korean culture, Kang turned to the country\u2019s shamanic traditions. \u201cWe have this amazing tradition, which is the mudang. It\u2019s Korean shamanism. So the idea of using music to, you know, and song to ward off demons. This is what the mudang did,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe film\u2019s hunters draw their supernatural powers from song and dance, creating \u201csonic weapons to fight back demon hordes.\u201d Kang drew inspiration from gut, traditional Korean folk dancers who performed rituals to protect communities from demons and evil spirits. \u201cIn a way, they were really the first concerts in Korea,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn 2022, Kang and her core creative team, including co-director Chris Appelhans, embarked on an extensive research trip to Korea. They visited locations including Gwangjang Market, Namsan Tower, Olympic Stadium, Myeongdong shopping district, and Seonsan Folk Village.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou have to know Korea in order to show it just the way it is,\u201d Kang emphasized. The team\u2019s firsthand experiences informed every visual detail, from the modeled buildings of Seoul\u2019s skyline to the authentic details in restaurant scenes.<\/p>\n
\n\tOne particularly meaningful location was Bukchon Hanok Village, chosen for the first meeting between main characters Rumi and Jinyu. \u201cThe Hanok is like, is Ji-noo and the modern skyline we thought was Romi, modern and old, like put together,\u201d Kang explained, describing how the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary architecture reflected the characters themselves.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe production\u2019s commitment to authenticity extended to the smallest details. Kang highlighted how Korean artists throughout the production flagged cultural elements, including a colleague\u2019s suggestion to add napkins under place settings in a restaurant scene \u2014 \u201cthe kind of details that really speak to a Korean audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe team also incorporated iconic Korean elements like taekwondo, visiting both the Kukkiwon and the K-Tigers demonstration team. \u201cTheir demonstrations really proved to us that dance and fighting could be seamlessly incorporated,\u201d Kang said.<\/p>\n
\n\tEven the film\u2019s animal characters paid homage to Korean culture, with Derpy the tiger inspired by the national animal and chokdo art, while Sassy the three-eyed magpie completed the traditional Korean artistic pairing.<\/p>\n
\n\tCreating Korean female lead characters was particularly meaningful for Kang, who worked to make them \u201cboth appealing and aspirational and unique, but most importantly, Korean.\u201d Of her personal favorite, she singled out Mira: \u201cI just think Mira is so cool, like, I just think she\u2019s so beautiful in a totally different way that I look, and so I wish I was Mira.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe film features seven original songs created by prominent K-pop producers, including teams from The Black Label led by Teddy Park. \u201cWe went to bonafide K-pop hit makers, from producers to songwriters to lyricists to make sure that the DNA of the K-pop music was the primary concern,\u201d Kang said.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe soundtrack\u2019s breakout hit \u201cGolden\u201d reached number one on the Billboard chart, while members of Twice covered the film\u2019s \u201cTakedown\u201d track. \u201cTheir excitement about the film really validated what we were trying to achieve and accomplish in the K-pop space,\u201d Kang noted.<\/p>\n
\n\tKang praised her working relationship with co-director Chris Appelhans, describing their collaboration as essential to maintaining the film\u2019s vision. \u201cStory is king. If you don\u2019t have story, nothing matters,\u201d she said, explaining their process of trading scenes and providing input on each other\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBy the middle of it, we were so in sync that we almost shared a brain,\u201d Kang said. She noted that Appelhans, whose wife is Korean, brought cultural sensitivity to the project, him having previously moved to China for two years while directing \u201cWish Dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe film\u2019s worldwide popularity has surprised even its creators. \u201cWhen you make a movie, you don\u2019t think about you, don\u2019t you just make it and hope that people connect to it,\u201d Kang reflected. \u201cThis is, we didn\u2019t expect any of this. It\u2019s blown our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile fans frequently ask about sequels, Kang said there\u2019s \u201cno official word\u201d on future installments, though she and the team remain \u201cexcited for the possibilities of more stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe success represents a broader victory for Korean representation in animation. \u201cEvery time they click the play button on Netflix, they are not just watching your movie, but they\u2019re going back to Korean culture, which is truly incredible,\u201d Kang concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Maggie Kang had the opportunity to direct and pitch her own animated film, she knew exactly what was missing from Hollywood animation. After working in the industry for over a decade, the Korean-American filmmaker had never encountered a single Korean project. So she created \u201cKpop Demon Hunters\u201d \u2014 Netflix\u2018s animated musical that became the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[3425,2422,7192,4349,7689,13917,1934,13916,1482],"class_list":{"0":"post-22700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-character","9":"tag-creator","10":"tag-demon","11":"tag-favorite","12":"tag-hunters","13":"tag-kang","14":"tag-kpop","15":"tag-maggie","16":"tag-names"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}