Leslie Choi
K-Pop Demon Hunters' main characters are popular right now.
Record breaker K-pop Demon Hunters was released on Netflix on August 23, 2025. This animated musical and action movie combines the modern thrill of K-pop idol life with ancient adventurous Korean folklore and became Netflix’s most watched English-language film in only ten weeks, according to Netflix’s website.
K-pop Demon Hunters tells the story of three superstar K-pop idols Rumi, Mira, and Zoey who balance a secret life as demon hunters who protect the world while strengthening the “Honmoon,” or the magical barrier that divides the human and demon world, with their singing. Despite being an American film, the movie takes place in South Korea, weaving ancient Korean traditions and K-pop culture into a story with an unmistakable Korean voice.
“A lot of my friends told me to watch K-pop Demon Hunters so I did,” said freshman Siri Umeh. “I found it really fun and it had catchy songs.”
But other than its fun lyrics and cool animation, K-pop Demon Hunters has significant cultural significance and meaning.
“Personally, I was a little hesitant to watch the movie because of its title, I thought it would just be a slapstick movie where it would make fun of Korean culture and not really take it seriously,” said Korean club president Ashlynn Hwang. “But after watching it, I really appreciated how they included iconic parts of Korean culture like ‘ajummas’ [stereotypical middle-aged Korean women, usually wearing floral print pants and permed short hair] and the Namsan Tower [an iconic sightseeing observatory in Seoul]. It allowed people who don’t know a lot about Korea to understand more about K-pop idol culture, but also to genuinely understand the overall culture of Korea,”
K-pop Demon Hunters showed the world that Korean music, myths, and stories, from long ago to now, all carry meaning. But most importantly, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey’s journeys overcoming emotional and friendship hardships and demon adversities together show the core values of Korean culture: perseverance, love, and unity.