Animated Film KPop Demon Hunters Star Shares How Her Personal Path Reflected Main Character's Experience

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"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I lacked light-colored eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards at the time," says the actress, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

The performer, 40, recalls her early years in the southern state, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which tells the story of a girl group who must save the world from dark powers, the protagonist has to come to terms with her true nature as a hybrid being – and when Cho first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.

"Being born in America, identifying as American but having people treat me like a foreigner, trying to figure out my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she explains.

These elements were aspects of her formative years that paralleled Rumi's journey.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my existence, I hated many parts of me and I longed to become a different person.

"As kids, what you see influences who you become and I feel like I just didn't see sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters achieved 33 million views in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the Netflix charts in 93 countries. To be part of the pioneering animation set in Korea, with Korean leads, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the kind that she lacked when in her youth.

Cho says many Korean-Americans have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them proud for the first time of their mixed background and cultural roots.

"In my view K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I believe the film is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the film's success was not guaranteed and Cho admits she felt the production crew were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"It seems it's unfortunate to say this, but whenever there's an production with Asian leads, people feel like a gamble," she says.

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to connect with everyone working on the film in person, she adds.

The movie was released against the backdrop of increased immigration raids in the US as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in many states.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's heartbreaking and disappointing," she states. "Newcomers have made America what it is."

Reports have suggested that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be deported.

As an grown-up, Cho understood that the prejudice she had encountered when she was younger stemmed mainly from a knowledge gap, as people didn't know what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"But now, in this day and age, when I feel like the society and individuals should know better, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes I feel like we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Because of this, it feels very special, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Perhaps this explains it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because there was a need for positivity and a unifying element as one."

The growth of AI is a major concern for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in future it could be used to produce a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho acknowledges she is aware that technology is already being used to copy actors' voices, but aims to "maintain faith in people" that individuals will still pursue art created by humans.

"Certainly, I believe they're going to have AI actors and singers. I'm aware they're already here. I understand our voices are already being altered, but I hope people have some respect and desire for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been dominating the international music rankings, with multiple songs from its score appearing in the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and audiences around the world are demanding a sequel.

Cho tells us she would like to confirm the inquiry of if a sequel is planned – but both everyone involved will have to await the platform or the studio, which produced the movie, to approve the project.

"I know rumors are circulating, I've heard wonderful things," she shares. "Only time will tell, and I believe everyone in the world would protest if it didn't happen."

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