Animated Film KPop Demon Hunters Actress Shares How Her Personal Path Mirrored Main Character's Experience

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"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I lacked blue eyes and blonde hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," reveals Arden Cho, who portrayed the lead character in the streaming platform's chart-topping movie, the K-pop themed animation.

The performer, forty, recalls her early years in Texas, as the eldest daughter of parents who emigrated from Korea and her journey toward belonging in the United States.

In the movie, which tells the story of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to come to terms with her identity as a hybrid being – and when she first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, identifying as American but having people treat me like I'm not, trying to figure out my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she explains.

These were all aspects of her early life that paralleled Rumi's journey.

"Truthfully, at various stages in my life, I despised a lot of myself and I wanted to be a different person.

"During childhood, your surroundings influences your development and I feel like I lacked exposure to sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters achieved millions of streams in just 14 days, and secured the top 10 of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To be part of the first Hollywood animated film set in Korea, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "a dream come true" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the type that was missing when in her youth.

She 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.

"I feel like K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. K-beauty has had such a big impact on global appreciation for Korea. But I believe this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, inspiring travel to Korea, currently," she comments.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and the actress says she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

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

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to meet the entire cast and crew in person, she says.

The movie was launched amid increased immigration raids in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which triggered demonstrations in many states.

As an person of Asian descent residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Immigrants have made America what it is."

Reports have suggested that up to 150,000 Korean immigrants without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an grown-up, Cho came to realise that the racism she had experienced when she was younger was largely due to a lack of education, as people didn't know what it meant to be of Asian descent.

"However today, in the modern era, when I feel like the world and people ought to be more informed, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes it appears there's a sense of despair," she says.

Due to this, it feels very special, she says, that the film could bring "optimism and happiness to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it became this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and something to unite us as one."

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

Cho acknowledges she is aware that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but aims to "maintain faith in people" that individuals will still pursue human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I'm sure they're going to have AI actors and singers. I know they're already here. I understand performers' voices are already being altered, but I hope the public have some respect and want and love for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the global music charts, with multiple songs from its soundtrack featured on the prestigious charts. It has its own fan creations, and audiences around the world are calling for a follow-up.

Cho tells us she would like to confirm the question of if a sequel is planned – but both she and fans will have to await the streaming service or the production company, which produced the movie, to approve the project.

"I'm aware there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I think everyone in the world would riot if it didn't happen."

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