KPop Demon Hunters Star Reveals How Her Life Journey Reflected Main Character's Experience

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"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I didn't have blue eyes and blonde hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," reveals Arden Cho, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's highly successful animated film, KPop Demon Hunters.

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

In the movie, which tells the story of a girl group who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to come to terms with her identity as a hybrid being – and when Cho first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.

"Growing up in the US, identifying as American but having people treat me like I'm not, grappling with my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a woman," she explains.

These elements were components of her formative years that mirrored Rumi's journey.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my life, I despised many parts of me and I longed to become someone else.

"As kids, what you see shapes your development and it seems I just didn't see sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, the animated feature achieved 33 million views in just two weeks, and reached the highest positions of the streaming rankings in dozens of nations. To star in the first Hollywood animated film set in Korea, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "a dream come true" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for young Asian-Americans, the type that she lacked when in her youth.

Cho notes many Korean-Americans have told her it's "such a refreshing moment", making them feel pride for the first instance of their mixed background and cultural roots.

"I feel like Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. K-beauty has had such a big impact on Korea being loved. But I feel like the film is the one that pushed it further, of, inspiring travel to Korea, now," Cho says.

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

"It seems it's unfortunate to say this, but any time there's an Asian-led project, people feel like a gamble," she reveals.

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

The movie was launched against the backdrop of increased immigration raids in the US as part of mass deportation efforts, which triggered demonstrations in many states.

As an person of Asian descent living in the US "it's deeply saddening," says Cho. "Immigrants have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have estimated that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including adopted children, are among those who could be deported.

As an adult, Cho understood that the racism she had experienced when in her youth stemmed mainly from a knowledge gap, as people didn't know what it meant to be of Asian descent.

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

Because of this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Perhaps this explains it became the season's hit film, because there was a need for positivity and a unifying element as one."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the film industry, creating the potential that in coming years it could be used to make a film like KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho says she is conscious that technology is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I believe there will be AI actors and singers. I'm aware they're already here. I know performers' voices are already being altered, but I trust the public have appreciation and desire for authentic creations."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been dominating the global music charts, with multiple songs from its soundtrack appearing in the prestigious charts. It has its own fan art, and viewers around the world are calling for a sequel.

She tells us she wishes she could answer 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 believe fans everywhere would riot if there wasn't."

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