- 4 months ago
From ancient Korean mythology to modern K-pop inspiration, there's so much happening behind the scenes of "Kpop Demon Hunters"! Join us as we explore the fascinating production details and stellar voice performances that made this Netflix hit shine. Our countdown includes EJAE's incredible journey, Minhwa art influences, Arden Cho's casting switch, and more!
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00:00Is that a bird wearing a tiny hat?
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07If you thought you loved what's happening on screen in K-pop Demon Hunters,
00:11just wait until you hear about the people and influences that helped make it so amazing.
00:16Today we're looking behind the scenes at some of the factors that turned this Netflix streaming release
00:21into one of 2025's best movies.
00:23A slight spoiler warning is in effect.
00:26Are you whispering?
00:30Your secret's safe with me.
00:33Number 10. A Long Road.
00:36According to K-pop Demon Hunters,
00:38the warriors who protect the human realm from demons have done so for untold centuries,
00:43which is about how long it took to get this movie made.
00:46Okay, we're exaggerating, but it was still a lengthy process.
00:50Director Maggie Kang revealed that it took around nine years from first inception to finish product,
00:55which is a long time, even in the slower-moving world of animation production.
01:00As a filmmaker, you are kind of in a hole working on your film.
01:05And for animation, it's usually, for originals, it takes about six years of just writing and rewriting
01:12and figuring out the story, and then there's just so many stages that we go through,
01:17but you don't really expect this kind of reaction.
01:21Much of the extra time was spent on painstaking research into Korean mythology and lore,
01:27as well as modern K-culture.
01:28The team was dedicated to meticulously crafting a world that felt detailed,
01:33specific, and authentic.
01:38You can definitely see the positive results reflected on screen.
01:57It just goes to show how important it is to give creatives enough time to fully develop their work.
02:03I think grounding the lore in something that exists in our culture
02:08and has existed in our culture for hundreds and hundreds of years
02:11really let us just show more aspects of our culture.
02:15So I'm really proud of that.
02:17Number nine, a well-placed business proposal.
02:20Jinu, the dreamy leader of the boy group Saja Boys,
02:24gets his classic good looks from celebrities like Cha Eun-woo and Namjoo Hyuk,
02:29both of whom have sent plenty of hearts fluttering in their popular K-drama roles.
02:34When Canadian-Korean actor Ahn Hyo-seup was cast as the voice of Jinu,
02:39it gave the film a chance to make a more overt wink to Hallyu fans.
02:43Not only does Jinu's first meeting with Rumi poke fun at one of the genre's tropes,
02:56but the song playing as he lets her tumble to the ground
02:59is none other than Melomance's Love Maybe.
03:02The song was the award-winning OST to Ahn's own wildly successful K-drama,
03:07Business Proposal.
03:08In KDH, not only is this a fun Easter egg,
03:17but it draws a stark contrast between Ahn's two characters.
03:21Jinu is nothing like secret cinnamon roll Tae-mu.
03:25Make no mistake.
03:26Watch yourself.
03:38Number 8. K-pop DNA
03:40The world will know you as pop stars, but you will be much more than that.
03:46With K-pop right there in the movie title,
03:48it was surprising to learn that it wasn't originally part of the story.
03:51Maggie Kang originally conceived of the idea without its musical element,
03:55something more akin to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
03:58Come to serenade me?
03:59So you know what's going on.
04:01Well, I've seen some damn funny things the last two days.
04:04600-pound chirago demon making like Yima Sumac.
04:07That one will stay with you.
04:09I remain immune, happy to say.
04:11Once they realized that K-pop was the missing ingredient in the sauce,
04:15Kang and her team looked to some of the biggest names in the game
04:18to craft the two battling groups at the heart of the action.
04:20For the fearless trio, Huntrix,
04:23the confident swagger of girl crush ensembles like ITZY and BLACKPINK,
04:27as well as the bright visuals of TWICE,
04:30were all sources of inspiration on the group's look and sound.
04:33Saja boys were drawn from an even wider array of sources,
04:37including Monsta X, ATEEZ, Big Bang, Stray Kids, and of course BTS.
04:42Let me show you cause talking shit
04:45A 60 bright left to my feet
04:48Get it, let it roll
04:50Given that these groups represent some of the most successful K-pop acts of all time,
04:55it's no wonder the KDH soundtrack set the Billboard Hot 100 on fire.
04:59It was truly an honor to share the stage with you.
05:03So hot!
05:03And respectful.
05:05Oh no, the honor is ours.
05:07No, it was ours.
05:08No, it's ours.
05:09Ours.
05:10Ours.
05:10Ours.
05:11Ours.
05:11Ours.
05:11Number 7.
05:13Arden Cho's Casting Switch Up
05:15My voice, it's in trouble.
05:17Wait, in trouble?
05:18Then why did you push up the golden release?
05:21Because we're so close and it's so important.
05:26Arden Cho's expressive and nuanced vocal performance as Rumi is a highlight of K-pop Demon Hunters,
05:32but it's not the role she originally auditioned for.
05:35There was definitely nerves and, you know, uncertainty,
05:39and I also felt a lot of pressure because Rumi was so, like, bar high.
05:45Cho originally read for the part of Huntrix's mentor, Celine, but at Maggie Kang's urging,
05:51she put her hat in the ring for Rumi, ultimately winning the part.
05:55A Korean-American, Cho's pitch-perfect performance drew on her own struggles with identity and
06:00perfectionism to help inform Rumi's similar internal battle.
06:04She had all these expectations and I had all these expectations for myself.
06:10And then it was this thing of, I just didn't really know who I was.
06:14And I was exhaustive trying to be perfect.
06:18But in acting, I learned how to be vulnerable, to break down, what it meant to really get angry or sad or to feel all these emotions.
06:26Celine would be played by another accomplished Korean-American actress, Yoon Jin Kim.
06:31Fans of Netflix's XO Kitty know her best as principal Gina Lim, proving she has a knack for complicated maternal figures.
06:38You care about that more than you care about me or your son who wants to get to know you.
06:44It's more complicated than that.
06:46And it's in the past.
06:49It's not in the past.
06:51He's here.
06:52Number 6.
06:53Saja Siblings
06:54Does anything seem off about Saja boys to you?
06:57They can make hearts out of thin air.
07:04They're demons.
07:05I mean demons.
07:06Obviously demons.
07:07Okay, beyond the obvious, does anything else seem odd?
07:11Could it be that they all seem a little too evenly matched?
07:14While the creative team does a great job of capturing different K-pop idol types in the styling and presentation of each member,
07:20they made the deliberate choice to give them all the same CGI body.
07:25Well, except Abby, of course.
07:26His design differs for pretty obvious reasons.
07:33This was meant to put them in contrast to the Huntrix members, all of whom are very physically distinct.
07:39Mira, in particular, who is tall and lean, was designed after real-life fashion model Ahn Soyeon.
07:45She's so cool.
07:46Who else could wear a sleeping bag to the Met Gala?
07:49Yeah, she's our role model.
07:50She's the best.
07:51Love her.
07:52Number 5.
07:53The Old Masters Help Demonstrate How It's Done
07:55As we've already mentioned, Huntrix borrows some of their aesthetic and musical makeup from the group Blackpink,
08:11even getting the input of their star producer, Teddy Park, on the intro song, How It's Done.
08:16But for deeper inspiration, the KDH team went outside Seoul, back in time, and halfway around the world to the streets of mid-20th century New York.
08:26Here come the Jets like a bat out of hell, someone gets in our way, someone don't feel so well.
08:32Here come the Jets, little world, step the sky better, go underground, better run, better hide.
08:38Songwriter and soundtrack producer Ian Eisendrath cites West Side Story's Jets song as a point of reference on the track.
08:46It was a model for how to present the characters, their world, and their group dynamics to the audience in under three minutes.
08:52With old-school sensibility acting as a framework for a modern K-pop banger, we get something timeless yet fresh that simply doesn't miss.
09:13Number 4.
09:14Shaman and Shepherds
09:15Korean mythology has a strong influence on the foundations of KDH,
09:19both in the world of the story and for the creatives who developed it.
09:23Our music ignites the soul and brings people together.
09:28With this connection, the first hunters created a shield to protect our world, the Honmun.
09:35The design of the first hunters is very similar to that of the Mudang,
09:38female shaman who commune between spirits and humans, and often use music and dance in their rituals.
09:44The weapons wielded by their modern-day counterparts continue the reference to Korean traditional weapons and shamanistic implements.
09:53Saja boys, too, have their roots in the past, and it's right there in their name.
09:57I love you guys!
10:01They're just like us!
10:03Oh, soul's incoming!
10:04Saja means lion, yes, but it's also a reference to the Chosung Saja,
10:09figures similar to Grim Reapers, who were tasked with escorting deceased souls to the spirit world.
10:15Of course, KDH's Saja boys serve a more devious purpose,
10:19but we can't say they weren't up front with us.
10:21I will love you more when it all burns down
10:24For the power, more than gold
10:26Yeah, you gave me your heart, now I'm here for your soul
10:29KDH fans may not know of this traditional Korean folk art form,
10:44but they would definitely recognize one of Minwa's most popular sub-genres,
10:48the frequent depictions of a foolish tiger and distinguished magpie.
10:53As it turns out, the lovable duo dubbed Derpy and Sussy
10:56are a lot more than just your typical toyetic animal sidekicks.
11:00Customarily, their images were used to critique Joseon-era social hierarchy,
11:06with the tiger meant to represent the foibles of people in power,
11:10while the magpie is the dignity of the common man.
11:13Okay, so I've been meaning to ask,
11:15why does the bird wear a tiny hat?
11:18I made it for the tiger, but the bird keeps taking it.
11:22Sussy's behavior gains a whole new dimension with this added background.
11:26Since the hat, called a gat, symbolized status and authority,
11:30the fact that it is stolen and worn by the magpie
11:33becomes a clever bit of foreshadowing
11:36about how the fans will help defeat demon king Gima in the end.
11:40Number 2. A Scrapped Standoff
11:54A look at the KDH cast list reveals Tony Award winner, Leia Salonga, credited as Selene's singing voice.
12:18But fans may recall that while the character was a pop star in her own right,
12:22she doesn't really sing in the film.
12:24She might have originally been intended to, though.
12:26No more hiding. No more lies.
12:29Rumi, we can still fix this.
12:31Rumi's confrontation with Selene was originally meant to play out as a powerful musical standoff between the two hunters.
12:38However, it was eventually decided that it didn't quite fit Rumi's arc,
12:41and the scene was reworked into the dialogue-only version we have now.
12:46Another change involved scrapping a near-kiss between Rumi and Genu.
12:51Maggie Kang explained that the team thought restraint was sexier,
12:54but shippers may be divided on whether or not they agree.
12:57She's not even my type.
12:58Excuse me? I'm everyone's type.
13:00You can't even show up on time.
13:01Were you from the 1900s?
13:02I can see why you're still single.
13:04What?
13:04See? Would never work.
13:06Here, free one.
13:07Go find yourself a better boy.
13:09This one's hopeless.
13:09Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
13:14A fashionable first.
13:16Due to the number of looks sported by the Huntrix members alone,
13:19K-pop Demon Hunters features the most unique costumes of any animated movie ever.
13:24Why are you in your new costume?
13:26Rumi, you didn't.
13:28Did you announce the new single?
13:30The promo starts tomorrow?
13:31Tonight?
13:32No, no, wait, but the pajamas.
13:35No.
13:36Rumi repurposed.
13:37The character's design was originally developed for a different project,
13:41but director Maggie Kang realized she was perfect for the lead in K-pop Demon Hunters instead.
13:47If you're with us, prove it.
13:51It's a takedown.
13:52I'm gonna take you out.
13:53You'll break down like what?
13:54Villainous synergy.
13:55Lee Byung-hun, best known as the frontman from Netflix's Squid Game,
14:00lends his voice to the demon king, Gima.
14:03That's funny.
14:04I thought for a moment, you actually believed you could be free.
14:11Yeah, that's, that's funny.
14:13Because if you really believed her,
14:16if you really thought you could escape what you are,
14:19what you did,
14:20you would have told her the truth.
14:23Look twice.
14:25Not only do three members appear on the KDH soundtrack,
14:28but the movie makes a couple visual nods to the popular idol group as well.
14:32It's gonna break the bank, but,
14:34oh, look at these social numbers.
14:36They're off the charts.
14:37Before we continue,
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14:51Here's a story worthy of its own movie.
15:05The singer, songwriter, and producer,
15:07who also provides Rumi's incredible singing voice,
15:10once aspired to be an idol in her own right.
15:13For 10 years,
15:14EJ was a trainee under SM Entertainment,
15:17but was never selected to debut.
15:19SM and I, I think we have different visions.
15:21And, you know,
15:22I got dropped and I was incredibly depressed.
15:27I mean,
15:27I was incredibly devastated.
15:28I felt like I let down 11 year old me
15:31because I worked really,
15:33really hard.
15:34Eventually,
15:35she moved on to songwriting,
15:36finding success contributing to hits for other SM artists
15:40like Red Velvet's Psycho and Aespa's Drama.
15:43K-pop Demon Hunters has been EJ's moment as much as anyone's.
15:56Not only did she write on most of the Huntrix songs for the mega hit soundtrack,
16:00but she's been able to show off her astonishing vocal prowess
16:03performing them in the movie,
16:05leaving no doubt about her talent.
16:07I'm done hiding,
16:09now I'm shining like I'm full of fear.
16:14It's a shining golden moment for this artist
16:16and heartwarming to see her enjoying her long overdue flowers.
16:21I cried all day,
16:23literally.
16:24And the first thing I thought about
16:25was me as a kid.
16:28And,
16:29you know,
16:29I'm just so happy.
16:31I mean,
16:32little 11 year old EJ's dream come true.
16:35What's your favorite overlooked detail
16:37in K-pop Demon Hunters?
16:39Share it down in the comments
16:40so we can all nerd out together.
16:42I just want to talk.
16:43Talk?
16:44About your patterns?
16:46Uh,
16:46but first,
16:47I want to talk about those pants.
16:48I just want to talk about those pants.
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