KPop Demon Hunters Actress Reveals The Ways Her Personal Path Reflected Protagonist's Experience

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"{I hated that I looked Asian, that I lacked light-colored eyes and blonde hair, because those were the beauty standards at the time," reveals the actress, who voiced Rumi in Netflix's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

The performer, 40, recalls her childhood in Texas, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in American society.

In the movie, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from dark powers, Rumi has to come to terms with her true nature as part human, part demon – and when she first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having others view me like a foreigner, grappling with my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a woman," she explains.

These were all aspects of her formative years that paralleled the character's path.

"Truthfully, at different points in my existence, I hated many parts of me and I wanted to be a different person.

"As kids, what you see influences who you become and it seems I just didn't see sufficient individuals that shared my appearance."

When it debuted on the platform in June, KPop Demon Hunters registered millions of streams in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the streaming rankings in dozens of nations. To star in the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the kind that she lacked when she was young.

Cho notes many individuals of Korean descent have told her it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first instance of their dual heritage and culture.

"In my view Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had such a big impact on Korea being loved. But I believe the film is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now," she comments.

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

"It seems it kind of sucks to mention this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, people feel like it's a risk," she reveals.

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to connect with everyone working on the film face-to-face, she says.

The movie was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of mass deportation efforts, which triggered demonstrations in many states.

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

Reports have estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an grown-up, she came to realise that the racism she had encountered when she was younger stemmed mainly from a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it signified to be Korean or Asian.

"However today, in this day and age, when I feel like the world and people should know better, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes it appears we feel so hopeless," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Maybe that's why it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and a unifying element all together."

The growth of AI is a major concern for the film industry, creating the potential that in coming years it could be used to make a film like the animation.

The actress says she is conscious that technology is already being used to copy actors' voices, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that individuals will still pursue human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I'm sure there will be digital performers and vocalists. I know they already exist. I understand our voices are already being manipulated, but I hope the public have appreciation and desire for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the international music rankings, with multiple songs from its soundtrack appearing in the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and audiences globally are calling for a sequel.

She reveals she would like to confirm the inquiry of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the streaming service or the studio, which produced the movie, to approve the project.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, the feedback is positive," she shares. "Only time will tell, and I believe fans everywhere would protest if it didn't happen."

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