300 million global views. Four simultaneous songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Five Grammy Award nominations. This is not Disney’s latest princess movie or Marvel’s newest superhero series: this is a movie about a group of three K-pop-singing, soul-protecting and demon-slaying girls that has gained astronomical attention around the world. This movie, “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” through the sound of K-pop, blends traditional Korean folktales and mythology with modern Korean pop culture and does not even include a real K-pop group. 

While some Korean American students believe that the traditional stories underlying the “demon hunting” concept may have been overlooked and that the movie has been a little overplayed, they are proud and appreciate the attention the movie has brought to the realm of Korean culture.

“I’m more proud to be Korean the older I get because of how popular, now, everything is. Not just, like, media but also, like, food and beauty and everything,” Joanne Lee, a ninth grader and Korean American student, said.

In recent years, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, their exports of agricultural food products have risen 8.6%, and their exports of beauty products have risen 20.8%.

“I feel more proud of my culture and I guess it feels great to see little kids singing it,” Joanne said. 

She noticed that younger kids enjoy the movie, noting that it did not seem to be aimed at her age group. She also said that she wished more Korean was included in the movie, though she appreciated that using only English made the movie accessible.

Another Korean American student, Carson Lee, not related to Joanne, said, “It was a pretty good movie that incorporated modern and past culture.”

But while Carson, a sophomore, appreciated the movie’s cultural references, he said a lot of the Korean folktales about shamanism that inspired many of the stories’ features were overlooked by many viewers. 

Shamanism, which is about dealing with the spirit world and souls, is traditionally practiced by women who drive out darkness through methods such as singing, dancing and wearing elaborate costumes. These practices, fused with modern K-pop, are the foundation of the movie itself. Other features in the movie, like the weapons used, the rival boy K-pop group and the tiger side character, all stem from historic Korean folklore, too.

“I think people just think Korea is just all, like, K-pop, you know, and all that stuff, but it’s not,” Carson said. “It has, like, a lot of culture that was talked about in the movie but just people missed.”

He is worried that without recognizing the movie’s cultural basis, people might only associate Korea with K-pop and not its many other nuances.

Despite a few criticisms, “K-Pop Demon Hunters” has taken the world by storm and reached millions around the globe. With the sequel planned for 2029, viewers have not seen the last of this K-pop-singing, soul-protecting and demon-hunting group that many have come to know and love.