🔗 Share this article

This exclusive piece explores remarkable conversations and narratives from worldwide.

"{I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," says Arden Cho, who voiced Rumi in Netflix's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

Cho, forty, recalls her early years in Texas, as the eldest daughter of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which tells the story of a girl group who must save the world from dark powers, the protagonist has to come to terms with her identity as part human, part demon – and when she first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Asian-American, as a Asian-American, as a female," she explains.

These were all aspects of her early life that paralleled the character's path.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my existence, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be a different person.

"During childhood, what you see shapes who you become and I feel like I lacked exposure to sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in June, the animated feature registered 33 million views in just 14 days, and secured the top 10 of the Netflix charts in 93 countries. To star in the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the type that she lacked when she was young.

Cho notes many individuals of Korean descent have told her it's "such a refreshing moment", making them proud for the first time of their mixed background and culture.

"In my view K-Pop really, truly, has paved the way. Korean cosmetics has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I believe the film is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the film's success was uncertain and Cho says she felt the production crew were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"I feel like it kind of sucks to mention this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, it's perceived like a gamble," she says.

So, when she accepted the part, she took steps to connect with the entire cast and crew in person, she says.

The movie was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of mass deportation efforts, which sparked protests in numerous regions.

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

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

As an adult, Cho came to realise that the prejudice she had experienced when she was younger stemmed mainly from a knowledge gap, as people didn't know what it meant to be of Asian descent.

"However today, in this day and age, when it seems the society and people ought to be more informed, it's deeply disheartening and at times I feel like we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Due to this, it feels very special, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Perhaps this explains it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and a unifying element as one."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, raising the possibility that in coming years it could be used to make a movie like the animation.

The actress acknowledges she is conscious that AI is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but wants to "maintain faith in people" that individuals will still pursue art created by humans.

"Sure, I believe there will be digital performers and vocalists. I'm aware they already exist. I know our voices are already being altered, but I trust people have appreciation and want and love for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the global music charts, with multiple songs from its score featured on the prestigious charts. It has its own fan creations, and viewers globally are demanding a sequel.

She reveals she would like to confirm the question of whether that will happen – 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 rumors are circulating, the feedback is positive," she shares. "Only time will tell, and I think fans everywhere would protest if it didn't happen."

• Initiating discussions, building connections and combating false narratives through features, in-depth reports, interviews and remarkable accounts