‘KPop Demon Hunters’ grips world from toddlers to grandparents
Still from "Kpop Demon Hunters" / Courtesy of Netflix
A 4-year-old in the United States sits strapped in a car seat, belting out “Golden” with solemn concentration. The track is the theme song of Netflix’s animated film “KPop Demon Hunters.”
Even as the child stumbles through the lyrics, the effort to hit the high notes sends the mother in the driver’s seat into laughter. The TikTok clip, titled “POV: you have a toddler who’s obsessed [with] KPop Demon Hunters,” has racked up more than 230,000 likes.
The explosive success of “KPop Demon Hunters” has accelerated the spread of Korean culture worldwide, giving rise to what some call a “K-generation,” a cohort humming K-pop tunes from infancy, regardless of nationality.
Since its June 20 release, the movie has become Netflix’s most-watched film and produced an original soundtrack that topped Western charts.
While some compare the craze to the global “Let It Go” moment from Disney’s “Frozen” 11 years ago, the cultural ripple effect now unfolding suggests an even greater reach.
Netflix shares footage of the North American sing-along event for ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ with the Empire State Building in New York lit up to the theme song ‘Golden,’ Monday. Captured from Netflix YouTube
Sing-alongs pack theaters, Empire State lights up
On Aug. 23 and 24, more than 1,700 theaters across North America hosted sing-along screenings of the film.
Fans arrived in character T-shirts, waved lightsticks and belted out the soundtrack in unison. The Empire State Building in New York staged a light show set to “Golden” to celebrate the occasion.
Netflix has not released box office figures, but industry tracker Box Office Mojo estimated the two-day event earned $18 million, enough to top the U.S. box office that weekend.
Ahead of the screenings, the Korean lyric “yeongwonhi kkaejil su eomneun” (“unbreakable forever”) from “Golden” surged on Google search rankings, as international fans studied Korean to sing the song accurately.
Reddit users even posted guides such as “Sing-along Korean for beginners” and “Complete lyrics to KDH songs.”
From Nobel laureates to toddlers
The fanbase spans generations. Social media is filled with videos of diaper-clad infants babbling to “Golden” and teens mimicking the film’s fictional idol group.
Nobel economics laureate James Robinson, a professor at the University of Chicago, said, “My son is so obsessed with ‘KDH’ that I have watched it five times myself. I’m not joking.”
The New York Times reported that Sylvia Cruz, a mother of five in North Carolina, said her children had watched the movie up to 30 times, listening to the soundtrack when not rewatching the film.
The paper wrote that millennial parents are reliving the boy band and girl group golden era of the 1990s and that the film has become an unexpected summer blockbuster, echoing the cultural resonance of Disney’s “Frozen.”
Foreign tourists gather around love locks at Namsan Seoul Tower in central Seoul on Monday, as the ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ craze boosts Korea’s tourism industry. Korea Times photo by Kim Soo-mi
Tourism boom in Korea
The “KDH” phenomenon is also fueling tourism. Naksan Park in central Seoul, where protagonists Rumi and Jinu meet, along with Bukchon Hanok Village, the Seoul K-Medi Center and N Seoul Tower, have become must-visit spots.
Sarah, a 22-year-old from the U.K., said at N Seoul Tower, “After watching ‘KDH,’ my interest in Korea grew so much. I even went to Naksan Park last night to see the scenery from the film.”
According to Seoul City, Instagram and YouTube posts about Naksan Park nearly doubled this summer compared to last year. The Seoul Tourism Organization has set up photo zones at filming locations to attract visitors.
Demand for cultural experiences has surged as well. Korean tourism platform Creatrip reported that between June 20 and July 19, foreign visitor spending on traditional hanbok rentals rose 30 percent, public bathhouse experiences 84 percent and K-pop dance classes skyrocketed by 400 percent among U.S. tourists and 575 percent among Taiwanese tourists.
The Korean “comfort foods” featured in the film — gimbap (rice rolls), soup rice, instant noodles and snacks — are also enjoying a boom. Nongshim, Korea’s leading instant noodle maker, plans to launch collaborative products featuring “KDH” characters on Shin Ramyun and shrimp cracker packaging.
A scene from Netflix animated feature “KPop Demon Hunters” / Courtesy of Netflix
Beyond K-pop fandom
Initially driven by K-pop’s core fandom, “KDH” gained momentum through word of mouth. Nielsen data showed that while viewing hours reached about 250 million minutes in its first week, they quadrupled to surpass 1 billion minutes by late July. Cover videos and dance challenges by artists multiplied its reach through a snowball effect.
Critics see the film as heralding a “Next K” era of global cultural expansion. Cultural critic Kim Hern-sik said, “‘KDH’ is expanding from core fans to light fandom. Its narrative of healing and growth, and its message that no one is truly alone, resonated widely where such themes are rare in Western pop music.”
The BBC called it “a coming-of-age journey about characters who struggle with identity but ultimately embrace their true selves,” adding that even those unfamiliar with Korean culture can connect with its themes.
Industry watchers are asking whether Netflix, with “KDH,” could challenge Disney’s century-long dominance in animation.
Unlike remakes or sequels, “KDH” is an original intellectual property. Netflix has already filed trademarks covering toys, apparel and household goods, and is exploring sequels, live-action adaptations and musicals.
“Netflix appears determined to replicate the Disney model of a franchise enjoyed by three generations, from toddlers to grandparents,” Kim said. “The appeal of Korean culture is far from exhausted, so this fervor is likely to continue for some time.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.