K-pop Demon Hunters is an original animated film directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. The movie follows a three-member K-pop girl group—Rumi, Mira, and Zoey—called HUNTR/X, who fight demons using their music to maintain a barrier known as the Honmoon, meaning “spirit gate.” Their goal is to create a Golden Honmoon and banish evil permanently. The story centers on their rivalry with the Saja Boys, a boy band made up of demons trying to weaken the Honmoon and harvest human souls to feed their demon king, Gwi-Ma.
In the three months since its release, the film has amassed more than 300 billion views on Netflix and held the No. 1 spot on the Netflix U.S. Top 10 for 15 consecutive weeks. It broke numerous records, with four songs in Billboard’s Hot 100 Top 10, making it the highest-charting soundtrack of 2025 on Billboard’s 200. The soundtrack has over 1.3 billion streams worldwide. The hit song “Your Idol,” performed by the Saja Boys, reached No. 1 on U.S. Spotify charts and broke BTS’s record for the highest-charting K-pop boy group song, surpassing “Dynamite,” which peaked at No. 3.
Kang said her biggest inspiration for the film was her love of Korean culture. “Growing up, everyone knew Chinese and Japanese culture well, but Koreans weren’t even on the map. Now that we are, I feel so much pride, and I just wanted to express this pride through a film that celebrated our culture—all aspects of it,” Kang said.
That pride is evident throughout the movie. The Saja Boys were inspired by Jeoseung-saja, grim reapers in Korean mythology, while HUNTR/X was based on Mudang, or shamans. Viewers can also spot a range of traditional demons, including Dokkaebi, the main demon, as well as Dalgyal Gwishin and Mul Gwishin. The fan-favorite tiger and magpie were based on Hojak-do, a subgenre of Korean folk art.
Kang was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to Toronto, Canada, when she was five. Even though she didn’t grow up in her home country, she remained deeply connected to her roots.
And while K-pop Demon Hunters continues to capture audiences around the world, Kang has hinted that this may not be the end of the story—she believes there could be a sequel.
