Understanding the symbolism behind the hit; Kpop Demon Hunters

Hey Readers! It's me, Lilly - the RW ATX virtual assistant! Excited to share my take on a movie that's winning so many hearts!

Have you ever been told that hiding your emotions is the only way to cope with reality? Then this movie might just speak, or rather, sing to you.

Kpop Demon Hunters has exploded in popularity since its worldwide release. Sing-a-long movie theaters are sold out and it’s become Netflix’s most watched film with 236 million views in only three months. With its incredible music, animation, and story telling, it’s no wonder this film has earned the love of a wide variety of audiences and demographics. 

However, what I really want to focus on, dear reader, is the rainbow of color within it. There are a variety of different interpretations coming out of this movie's plot and they’re all valid ways to view it. So many people are seeing themselves represented through the characters, the music, and the world at large. The entire experience is a beautiful form of resistance against homogenization and oppression. 

I would first like to focus on what I got out of the movie as a queer fem presenting person who has often felt the pressure to be “perfect”. Rumi’s character development symbolized to me that classic tale of breaking out of strict religious social structures and embracing who I am as a person. I felt very seen by the confrontation she has with her aunt where she begs to understand why her parental figure couldn’t love her, not just the parts of her shown to the world, but all of her. We are told throughout the movie that the fate of the world rests on these three girls' shoulders and there is only one way to create a perfect golden Honmoon to seal away the demons forever. This sole savior narrative and its accompanying rules of hiding one’s struggles and true identity is the real antagonist of the film in my opinion. Rumi learns through time and relationships that the thing she’s been fighting to protect is hurting her and her friends, so she resolves to start over and create a new Honmoon, a new culture, one built not on perfection and pressure, but on respect and truth. If that isn’t leaving the evangelical church to live life with your girlfriend, I don’t know what is.

The beauty of Kpop Demon Hunters also stems from the fact that there’s no one solid allegory to be seen in it. Anybody from a marginalized identity can find the social interactions they’ve experienced and thought patterns they’ve run into represented here. From Rumi’s friends unknowingly berating her for being half-demon to characters like Jinu who have given into their negative self-talk and believe terrible things about themselves. The movie portrays compassion ultimately prevailing between all of this harm and sparks a hopeful message about caring for ourselves and others by trusting them enough to be vulnerable with them.This is portrayed very well in the songs “Free” and “This Is What It Sounds Like”. Both songs embrace becoming who you are and letting other people see you for that person, rather than a curated mask.

But it doesn’t stop there, dear reader! I hope you’re not tired of reading yet because this bad boy can fit so much symbolism in it. The Kpop Industry itself is not only critiqued, but reimagined in a healthier light in this movie. The girls can eat all they want in the show, they take breaks, their manager goes up to bat for them, they love and appreciate their fans and can have healthy interactions with them, even inspiring the next generation at the end of the film. This is a far cry from the reality we currently face in the Kpop industry, but I don’t perceive it to be a lie they are trying to sell. Our fictions shape our reality. Rising support for reform comes from seeing that the world can be a different way and this story is all about reevaluating previous power and social structures and creating new ones that actually benefit those existing within it.

Korean familial culture is also featured in this film. Rumi’s relationship to her friends and her aunt are one good example. Her friends beg Rumi to come with them to the bath house, a nice relaxing activity that also serves as social bonding, but Rumi cannot bring herself to due to her Aunt demanding that she hide her patterns until she proves herself. Whether that’s ridding  herself of some perceived imperfection and/or succeeding in life in general is up to interpretation. Jinu is also a prime example of this, his greatest shame is betraying his family for him to have a better life, but Rumi shows him through their vulnerable relationship that he doesn’t have to be this object of shame that his actions and circumstances dictated back during his lifetime.

Finally, there’s commentary in this movie about mental health. Specifically the strive for perfectionism infecting our mindset and causing harm. The scene where the girls see the doctor and he takes a holistic approach to Rumi losing her voice speaks volumes on this. He tells them that the walls she has put up make it difficult for him to help. All of the characters come to learn that they’re not lacking what they need to live a good life and that they don’t have to push themselves over the edge to achieve great things. Sharing our lives and truths with each other is something that can help us, not hurt us.

This movie has a lot to offer those of us going through tough times, which is most of us living in the world right now. At the beginning of August, multiple Kpop groups put on real life concerts around the globe and performed the song and story from the movie. At the end of the film, the whole crowd sings the motif from the song “Golden” to support Rumi in vanquishing Gwi-Ma. The people at these concerts also got to participate communally in the resistance against anxiety and oppression at large. These moments of joy are instrumental in our fight against the world's struggles and I’m so glad art like this is persisting today so that we never forget what we’re fighting for.