Animated Film KPop Demon Hunters Star Shares How Her Personal Path Reflected Main Character's Story

This feature delves into extraordinary interviews and stories from worldwide.

"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and blonde hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," reveals the actress, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's highly successful animated film, the K-pop themed animation.

The performer, 40, is describing her childhood in the southern state, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the movie, which tells the story of a girl group who must rescue humanity from dark powers, Rumi has to accept her identity as a hybrid being – and when she first read the script, this struck a deep chord.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having people treat me like I'm not, grappling with my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she explains.

These elements were aspects of her formative years that paralleled the character's path.

"Truthfully, at various stages in my existence, I hated many parts of me and I wanted to be someone else.

"During childhood, your surroundings shapes your development and I feel like I just didn't see sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters achieved 33 million views in just two weeks, and reached the top 10 of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To star in the pioneering animation set in Korea, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the kind that she lacked when in her youth.

Cho notes many individuals of Korean descent have expressed it's "such a refreshing moment", making them feel pride for the first time of their mixed background and cultural roots.

"In my view K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I feel like the film is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, inspiring travel to Korea, now," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and the actress says she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"It seems it's unfortunate to say this, but any time there's an Asian-led project, people feel like it's a risk," she reveals.

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to connect with the entire cast and crew face-to-face, she adds.

The film was launched amid heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in numerous regions.

As an Asian-American residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Newcomers have shaped the nation."

Reports have estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be deported.

As an adult, Cho came to realise that the prejudice she had experienced when in her youth was largely due to a knowledge gap, as people didn't know what it signified to be of Asian descent.

"However today, in the modern era, when I feel like the world and individuals ought to be more informed, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes I feel like we feel so hopeless," she says.

Because of this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that the film could bring "optimism and happiness to various groups".

"Perhaps this explains it became this movie of the summer, because there was a need for some hope and something to unite us as one."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the film industry, creating the potential that in future it could be used to make a film like the animation.

Cho acknowledges she is aware that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but wants to "maintain faith in people" that individuals will still pursue human-made creativity.

"Sure, I'm sure they're going to have digital performers and singers. I know they already exist. I know performers' voices are already being altered, but I trust people have some respect and want and love for authentic creations."

The film has also been leading the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its score appearing in the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan creations, and audiences around the world are calling for a sequel.

Cho reveals she would like to confirm the inquiry of if a sequel is planned – but both she and fans will have to await the platform or the studio, which made the film, to give it the green light.

"I'm aware there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I believe fans everywhere would protest if it didn't happen."

• Starting conversations, building connections and combating false narratives through features, investigations, interviews and extraordinary stories