8 reasons why the world has been obsessed with K-pop Demon Hunters

K-pop Demon Hunters is all the rage in the current pop culture scenario, but how and why has this animated film managed to win hearts around the world? Let’s discuss!

Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, K-pop Demon Hunters revolves around a famous K-pop girl group called ‘Huntrix’ which consists of three members. Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zoey (Ji Young-Yoo) , juggle life as K-pop idols in the day and demon hunters in the night. Their secret double life is something that has been passed down generations to keep the peace in the world and protect humanity from supernatural creatures. But when the demons find a way to the K-pop world with their very own version of a K-pop group called Saja Boys, it becomes a rather tough challenge for Hunters to keep the world safe from them. As Rumi, the lead singer of the group, navigates her way through her insecurities, staying relevant as a K-pop idol and almost falling in love with one of the Saja Boys aka Jinu (Ahn Hyo-Seop), the plot thickens and keeps you entertained till the last frame!

With an entertaining plot that also has a poignant moral to give us at the end, K-pop Demon Hunters has become the movie of the summer. It brought together K-pop fans as well as audiences who enjoy lighthearted stories which covers a huge demographic around the world. From recreating choreographies to making song edits along with BTS’ discography, the film has completely taken over social media!

Also Read: POV: How social media became my ticket to K-culture and feeling closer to BTS!

Here’s why the film is receiving an outpour for love from the world!

The whole plot about K-pop music saving the world from demons feels like a metaphor for how it saves us on days we feel like we have hit rock bottom

As an avid K-pop fan, I often see myself turning to K-pop music when I am at my lowest. The entirety of the K-pop world is designed in a way to constantly give you that much needed serotonin boost and make you forget about your problems. Similarly, in K-pop Demon Hunters we see the Huntrix saving the real world from demons through their songs, creating a golden safety net that stops the demons from coming through. Whenever we’re at a K-pop concert, be it online or offline, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t felt that safety net through performances and songs that take you to a whole new world!

K-pop idols are seen as heroes IRL and it just adds to that fantasy

The term K-pop ‘idol’ itself stems from the fact that they aren’t just mere celebrities, they are people an entire fandom idolizes, almost giving them a hero like image. The movie just adds to that fantasy and boosts this idea of K-pop idols being here to save the day!

It nails its portrayal of the K-pop world and the rise and fall of fandoms

From the lightsticks, to the merch, to the songs, to the way the stage is built at the concert, to Huntrix and Saja Boys’ outfits and even how they are during rehearsals, it brings the K-pop world to life on-screen in the most accurate way possible. If you’re a K-pop fan you’d relate to so many things shown throughout the film and it’ll guarantee leave a smile on your face as you relate to all the fans shown in the movie. It also portrays the reality of how fast things get replaced in the K-pop world. One group’s downfall is another group’s win and overnight someone could be where you once were. The fans who once loved and were loyal to one K-pop group could easily fall in love with another. All it takes is one catchy song sometimes!

It perfectly blends Korean folklore along with modern day K-pop

The Saja Boys representing the grim reapers or the magpie and tiger roaming as a combo are all references from Korean folklore. The makers have effortlessly weaved them into the world of K-pop and that’s what sets it apart from anything that we have seen in this genre before!

The songs feel better than most K-pop songs today so being number one on charts and breaking records totally makes sense!

Whether you’ve watched the movie or not, Soda Pop is something that has made it to everyone’s feed and has the whole world grooving on it. Even songs by Huntrix like Golden or Takedown are trending charts from around the world. The entire album is no less than that of a K-pop group and has some of Korea’s biggest pop singers like TWICE voice some of the songs in the album!

Huntrix and The Saja Boys have us drawing comparisons to what their real life inspirations could be!

Since the mannerisms of the K-pop idols in the movie are too uncanny to idols IRL, it has us all wondering who the makers had in mind as they brought these characters to life. Based on discussions online, Huntrix are being compared to TWICE or Blackpink and The Saja Boys have their name attached to so many male idols. From BTS’ Jungkook to Felix from Stray Kids or Mingyu from Seventeen, there’s barely a male K-pop idol who hasn’t made it to the list.

The story felt like a breath of fresh air when feel-good movies are at an all time low!

While there are sci-fi arcs, K-pop Demon Hunters at its core is a feel-good teen movie that we’d love to watch over the weekend. From cute K-pop idols, to rival groups battling it out on stage, it feels like a modern day High School Musical and it feels good to see the genre make a solid comeback in an era of constant dark themes and action!

It replicates a lot of iconic locations in Seoul to the T!

From the iconic Namsan Tower to the traditional Hanoks in Bukchon Hanok Village to Jamsil Stadium, the movie replicates a lot of popularly known tourist attractions. All the scenes shot at these locations bring back so much nostalgia for anyone who has already been to Seoul and it only makes you miss the city more than you already do!

Have you watched the film yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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