Nowadays, when K-Pop is brought up, most can’t help but bring up the film K-pop Demon Hunters. The 2025 animated musical action film streamed on Netflix, was produced by Sony Pictures Animation, and was a huge hit. Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the film draws inspiration from Korean culture, mythology, and anime. It became one of Netflix’s most-watched animated films, with a soundtrack that made Billboard history by having four songs in the top 10 simultaneously. Ages of all types all over the world fell in love with K-Pop Demon Hunters, it set their standard. For many, it was their first introduction to K-Pop.
Although hugely popular, K-Pop Demon Hunters has faced backlash for several allegations. For example, they draw criticism for dehumanizing stereotypes rather than empowering the culture. Fans criticized the depiction of boy groups, inspired by real boy groups, as antagonistic monsters, while others criticized the shallow, stylized, and Westernized portrayal of Korean culture. The plot, featuring girl group Huntrix(inspired by girl groups like IVE, BlackPink, TWICE, etc.) fighting demonized Saja Boys (inspired by groups like BTS, TXT, Stray Kids, etc.), was criticized for casting Asian men as villains/demons, which some saw as an issue of racial stereotyping and a narrative dehumanization.
One of the main drawbacks to how large this film has become is that many new fans of K-Pop are disappointed or surprised that things aren’t the same as in the movie. Coming from the movie, fans are surprised to see that, for example, unlike Huntrix or the Saja Boys, most K-Pop has more Korean in it than just a few lines. Although many groups make English or Japanese versions of their songs, and they usually have several English lines in original songs(depending on the group/style you’re listening to), most groups have more Korean in their songs than what was represented in the movie. That’s why it’s called K-Pop, or Korean pop. While most groups that are globalizing will release songs fully in English, Huntrix and the Saja Boys were stationed in South Korea, so it seems unlikely that their songs would be almost entirely in English.
Another qualm about K-Pop Demon Hunters is its songs being undeniably similar to popular, already existing, K-Pop songs. For example, the song “Golden” drew comparisons to IVE’s “I Am” and BTS’s “Butter.” Also, with “How It’s Done,” users noted similarities to Stray Kids’ “Domino” or Blackpink’s “The Girls”. The soundtrack was designed to sound authentic, with producers who have worked with actual K-pop artists, but some argue that they are just too similar and feel more like a watered down western version of the alleged original song. Despite social media accusations and connections, there are no official reports of plagiarism lawsuits.
Another misrepresentation was the very first scene, where it shows the three girls eating a massive amount of food, apparently to maximize carbs before heading onto stage. If there’s one stereotype about K-Pop idols, it’s not that they’re over eaters. It’s a well known harsh fact that slim figures are a must for K-Pop idols, and they are not allowed to have even a little bit of fat unless they’re filming a specific advertisement or video. To achieve that, many K-pop idols go through extreme diets to lose weight in a short period.
An example of an extreme diet that TWICE’s Momo spoke about was when she was asked to lose 7kg in 7 days(that’s about 15 pounds). To achieve this seemingly impossible goal, she ate only ice cubes for 7 days. She spent most of the time in the gym, and even worried that the ice cubes would make her fat. She’s even said that she thought she wouldn’t wake up again when she tried to sleep.
Typically, a common opposition to K-Pop is male groups are typically more feminine in looks and their songs than what Western culture accepts. Western culture likes to see their male celebrities as masculine and K-Pop groups tend to defy Western norms. Compared to popular American artists, Korean male idols are more flexible with their use of makeup, sense of fashion, and music concepts. In the movie, all five of the boys were never seen applying makeup. Although it’s not a huge thing being overlooked, it’s still a misrepresentation that the boy group would never be seen applying makeup or continue wearing the same outfit nearly the entire movie for all promotions and performances(save for one performance near the end of the film).
The last thing I’d like to go over is the way fans were represented during the movie. It is a well-known fact that K-Pop fans are enthusiastic to say the least. They can be quite disrespectful of artists, crowding them in airports and crowding them anytime they go out of their dorm/hotel/etc. Many idols wear hats, masks, and more to avoid being noticed, but in the film both Huntrix and the Saja Boys were able to go out without masks. At one point Huntrix was seen pulling their clothes up slightly to disguise themselves, but Rumi(from Huntrix) and Jinu(from the Saja Boys) meet up several times in public without wearing disguises of any sort. Although they had met up in more private places that weren’t heavily populated, it’s still a misrepresentation that they, being part of largely popular groups, wouldn’t at least put on masks to go out in the country that they are most popular.
Overall, there are several points that can be brought to attention for obvious misrepresentations of the K-Pop industry and Korean culture from the film K-Pop Demon Hunters. The movie had a largely positive response, and it was many fans first introduction to the K-Pop culture. Since it was, in a way, sort of a Western version of K-Pop, many new fans are disappointed and have spoken out about their disinterest in actual K-Pop. In conclusion, K-Pop Demon Hunters’ feminist branding and global reach was a global phenomenon, but there was room for improvements on how the industry was shown.
