🔗 Share this article

This feature delves into extraordinary interviews and narratives from worldwide.

"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I lacked blue eyes and blonde hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," says Arden Cho, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's chart-topping movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

The performer, forty, is describing her early years in the southern state, as the eldest daughter of Korean immigrant parents and her journey toward belonging in American society.

In the movie, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio 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, identifying as American but having people treat me like I'm not, trying to figure out my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a female," she says.

These were all components of her early life that paralleled the character's path.

"I can honestly say, at different points in my existence, I despised many parts of me and I wanted to be someone else.

"As kids, what you see influences your development and I feel like I just didn't see enough people that shared my appearance."

When it debuted on the platform in the summer, the animated feature achieved 33 million views in just 14 days, and secured the highest positions of the streaming rankings in 93 countries. To star in the pioneering animation with a Korean setting, with Korean leads, was for Cho "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the kind that she lacked when in her youth.

She notes many Korean-Americans have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first time of their mixed background and culture.

"I feel like K-Pop really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had such a big impact on global appreciation for Korea. But I believe the film is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and the actress admits she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"I feel like it kind of sucks to say this, but any time there's an Asian-led project, it's perceived 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 movie was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of mass deportation efforts, which triggered demonstrations in many states.

As an Asian-American residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Immigrants have made America what it is."

Korean news sources have estimated that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including adopted children, are among those who could be deported.

As an adult, she understood that the prejudice she had experienced when she was younger 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 society and individuals should know better, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes it appears there's a sense of despair," she expresses.

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 we just needed some hope and something to unite us all together."

The growth of AI is a major concern for the entertainment sector, raising the possibility that in future it could be used to make a movie like the animation.

Cho acknowledges she is conscious that technology is already being used to replicate performers' vocals, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that individuals will still pursue human-made creativity.

"Sure, I believe they're going to have AI actors and singers. I'm aware they already exist. I know performers' voices are already being altered, but I hope the public have appreciation and want and love for something real."

The film has also been leading the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its soundtrack featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and audiences around the world are calling for a follow-up.

Cho reveals she would like to confirm the inquiry of if a sequel is planned – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the platform or the production company, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I'm aware rumors are circulating, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I believe everyone in the world would riot if there wasn't."

• Starting conversations, fostering relationships and challenging misinformation through articles, in-depth reports, interviews and extraordinary stories