Trending badgeTrendingPosted 46 minutes agoSubscribe to Screen Time NewsletterCaret DownI Genuinely Can't Watch "KPop Demon Hunters" The Same Way Again After Reading These 21 FactsBLACKPINK, ITZY, TWICE, and more were all inspirations for the character designs and music for HUNTR/X in "KPop Demon Hunters."by Nora DominickBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink Do you love all things TV and movies? Subscribe to the Screen Time newsletter to get your weekly dose of what to watch next and what everyone is flailing over from someone who watches everything! BuzzFeed There are obviously some BIG spoilers ahead! 1. First, director and writer Maggie Kang thought of the idea for KPop Demon Hunters because she wanted to create a movie that "was set in Korean culture" and acts as a "love letter to K-pop and [her] Korean roots." So, she researched mythology and demonology in Korean culture and thought that a story about it could make an animated movie "visually unique from what we've seen in mainstream media." Netflix She told Animation Magazine, "I've also always wanted to do a group of amazing kick-ass women. [Production designer] Helen Chen draws these amazing, beautiful female superheroes who are not overly sexualized but still very strong and feminine. I thought about a daily job that they could do, and Kpop just came to mind and became the pitching point of the movie." 2. Maggie Kang's other main objective was to portray women in ways that she's "always wanted to see women portrayed, especially in a superhero movie." So, she wanted them to be "funny and silly and goofy and messy, as well as cool and aspirational and sexy." Netflix What made the characters of Rumi, Mira, and Zoey fun to create was that their on-stage and off-stage personas were able to be so different. While they are a polished and united group on stage, they are able to be flawed behind the scenes. 3. It took roughly nine years to get KPop Demon Hunters made, with Maggie Kang revealing that Rumi was actually originally created for another project by her partner Radford Sechrist, who is a story artist and animator, who is best known for creating Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. Netflix In a Reddit AMA, Kang said, "The character of Rumi was created 9yrs ago, for another project- specifically my partner Rad Sechrist's Plastic Walrus. KPop was born in June or July of 2018. When we created this KPop IP I loved the design of Rumi so I plucked her out and made her the MC of KPop." 4. The film also drew inspiration from Bong Joon Ho films, with Maggie Kang telling Animation Magazine, "Another thing I wanted to pull off is similar to how Bong Joon Ho juggles so many different tones in his films to where they feel very animated. They're very comical but they're very dark, and so we try to do that in our film." Netflix Music videos, Korean photography, concert lighting, anime, and K-dramas were also inspirations for KPop Demon Hunters. 5. For HUNTR/X, early inspiration for their character designs and music came from 2NE1, BLACKPINK, ITZY, TWICE, and more. The film worked with THEBLACKLABEL, a South Korean record label founded by Teddy Park and Kush on the music, so naturally their recording artists, like BLACKPINK, were big influences for HUNTR/X's look and sound. Frazer Harrison / Getty Images for Coachella Maggie Kang told Mashable, "Teddy and the team really wanted to create something new, with its own sound and identity. I knew I wanted the girls to be tough. They're not just idols, they're warriors. That alone gives them a different energy." 6. As for the Saja Boys, the team drew inspiration from Tomorrow X Together, BTS, Stray Kids, ATEEZ, BIGBANG, Monsta X, and more for both the look and sound of the band, but also the fans who become infatuated with the group. Kevin Winter / Getty Images for dcp Speaking to Forbes, Maggie Kang said, "There are many more that served as inspiration - both in and out of K-pop, but they all follow the same archetype. There's always a muscular one who shows off their abs, one who was the romantic type, and the baby of the group." 7. For the Saja Boys, while they all have their own distinct styles, they actually "all share the same CG body, except for Abby Saja, because he's a little bit bigger," according to Maggie Kang. She added, "We bulked him up like 20%." Netflix 8. Jinu does have his own distinct look from the rest of the Saja Boys, and it was inspired by K-drama actors Cha Eun-woo and Nam Joo-hyuk. The goal was to have Jinu have a very classic Korean look, which was why they gave him dark hair. Netflix, Marc Piasecki / WireImage / Getty Images Jinu was voiced by Ahn Hyo-seop, who is also a popular actor and singer. 9. Meanwhile, Korean model Ahn So Yeon was the inspiration for Mira, who is the more fashion-forward character of the trio. Unlike with the Saja Boys, where they all look relatively the same, Maggie Kang's objective for HUNTR/X was that they all have very different looks from each other. Netflix, Steve Gra
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I Genuinely Can't Watch "KPop Demon Hunters" The Same Way Again After Reading These 21 Facts
July 22, 2025
5 months ago
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