The recently released animated film "Kpop Demon Hunters" on Netflix has been a resounding success. The film ranked 2nd on the global Netflix chart with 9.2 million views in the week, and is still a hot topic to this day.
As an American film, Kpop Devilsinner borrowed Korean idol culture to build content.
Set in a world where Kpop idols perform on stage and are both evil-hunting warriors, the film follows the 3-member girl group Huntr/x (Rumi, Mira, Zoey), as they face the forces of darkness that are plotting to swallow up human souls. Their opponent is the boy band Saja Boys, which has members who are demons.
As soon as the film was released, it received the attention of Kpop fans. They discuss enthusiastically about the people who voice the characters, the songs of the virtual Kpop group in the film.
In particular, the idol image in the film reminds the audience of real idols in real life, and there has been a lot of speculation about Kpop stars who are the inspiration for the film.
In particular, the character Rumi of Huntr/x was compared to Jennie (Blackpink). Many media outlets and Kpop fans commented that Rumi's appearance is very similar to Jennie. Therefore, the rumor that Jennie was the inspiration for the character Rumi has spread widely.
Recently, the film's director, Maggie Kang, shared a post about this rumor and issued a denial statement.
The female director wrote: Rumi is inspired by many female leads, some of whom are not even Kpop. She further explained that, in interviews, she and the crew only said "right" when the MCs proactively mentioned the idols' names as inspiration for the characters, but that was not all.
Maggie Kang emphasized, the inspiration for Huntr/x and Saja Boys members is endless.
However, the female director's actions were criticized by Jennie's fans. Because there are many other idols such as Jimin (BTS), Cha Eun Woo ( Astro), Yeonjun (TXT) on the speculation list, Maggie Kang shared a separate article about Rumi and Jennie to refute.
Many opinions say that the director and producer are taking advantage of the idols' names to communicate for the film.
Meanwhile, the soundtrack songs of "The Devils In Search of Kpop" are causing a fever. Many songs such as "Golden", "Your Idol", "How It's done", " Takedown", " Free" performed by artists who have worked or been trained in the Kpop industry have entered the Spotify and Apple Music global charts.
Famous Korean actors such as Lee Byung Hun and Ahn Hyo Seop also attracted attention when they were known as the voice actors for the film. Ahn Hyo Seop plays Jinu, the leader of the Saja Boys group.
Sharing about the factor that makes "The Kpop Devilsinner" different from other cartoons, Ahn Hyo Seop said, "I think the biggest difference is the emotion that plays a central role in the story.
In many cartoons, music only plays the role of background. But in this film, music, story and emotions are all connected. It's like a live performance and a stronger presence on stage."
