🔗 Share this article

This exclusive piece explores remarkable conversations and narratives from around the globe.

"{I disliked that I looked Asian, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful back then," says Arden Cho, who portrayed the lead character in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, forty, recalls 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 film, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio who must rescue humanity from dark powers, the protagonist has to accept her true nature as a hybrid being – and when Cho first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having people treat me like I'm not, grappling with my identity as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she says.

These elements were aspects of her early life that paralleled the character's path.

"Truthfully, at different points in my existence, I despised a lot of myself and I wanted to be a different person.

"During childhood, what you see influences your development and it seems I just didn't see enough people that look like me."

When it debuted on the platform in June, KPop Demon Hunters achieved millions of streams in just 14 days, and secured the highest positions of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To star in the pioneering animation set in Korea, with Asian protagonists, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for young Asian-Americans, the kind that was missing when she was young.

Cho notes many individuals of Korean descent have told her it's "a breath of fresh air", making them proud for the first time of their mixed background and culture.

"In my view K-Pop really, truly, has paved the way. Korean cosmetics has had a significant influence on Korea being loved. But I believe this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, inspiring travel to Korea, now," she comments.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and the actress admits she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"It seems it kind of sucks to mention this, but whenever there's an Asian-led project, it's perceived like it's a risk," she says.

So, when she accepted the part, she took steps to meet everyone working on the film face-to-face, she says.

The film was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the US as part of extensive removal policies, which triggered demonstrations in numerous regions.

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

Reports have estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand Korean immigrants without proper documentation, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be deported.

As an grown-up, she understood that the racism she had experienced when she was younger was largely due to a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"However today, in this day and age, when I feel like the society and people should know better, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes it appears there's a sense of despair," she expresses.

Because of this, it's particularly meaningful, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because there was a need for some hope and a unifying element all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the entertainment sector, raising the possibility that in future it could be used to produce a film like the animation.

Cho says she is aware that AI is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but aims to "maintain faith in people" that audiences will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I'm sure there will be AI actors and vocalists. I'm aware they're already here. I understand our voices are already being manipulated, but I trust people have some respect and desire for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its soundtrack appearing in the prestigious charts. It has its own fan creations, and viewers around the world are demanding a sequel.

She reveals she wishes she could answer the question of whether that will happen – but both she and fans will have to await the platform or the studio, which made the film, to approve the project.

"I know rumors are circulating, I've heard wonderful things," she shares. "So we shall see, and I think fans everywhere would riot if it didn't happen."

• Initiating discussions, building connections and challenging misinformation through articles, investigations, conversations and extraordinary stories