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"{I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn't have blue eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," says Arden Cho, who voiced the lead character in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.
The performer, forty, recalls her childhood in Texas, 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 save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to accept her identity as a hybrid being – and when she first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.
"Growing up in the US, identifying as American but having others view me like a foreigner, trying to figure out my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she says.
These elements were components of her formative years that paralleled Rumi's journey.
"I can honestly say, at different points in my life, I despised many parts of me and I longed to become a different person.
"As kids, your surroundings influences your development and I feel like I just didn't see enough people that look like me."
When it debuted on the platform in the summer, the animated feature registered millions of streams in just two weeks, and reached the top 10 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 Asian-American children, the type that she lacked when in her youth.
She notes many individuals of Korean descent have told her it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first instance of their mixed background and culture.
"I feel like Korean pop music really, truly, has paved the way. Korean cosmetics has had a significant influence on Korea being loved. But I feel like this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now," she comments.
But the movie's triumph was uncertain and Cho says she felt the production crew were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".
"It seems it's unfortunate to say this, but whenever there's an Asian-led project, people feel like it's a risk," she says.
So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to meet everyone working on the film face-to-face, she adds.
The movie was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in many states.
As an Asian-American residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Newcomers have made America what it is."
Reports have suggested that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be removed.
As an adult, she understood that the racism she had encountered when she was younger was largely due to a lack of education, as many were unaware what it signified to be of Asian descent.
"But now, in the modern era, when it seems the society and people should know better, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes it appears we feel so hopeless," she says.
Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".
"Maybe that's why it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because there was a need for positivity and a unifying element all together."
The growth of AI is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in future it could be used to produce a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.
The actress acknowledges she is aware that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but wants to "maintain faith in people" that audiences will still seek out art created by humans.
"Certainly, I'm sure there will be AI actors and singers. I know they're already here. I know our voices are already being altered, but I hope the public have some respect and want and love for something real."
KPop Demon Hunters has also been dominating the global music charts, with seven tracks from its soundtrack appearing in the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and viewers globally are demanding a follow-up.
She reveals she would like to confirm the inquiry of whether that will happen – but both she and fans will have to await the platform or the studio, which produced the movie, to approve the project.
"I know there's lots of murmurs, the feedback is positive," she shares. "So we shall see, and I think everyone in the world would riot if it didn't happen."
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