The hit Netflix musical has opportunities for Christians to engage with neighbours over pop culture.
One of the most popular animated feature films in 2025 was K-Pop Demon Hunters, and over the course of this awards season it has been getting a lot of attention. At the Oscar Awards coming in March, it’s favoured to win best animated feature and also best original song (for “Golden”).
Last summer, when the movie was first released by Netflix, it quickly became the most viewed movie on Netflix ever. Pouncing upon that popularity, Netflix also released it into theatres for special engagement weekends where it also broke box office records.
Thanks in large part to the international interests of younger generations, animated features and anime in particular have become big business. This specific film has some unique themes that faith-based audiences have been drawn to, and Canadian audiences can be proud of.
Maggie Kang, one of the writers and directors of the film, is a Korean-Canadian immigrant who grew up in Toronto and graduated from Sheridan College. And the animation produced by Sony Pictures Imageworks was largely completed by Canadian artists in Vancouver and Montreal.
While the story anchors itself in the K-Pop music genre (if you’re still unfamiliar, think R&B from South Korea) and draws on Korean mythology, international audiences also resonate with universal themes of confronting shame and battling evil influences.
Upon receiving two Golden Globe awards, Maggie Kang shared with CTV how her Canadian roots informed her artistry and the film’s narrative. “Growing up in Toronto, it’s such a multicultural city, everybody is just encouraged to embrace their culture and to celebrate it.”
This cultural pride and distinction has become a unique point of convergence, not only for fans of K-Pop music and animation, but also for those exploring spiritual ideas from different walks of life.
The film follows a trio of K-Pop music stars who are secretly carrying an ancient mantle of protecting humanity from the forces of evil. Through the power of their united harmonies, a golden honmoon (or invisible shield) is formed and kept in place, as long as their music remains popular and shared by the masses.
It’s a poignant and creative plot point that shares similarities with the truth of Ephesians 6:12, acknowledging the invisible forces at work in this world, both good and bad.
The plot becomes complex when we discover early on (spoiler alert) that one of the lead singers, Rumi, is not only a demon hunter, but also part demon herself. For a lifetime she has been hiding her sinful scars from the world.
This tension leads to a meaningful confrontation between Rumi and her conflicted love-interest, Jinu, who says to her, “We can’t fix it if we don’t face it.” Rumi admits, “All these fears, it’s the demons talking.”
These are the sort of thoughtful and unique turns that set this film apart from most all-age animated fare. The visuals and songs make it accessible to many, but the maturity of the storytelling is what makes it meaningful.
A Korean missionary living in Indonesia was recently interviewed by Christianity Today and shared that the film “has allowed conversations about God and faith to emerge naturally among the young Indonesians he ministers to.”
Similarly here in Canada, when so few cultural narratives capture the shared interests of our neighbours, it’s exciting when something distinct like this popular film offers a lot of common ground for conversation – and offers followers of Jesus a unique opportunity to affirm the scriptural truths evident in the story and build on them with the hope we have in Christ.
Adam Kline is a pastor of intercultural missions and narrative theologian living in Belleville, Ont. Read his columns at loveismoving.ca/category/behind-screens. Poster: Netflix.