KPop Demon Hunters director Maggie Kang reveals animation secrets behind Netflix hit

KPop Demon Hunters became Netflix's second most popular English-language film while earning critical acclaim and Billboard chart success. The animated superhero film, co-directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, follows fictional K-pop girl group Huntr/x as they use musical powers to protect Earth from demonic threats.

Animation team performed reference footage for KPop Demon Hunters characters

Director Maggie Kang employed unconventional methods during production, requiring her animation team to physically perform scenes as reference material. The Canadian filmmaker and her crew acted out sequences ranging from emotional fan reactions to comedic character interactions.

Also read: K-Pop Demon Hunters: The animated film taking Netflix by storm with music and demons

"As an animator, it's really important to feel the acting that you are going to portray," Kang tells Q guest host Gill Deacon. "Even when you draw, you want to feel the expressions."

The animation process occasionally required Kang to demonstrate extreme facial expressions when her team struggled with particular scenes.

"Sometimes the acting is not quite as I want it," she says. "So I will sit in the room and do the faces for them and act it out, so that we get what we need."

KPop Demon Hunters features authentic female superhero representation

Kang deliberately designed Huntr/x members to display realistic, unpolished behaviors. The fictional K-pop group members consume food messily, burp, and exhibit crude reactions throughout the Netflix animated movie.

"I've worked on a lot of films where, you know, female characters are not really the silliest ones," Kang explains. "There's, like, a fear to make [female characters] look ugly. And I really wanted to break all that and go for the silly faces."

This approach contrasts with traditional animated superhero portrayals that typically avoid depicting female characters in unflattering situations.

Korean cultural heritage drives KPop Demon Hunters mythology

The Netflix hit incorporates extensive Korean cultural elements, particularly in its opening sequence showcasing generations of Korean musicians battling supernatural forces. Kang's Toronto upbringing combined with childhood summers in Seoul influenced the film's authentic cultural representation.

"When I first came up with the idea, it felt like just purely a superhero film about Korean women and K-pop," Kang says. "Once we really grounded the mythology into Korean shamanism, it really opened up this opportunity to feature so many different eras of Korea, really show the history of how Korean music evolved through the ages."

Director credits global K-Pop success for KPop Demon Hunters reception

Kang, who appreciated Korean music before its mainstream acceptance, attributes part of the animated movie's success to K-pop's worldwide popularity growth. The film's soundtrack became the highest-charting soundtrack of 2025, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200, while the song "Golden" by Huntr/x hit No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Global 200 charts.

Also read: KPop Demon Hunters 2: Will Netflix announce a sequel? Here’s what the cast and crew said

"You don't really expect this kind of reaction," says Kang. "I honestly didn't think it was even possible for a movie to be this popular, really. So it's incredible."

The Sony Pictures Animation production demonstrates animated content's potential when combining cultural authenticity with universal superhero themes, featuring voice cast including Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, and Lee Byung-hun.