KPop Demon Hunters star on how her life mirrored main character Rumi’s journey

This is part of the Global Women series, where the BBC World Service shares extraordinary interviews and stories from around the world.

“I hated looking Asian, having blue eyes and blonde hair, because that was what was beautiful at the time,” says actress Arden Cho, who voices Rumi, star of Netflix’s chart-topping animated film KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, 40, tells about her childhood in Texas as the eldest daughter of a Korean immigrant family and her struggle to be accepted into American society.

In the film, which tells the story of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi must confront her identity as half-human, half-demon, and this resonated strongly with Cho when she first read the script.

“Being born in America, feeling American, but having people treat me like I wasn’t, trying to figure out my identity as an Asian-American, a Korean-American, and a woman,” she says.

These were all elements of his early life that reflected Rumi’s journey.

“I can honestly say that at different points in my life I hated myself so much and wanted to be someone else.

“What you see as a child shapes you, and I feel like I don’t see enough people who look like me.”

When KPop Demon Hunters was released on Netflix in June, it recorded 33 million views in just two weeks and entered the top 10 on Netflix charts in 93 countries. Acting on the set of the first Hollywood animated movie shot in Korea with Korean leads was “a dream come true” for Cho, but it also made her the kind of strong role model for Asian-American kids she didn’t have in her youth.

Cho said many Korean Americans told him it was “a very uplifting moment,” making them proud of their dual heritage and culture for the first time.

“I really, really feel like K-Pop has paved the way. K-beauty has had a huge impact on the love of Korea. But I think this movie is the one that helped it get to the point where everyone wants to go to Korea,” Cho says.

However, the film’s success was not guaranteed, and Cho said he felt that the team making the film “faced an uphill battle at times.”

“I think it sucks to say this, but whenever there’s an Asian-led project, people think it’s a risk,” he says.

That’s why, he says, when he took on the role, he made an effort to meet everyone working on the film in person.

The film was released against a backdrop of increased immigration raids in the US as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, sparking protests in many states.

Cho says that as an Asian-American living in the United States, “this is heartbreaking and disappointing.” “Immigrants made America what it is.”

Korean news outlets estimate that as many as 150,000 Korean immigrants without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who may be deported.

As an adult, Cho realized that the racism he experienced in his youth stemmed mainly from a lack of education, people not knowing what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

“But now in this day and age where I feel like the world and people need to know better, it’s beyond disappointing and I feel like sometimes we feel so hopeless,” she says.

That’s why it feels so special, he says, that KPop Demon Hunters can bring “hope, joy, and love to all these different communities.”

“Maybe that’s why it felt like the movie of the summer, because we needed some hope and something to bring us all together.”

The growth of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the film industry, raising the possibility that it could be used in the production of a movie like KPop Demon Hunters in the future.

Cho says he is aware that AI is already being used to replicate actors’ voices, but he wants to “keep hope in humanity” that people will still seek out art created by humans.

“Of course, I’m sure there will be AI actors and singers. I know they already exist. I know our voices are already manipulated, but I hope people will have some respect for, want, and love the real thing.”

KPop Demon Hunters also tops global music charts, with seven soundtrack tracks charting on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan work, and audiences around the world are demanding a sequel.

Cho said he wished he could answer the question of whether that would happen, but that he and his fans would have to wait for Netflix or Sony Pictures Entertainment, which produced the film, to greenlight the movie.

“I know there’s a lot of murmur, I’ve heard great things,” he says. “We’ll see, and if it didn’t happen I think everyone in the world would revolt.”

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