K-POP DEMON HUNTERS
8.0 / 10
Is K-POP Demon Hunters the biggest streaming hit of 2025?
It’s undeniable. K-Pop Demon Hunters is the first movie in Netflix history to peak five weeks after release — 106 million views and counting, five songs in the Billboard 200, a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and enough juice to get all the middle-aged guys in my group chat to watch it this week — independent and unprompted of each other.
So shout-out to Sage and Rose, my girlfriend’s daughters, for insisting I watch this movie with them, and let’s dive into this cultural phenomenon.
As a proud Korean-American, born in Gangnam, I’m always gonna be a sucker for the expansion of Korean soft power. But objectively speaking, K-Pop Demon Hunters is a good time. The animation borrows from the kinetic hand-drawn-meets-CGI vibe of Into the Spiderverse, but with a unique K-Pop gloss. And the story effectively combines elements of Korean mythology with Hollywood coming-of-age stories to make it irresistible for kids and entertaining for adults.
On top of the visual eye candy, the songs are genuinely catchy and fun. The day after watching it, “Golden” was stuck in my head on loop and resulted in an impromptu sing-along with the girls, who’d memorized every single word of every single song in the entire movie… which is really impressive considering they’re 9 and 7.
But what I liked most about the movie was the underlying message. It’s a story about accepting all the parts of yourself – even the ones you might not understand or be proud of – and realizing that hiding the truth is untenable and can cause fractures both within and with those closest to you. For a movie that often veers into immature and sophomoric humor, which to be clear, I love, it’s a pretty sophisticated message for children, and one I can definitely get behind.
Should you watch it on Netflix? If you have kids, you probably already have, multiple times. But if you’re into animation, Korean pop culture, or just appreciate a good visual feast—you’ll enjoy it too. Even if you’re not a kid—or a K-pop stan—you’ll find yourself humming ‘Golden’ days after the credits roll.
Overall? Good songs, good visuals and a heartwarming story. 8 out of 10.
It’s undeniable. K-Pop Demon Hunters is the first movie in Netflix history to peak five weeks after release — 106 million views and counting, five songs in the Billboard 200, a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and enough juice to get all the middle-aged guys in my group chat to watch it this week — independent and unprompted of each other.
So shout-out to Sage and Rose, my girlfriend’s daughters, for insisting I watch this movie with them, and let’s dive into this cultural phenomenon.
As a proud Korean-American, born in Gangnam, I’m always gonna be a sucker for the expansion of Korean soft power. But objectively speaking, K-Pop Demon Hunters is a good time. The animation borrows from the kinetic hand-drawn-meets-CGI vibe of Into the Spiderverse, but with a unique K-Pop gloss. And the story effectively combines elements of Korean mythology with Hollywood coming-of-age stories to make it irresistible for kids and entertaining for adults.
On top of the visual eye candy, the songs are genuinely catchy and fun. The day after watching it, “Golden” was stuck in my head on loop and resulted in an impromptu sing-along with the girls, who’d memorized every single word of every single song in the entire movie… which is really impressive considering they’re 9 and 7.
But what I liked most about the movie was the underlying message. It’s a story about accepting all the parts of yourself – even the ones you might not understand or be proud of – and realizing that hiding the truth is untenable and can cause fractures both within and with those closest to you. For a movie that often veers into immature and sophomoric humor, which to be clear, I love, it’s a pretty sophisticated message for children, and one I can definitely get behind.
Should you watch it on Netflix? If you have kids, you probably already have, multiple times. But if you’re into animation, Korean pop culture, or just appreciate a good visual feast—you’ll enjoy it too. Even if you’re not a kid—or a K-pop stan—you’ll find yourself humming ‘Golden’ days after the credits roll.
Overall? Good songs, good visuals and a heartwarming story. 8 out of 10.