Among the numerous panels hosted during the 2027 LA Comic Con from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, two centered around Sony Animation’s “KPop Demon Hunters,” one year since the film’s release.
Set in Seoul, “KPop Demon Hunters” follows a fictional three-part K-Pop girl group, “HUNTR/X”, consisting of Rumi, Mira and Zoey. They are also demon hunters, and with their music, they battle demons and maintain order and balance in the world. Incorporating elements of Korean mythology and culture, the movie has garnered acclaim regarding Korean representation within animated media, including two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song
The “K-Pop Demon Hunters: One Year Fanniversary” Panel featured Henry Wong, Esther K. Chae, Wendell Dalit, and cosplayers Chanel Renee Morehead, Jessica Weyman and Niki Nguyen, with Kevin Winston as the panel lead. (Photo by Lynn Wee)
“KPop Demon Hunters: One Year Fanniversary” panel featured members of the production team and three well-known cosplayers within the KPop Demon Hunter cosplay community. Even after a year, fans’ enthusiasm for the movie was still evident: the panel spanned two rooms, and every seat had been taken, with more fans standing around the periphery and the back of the room.
The panel discussed the making of the movie, its growth and impact on communities and a sequel projected to be released in 2029. This is the second time that the panel had been hosted at L.A. Comic Con; a similar fan event panel had been hosted at the 2025 L.A. Comic Con, shortly after the movie’s release.
Henry Wong, a visual development artist from the United Kingdom, spoke on the panel about joining the production team.
“[The team] asked me why I wanted to be a part of a project, and I wanted to work on more Asian representation in Western media at that time,” Wong said. “I’m pretty lucky that I’ve been able to work on a lot of projects, but not many that have Asian people in it.”
Wong said the film’s representation went beyond the characters and actors.
“We used a lot of traditional Korean colors,” Wong said, with regard to initial visual inspiration for the movie. “We referenced a lot of shoujo anime and manga, especially, a lot of early Korean pop culture had a lot of Japanese media influences because that’s just what was shown on TV at the time.”
Wong noted the K-Pop groups and other features that served as inspiration for the movie. “One I ended up liking by the end of the production was ATEEZ,” Wong said. Other groups that had served as inspiration included BTS and BLACKPINK.
Wendell Dalit, the art director of “KPop Demon Hunters,” said that the film was his biggest challenge. He said he had not been a big K-Pop fan before producing the movie.
“Something that challenged me was that I wasn’t a big K-pop fan,” Dalit said. “Having to learn a lot of it, it was really challenging. It was a lot of work, but I’m happy it did because I got into a new fanbase and got into a new thing, and it was really fun.”
Dalit was responsible for designing all of the musical sequences.
“‘Your Idol’ was definitely my favourite,” Dalit said. “The thing I’m most proud of is, at the fan event, when the Saja Boys walk in, and Abby’s having the Ajummas’ sign, the drawing of his abs. Yeah, that was my drawing.”
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Dressed in one of the Ajumma’s (meaning a married or middle-aged woman in Korean) iconic pink shade headband, fingerless gloves and mint-green jacket was Esther K. Chae, an assistant professor of acting at USC.
“My role in the production was ADR, group looping and specifically covering voices of the Ajummas, the three super fans for the Saja Boys,” Chae said. ADR stands for Automated Dialogue Replacement, and it is a process that covers any voice sound that is not a part of the main characters.
Chae was at the first fan panel at the 2025 L.A. Comic Con.
“It really is a cultural shift in regard to what is possible,” Chae said when asked about watching its growth over one year. “The artistic world and growth, and the impact to the world in regards to the theme of trying to find their authentic and true self just resonated across the world. It’s pretty phenomenal to see this cultural shift and then expansion.”
HUNTR/X cosplayers Chanel Renee Morehead, Jessica Weyman and Niki Nguyen offered their own perspectives not only as fans of the movie, but as prominent members of the “KPop Demon Hunters” community. The trio met and became friends through cosplaying HUNTR/X, with Morehead as Mira, Weyman as Rumi and Nguyen as Zoey.
As content creators, the three became known for cosplaying HUNTR/X by simply showing up at conventions. They are also known to many as “McDonald’s HUNTR/X,” having been featured in a promotion of an adult meal collaboration between McDonald’s and KPop Demon Hunters.
Even after a year, “KPop Demon Hunters” is still popular, especially amongst children. Nguyen works at a company that sends characters (such as princesses or superheroes) to birthday parties.
“This is the phenomenon that we like to call ‘The new Elsa from Frozen’’,” Nguyen said. “There’s so much demand for Asian-Americans to be in this performing space. Like, this is not an opportunity that we’ve ever had before. [...] The doors that were opened by ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is kind of crazy.”
Its success had exceeded initial expectations. Weyman, who is a part of the International Animated Film Society Association, had the opportunity to see the movie at Netflix’s headquarters. At the time, the movie had yet to win any awards and had not even had any official merchandise.
“[They] had no idea that it was going to become this massive. I mean, they sold the movie to Netflix. They thought this movie was straight to stream,” Weyman said.
“The Cast of KPop Demon Hunters” was a panel consisting of voice actors from the movie: Arden Cho (voice of Rumi), May Hong (voice of Mira) and samUIL Lee (voice of Romance). Their discussion of mid-production moments gave fans insight into not just the production process itself, but also revealed subtle details that the creators added to positively and accurately represent Korean culture.
“I love all the details that they put into, like the banchan, like side dishes, and just all the food. I just feel like it makes our food look so beautiful and delicious,” Cho said.
Hong noted another detail.
“I was watching a Korean YouTuber’s commentary on the movie, and they were pointing out how much of the details of Seoul were perfect and there were things I wouldn’t have noticed had I not watched that video,” Hong said with a laugh.
As an animated movie set within a culturally specific narrative, paired with important themes and lessons that can be learned by all, “KPop Demon Hunters” is not only a commercial success story of a movie with diverse representation in animation, but its positive social impact is evident on Asian communities.
“I know they’re not princesses, but I feel like HUNTR/X is kind of a K-Pop princess group, right? They’re like a modern-day [equivalent],” Cho said. “So I think to get to see young children grow up wanting to be a Korean character is really special.”
Edited by Justin Ha