Netflix Animated Film “KPop Demon Hunters” Nominated for Two Awards at the 98th Academy Awards

Netflix’s original animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” has been nominated simultaneously for the Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song categories at the 98th Academy Awards, achieving an unprecedented Oscar success for a K-pop-based work. According to the final nominee list released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on the 22nd (local time), the film is competing in the Best Animated Feature category alongside “Zootopia 2,” “Elio,” “Argo,” and “Little Miss Sunshine.” Its original song “Golden” is up for Best Original Song along with “I Ride to You” from “Cinema: Sinners” and “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!”

Since its release on Netflix in June of last year, “KPop Demon Hunters” has gathered near-global frenzy-like popularity, becoming one of Netflix’s highest-grossing titles ever. The film depicts the story of K-pop girl group HUNTR/X communicating with their fans while fighting against evil spirits. Following wins for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards in January, it also received awards in the same categories at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.

The film’s theme song “Golden” was co-composed by EJAE, who plays the female protagonist Rumi, and sung directly by HUNTR/X, a group consisting of EJAE, Audrey Nuuna, and Lay Aimi. This song topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and also reached number one on the UK Official Chart. This is the first time a K-pop song has been nominated in the Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards.

Directed jointly by Canadian-Korean director Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the film was created inspired by Korean folk beliefs and Musok culture. During her 14-year career in the animation industry, Director Kang noticed that Hollywood had never highlighted Korea through animation, so she pursued adapting Korean folk tale stories about monsters into a film. Throughout production, the two directors focused on “the power of music,” embodying the belief that music can connect people and illuminate the world during a time of global lockdowns caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. It is reported that BTS’s online concerts held at that time further solidified this concept.

During production, the two directors collaborated with Korea’s The Black Label to develop the various musical elements featured in the film. In her Golden Globe acceptance speech, EJAE said, “When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a K-pop idol and worked hard for 10 years, but I was rejected and felt disappointed. I endured tough times through music, and now here I am as a singer and composer.” She added, “It feels like a dream coming true to know that this song is helping other girls, boys, and people of all ages overcome difficulties and accept themselves.”

Director Maggie Kang also reflected on the production process, saying, “I realized this is a work with tremendous influence when I saw Koreans proudly treating this film as a representative Korean cinematic work, and when fans around the world dressed up as our characters and attended sing-alongs.”

The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, USA. Meanwhile, Park Chan-wook’s film “Hellbound,” which was initially nominated for the Best International Feature category, did not make it onto the final nominee list. This year, the film “Cinema: Sinners” received the most nominations at the Academy Awards, with 16 category entries.