Dannyka Manangan

Director Maggie Kang shares why she chose Ahn Hyo-seop as Jinu's voice actor in 'KPop Demon Hunters'

Article (news)

E. Kristhoff Cagape

Push Team

<p>Film director Maggie Kang detailed the reason she chose Korean actor Ahn Hyo-seop to be the voice actor for Jinu in the hit Netflix animated movie<em> KPop Demon Hunters.</em></p><p>In a conversation with Hyo-seop in a video uploaded by Netflix K-Content on YouTube, Maggie shared, &quot;When we talked about casting an actor for Jinu, the first requirement was fluency in English.&quot;</p><p>She further explained that she and the production team wanted to cast an actor from South Korea. &quot;We wanted to cast many actors who were active in Korea so that the movie could be received as a Korean one. That was very important to me. We were looking for someone like that,&quot; she said.</p><p>Coincidentally, she got to watch Hyo-seop in the K-Drama<em> Business Proposal</em>. One particular scene caught her attention when Hyo-seop spoke in English. &quot;Back then, I was watching <em>Business Proposal.</em> There was a scene in which you answered the phone and spoke English fluently. I saw that and went, &#x27;It&#x27;s you!&#x27; That was when it got decided,&quot; she recounted. </p><div><a href="https://youtu.be/4SdTOHd_Ei4?si=LA9R7tOwo1pjwMUw"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4SdTOHd_Ei4" title="[Full] Exclusive BTS talk w/ KPop Demon Hunters Maggie Kang &amp; Ahn Hyo-seop [ENG SUB]" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></a></div><div></div><p>When asked by Hyo-seop if she foresaw the massive success of the film, Maggie replied: &quot;I really didn&#x27;t know that a single movie could gain so much popularity,&quot; she said.</p><p>Maggie also opened up about her apprehensions when she was making the movie.</p><p>&quot;If you&#x27;re living outside of Korea and you&#x27;re Korean there&#x27;s kind of this, I don&#x27;t know, identity crisis, you know? There&#x27;s kind of this fear that you&#x27;re not a 100 percent Korean and you don&#x27;t really know where you belong and I kinda felt that making the movie a little bit. Like am I Korean enough to make this movie? I asked myself that,&quot; she recalled.  </p><p>On the key message she wanted to impart through<em> KPop Demon Hunters</em>, she shared: &quot;Everyone has something they don&#x27;t like about themselves. For Jinu, it was a decision in his past. For Rumi, it was something she couldn&#x27;t erase. You don&#x27;t need to embrace them, but just acknowledge that they&#x27;re there. Finding your best self and showing it to others without any shame. The movie is about shame. Recognizing that you have shame, but not letting it control your life.&quot;</p><div></div>

<p>Director Maggie Kang reveals the first requirement the production team looked for in Jinu's voice actor.</p>

Director Maggie Kang reveals the first requirement the production team looked for in Jinu's voice actor.