Anna Marie Lukban

'KPop Demon Hunters' director Maggie Kang reflects on being an Oscar nominee: 'My life is forever changed'

 

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E. Kristhoff Cagape

Push Team

KPop Demon Hunters director Maggie Kang took to social media to reflect on her journey after the animated film earned a nomination for Best Animated Feature at this year&#x27;s Oscars.In an Instagram post, the director shared that becoming an Academy Award nominee is a lifelong dream come true.&quot;It&#x27;s taken some time to process that I am now an Academy Award nominee. I&#x27;ve dreamed of this moment since I was a child. I grew up watching (Akira) Kurosawa films with my cinephile dad, Kurosawa being his favorite director. I knew I wanted to make movies since I was about 10 years old. My dad is the one who gave me my first animation book and that’s how I learned that my two passions, drawing and storytelling, could be one career,&quot; she shared.Maggie then looked back on the steps that led her to creating and directing her own animated feature.&quot;I took it step by step — starting with getting into Sheridan College. I set a goal to land a job in the US, which I thought would take years but fortunately it happened right as I was graduating. I submitted a test to get into the DreamWorks story training program and I remember, as I was at a FedEx office sending the test off, I told my mom &#x27;If I get this, it&#x27;ll change my life.&#x27; A few weeks later I got a call saying I was accepted and that’s when I knew, this is the beginning,&quot; she recalled.The director also shared how she learned the many facets of filmmaking before eventually stepping into the director’s chair.&quot;I moved to LA with a bag of clothes and worked my ass off, knowing that having a job is what will keep me from going back to Canada. No one tells you that keeping a job is 1000 times harder than getting a job. I took it step by step — building up my drawing skills as a story artist, learning story, editing, and writing as a Head of Story, learning to build my ideas and pitching them to become a Director,&quot; she said.Maggie went on to acknowledge the people who helped her fulfill her dream.&quot;Through the years I was able to build incredible relationships with amazing artists and producers who believed in me enough to make me a director. They believed in an insane idea that was a total leap of faith and let me run with it. And now, almost 8 years later, that insane idea is out in the world, changing not only my life but the lives of many others,&quot; she said.Expressing her gratitude, she said: &quot;Grateful is not even close of a word to describe how I feel about the hundreds of people who helped me get here. I cannot express in words how thankful I am to everyone who made this dream come true. The KPop Demon Hunters movie, this team, and me — with this nomination, we are all now part of film history. That is an insane thing to process.&quot; Maggie concluded by saying that regardless of the outcome, the nomination itself is already historic. &quot;No matter the result on March 15th, we have made history. Thank you fans, thank you movie family. I feel so grateful today. My life is forever changed. 감사합니다 (Thank you).&quot;<div> </div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-8" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DT3Svx3EgqO/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A8%2C%22os%22%3A14466118.400000006%2C%22ls%22%3A247240.59999999404%2C%22le%22%3A247558.90000000596%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="924" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-8" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div> </div>Aside from Best Animated Feature nomination, the hit Netflix animated movie also bagged a nomination for Best Original Song for &quot;Golden.&quot;KPop Demon Hunters centers on Huntr/x, a K-pop trio juggling their superstar lives with a hidden mission which is battling demons. Their double life takes a dangerous turn when they clash with the Saja Boys, a rival boy group whose members are revealed to be actually demons.Back in December 2025, Netflix announced that KPop Demon Hunters reached 500 million views since it premiered on their platform.

Maggie Kang shared that becoming an Academy Award nominee is a lifelong dream come true.

Maggie Kang shared that becoming an Academy Award nominee is a lifelong dream come true.

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ director Maggie Kang reflects on being an Oscar nominee: ‘My life is forever changed’

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‘KPop Demon Hunters’ director Maggie Kang reflects on being an Oscar nominee: ‘My life is forever changed’

Toff C.,

Push Team

Published January 24, 2026 12:15 PM PHT

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Maggie Kang

KPop Demon Hunters

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