Tovic Salvador

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17736181112781773618108240.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">K-pop trio Huntrix from the film &#x27;KPop Demon Hunters.&#x27; <em>Photo courtesy of Netflix</em></span></span></span></div><p>HOLLYWOOD (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) -- Netflix&#x27;s smash hit &quot;KPop Demon Hunters&quot; -- a tale of good and evil incorporating traditional Korean mythology and set to a thumping soundtrack -- on Sunday won the Oscar for best animated feature.</p><p>It snapped up a second Academy Award for best original song for &quot;Golden,&quot; the film&#x27;s infectious anthem about empowerment, self-reliance and personal growth. It was the first K-pop song to win the category.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2026/3/16/list-oscar-winners-in-main-categories-1422">LIST: Oscar winners in main categories</a></div><p>The movie -- co-produced with Sony Pictures Animation -- premiered on Netflix in June 2025, but quickly found a massive global following and is currently the streaming giant&#x27;s most-watched original film of all time.</p><p>When a special singalong version was released in North American theaters for one weekend only, it easily topped the box office chart.</p><p>&quot;This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere,&quot; co-director Maggie Kang told the audience, with co-director Chris Appelhans and producer Michelle Wong at her side.</p><p>South Korean news channel YTN praised Kang&#x27;s &quot;heartfelt message to Korea&quot; and the Hankook Ilbo newspaper featured the quote in a headline.</p><p>The movie tells the tale of HUNTR/X, a popular K-pop girl group whose members live double lives as weapons-wielding demon slayers. Their songs help create a magical barrier called the Honmoon that protects humanity.</p><p>The role of demon hunter is passed down over the generations.</p><p>The current trio -- Rumi, Mira and Zoey -- are sassy women who dress well but also are goofy and wolf down Korean food between performances and hunting missions.</p><p>They must square off against a demon boy band, the Saja Boys, who are sent by the demon lord Gwi-ma to weaken the Honmoon. A battle for humanity ensues.</p><p>The film borrows from the idea of shamanism -- the tradition of having intermediaries to interact with the spiritual world, and features sweeping recreations of Seoul&#x27;s skyline.</p><p>Kang has explained the project was years in the making.</p><p>&quot;This silly K-pop movie idea could represent so many aspects of my culture. Once I realized that, it was full force, making the most Korean movie I could make,&quot; she told The New York Times in an interview published in January.</p><p>&quot;I wrote a lot of things in Korean first, in my head, and thought about, what is the best way to translate this emotion or dialogue into English?&quot;</p><p>The main cast is made up of mostly Korean actors.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Golden&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Developing the music was a years-long process.</p><p>&quot;This concept is so wackadoo, the songs had to be fantastic for it to be accepted,&quot; Kang told the Times.</p><p>&quot;Golden&quot; -- which topped the charts in more than two dozen countries -- is the movie&#x27;s musical centerpiece, featuring lyrics in English and Korean.</p><p>It is Rumi&#x27;s battle cry, as she reveals to the world that she is also a half-demon.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m done hidin&#x27;, now I&#x27;m shinin&#x27; like I&#x27;m born to be,&quot; says the song, which was written by a team including Korean-American singer EJAE, who is Rumi&#x27;s singing voice.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re goin&#x27; up, up, up, it&#x27;s our moment / You know together we&#x27;re glowin&#x27; / Gonna be, gonna be golden.&quot;</p><p>The tune also has won a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award for best original song in a motion picture, and a Grammy for best song written for visual media.</p><p>The best original song Oscar is sweet revenge for EJAE, who has said in multiple interviews that her dreams of being a K-pop star were dashed after a decade of training when she was told she wouldn&#x27;t cut it.</p><p>&quot;Rejection is redirection. And so never give up. It&#x27;s never too late to shine like you were born to be,&quot; EJAE said in January as she accepted her Golden Globe, borrowing from her own lyrics.</p><p>In South Korea, fans hailed their latest cultural product to infect the world with &quot;K-syndrome&quot; -- the irresistible surrender to the country&#x27;s movies, music, books, fashion and cuisine.</p><p>&quot;The so-called K-syndrome is now going into animated film as well,&quot; wrote one viewer using the YouTube handle Kim Chang-soo.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xmwDWEaP71U?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Netflix's smash hit "KPop Demon Hunters" -- a tale of good and evil incorporating traditional Korean mythology and set to a thumping soundtrack -- on Sunday won the Oscar for best animated feature.</p>

Netflix's smash hit "KPop Demon Hunters" -- a tale of good and evil incorporating traditional Korean mythology and set to a thumping soundtrack -- on Sunday won the Oscar for best animated feature.

'KPop Demon Hunters' wins two Oscars

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'KPop Demon Hunters' wins two Oscars

Susan Stumme,

Agence France-Presse

Published March 16, 2026 07:46 AM PHT

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Updated March 16, 2026 07:31 PM PHT

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