“KPop Demon Hunters” was released June 20, 2025, with a slow simmer into recognition before erupting with popularity online. Now, a little under four months later, the movie and its music have broken records in the industry and are bringing levels of popularity and visibility that K-pop hasn’t seen in the U.S.
On Oct. 7, EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ame, the vocal voices of Rumi, Mira and Zoey respectively, performed their song Golden from the movie’s K-pop group HUNTR/X on the Jimmy Fallon show.
While on the show, Fallon listed several different records HUNTR/X’s song Golden holds, including, but not limited to, the first number one female K-pop song in the history of the Hot 100. Additionally, holding number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and receiving a platinum record: an award given to albums that have sold more than one million copies.
“KPop Demon Hunters” has taken the world by storm and brought the world of K-pop songs into the light for many to experience.
“K-Pop Demon Hunters has helped introduce this music genre to so many people, and even younger generations,” Liz Schmidt, a sophomore studying forestry and the president and founder of Iowa State’s K-pop Club, said.
Within the club, Schmidt said they have seen “so many new faces” because, thanks to this movie, “liking K-pop is becoming more normalized.”
Many K-pop fans have experienced a negative stigma around enjoying K-pop for many years, especially when K-pop became popular in the U.S., according to Schmidt.
“I would be teased for being open about my hobby of liking K-pop and participating in the trends or being a mega-fan of a group,” Schmidt said.
Now, thanks to “KPop Demon Hunters”’ fame, people are experiencing shifts in their opinions and beliefs about K-pop.
“I had been introduced to K-pop music before this movie had come out, but never really got into it,” Noah Kohtz, a sophomore in vocal music education, said.
Many people were disinterested in “KPop Demon Hunters” at first due to its association with K-pop and its name.
“When my brother brought up watching it, I was skeptical,” Kohtz said. “But after the first five minutes of the movie, I was hooked and have watched it at least three more times since then.”
The K-pop club held a movie night for people to come enjoy “KPop Demon Hunters” as a community at the end of September.
“People seemed to really enjoy the movie, whether it was their first or fifth time watching it,” Hannah Lynch, a junior studying architecture and media director of the K-pop club, said.
“KPop Demon Hunters” has also brought changes to perceptions in Asian and Korean culture.
“Prior to the rise of K-Pop there was really no representation of Asian people in general in the media,” Faith Nguyen, a senior studying MIS and the logistics coordinator of the K-pop club, said. “The representation people would see could be really stereotypical or harmful.”
“Having visibility for K-pop helps get rid of the negative stigma around it,” Tix, a sophomore majoring in performing arts and the secretary of the K-pop club, said.
The extreme popularity of a movie from a culture not usually in the forefront of many major movies has helped people find a greater appreciation for different cultures and genres of music.
“I think people will be more interested in listening to music outside of their comfort zone because of the popularity of this movie,” Kohtz said.
To learn more about the K-pop Club, visit their Instagram.
