“KPop Demon Hunters” is the brainchild of Korean-Canadian animator Maggie Kang. It’s Netflix’s biggest-ever film and follows Rumi, Mira and Zoey, members of the girl band Huntrix, as they battle to save the world from dark forces. 

As you’ll hear, Kang grew up loving Korean pop music long before it was globally cool and forged a Hollywood career on films including “The Lego Ninjago Movie” and “Kung Fu Panda 3.” In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Kang explains how she had always hoped a story about Korea would one day come her way. But it never did, so she came up with her own.

Kang is in the middle of a life-changing moment. Her movie has already scored wins at the Golden Globes and the Grammys, and now all eyes are on the Oscars. The extraordinary thing is that no one expected “KPop Demon Hunters” to be such a smash hit. Husain asks Kang what it’s been like adjusting to all the attention, and of course whether there’s a sequel in the works.

03:06 - “A global phenomenon”
04:17 - The screaming fans
05:01 - The movie theater screenings 
06:49 - Pitching “KPop Demon Hunters”
09:27 - Living between two cultures
12:04 - Growing up as an “outsider”
16:34 - Kang’s first animation book 
17:16 - “I liked to draw” 
18:21 - Recording the voiceover, over and over
20:11 - The story of “Golden” 
21:39 - Rumi, Mira and Zoey in “Golden”
23:00 - Waiting for “the tingles”
25:25 - “We kinda worried it was a little cheesy”
27:27 - Helping the world find Korean culture
29:30 - Choosing the title for a “kooky” movie
34:20 - A message from Kang to the fans
34:48 - “There’s a sequel, surely?”
35:14 - Live action “KPop Demon Hunters”? 
37:01 - “I’m still very grounded”
37:22 - Diving back into the sequel? 
38:00 - “Wow! You are going to the Oscars!”

Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

Visit https://www.bloomberg.com/mishal

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

&ldquo;KPop Demon Hunters&rdquo; is the brainchild of Korean-Canadian animator Maggie Kang. It&rsquo;s Netflix&rsquo;s biggest-ever film and follows Rumi, Mira and Zoey, members of the girl band Huntrix, as they battle to save the world from dark forces.&nbsp;
As you&rsquo;ll hear, Kang grew up loving Korean pop music long before it was globally cool and forged a Hollywood career on films including &ldquo;The Lego Ninjago Movie&rdquo; and &ldquo;Kung Fu Panda 3.&rdquo; In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Kang explains how she had always hoped a story about Korea would one day come her way. But it never did, so she came up with her own.
Kang is in the middle of a life-changing moment. Her movie has already scored wins at the Golden Globes and the Grammys, and now all eyes are on the Oscars. The extraordinary thing is that no one expected &ldquo;KPop Demon Hunters&rdquo; to be such a smash hit. Husain asks Kang what it&rsquo;s been like adjusting to all the attention, and of course whether there&rsquo;s a sequel in the works.
03:06 - &ldquo;A global phenomenon&rdquo; 04:17 - The screaming fans 05:01 - The movie theater screenings 06:49 - Pitching &ldquo;KPop Demon Hunters&rdquo; 09:27 - Living between two cultures 12:04 - Growing up as an &ldquo;outsider&rdquo; 16:34 - Kang&rsquo;s first animation book 17:16 - &ldquo;I liked to draw&rdquo; 18:21 - Recording the voiceover, over and over 20:11 - The story of &ldquo;Golden&rdquo; 21:39 - Rumi, Mira and Zoey in &ldquo;Golden&rdquo; 23:00 - Waiting for &ldquo;the tingles&rdquo; 25:25 - &ldquo;We kinda worried it was a little cheesy&rdquo; 27:27 - Helping the world find Korean culture 29:30 - Choosing the title for a &ldquo;kooky&rdquo; movie 34:20 - A message from Kang to the fans 34:48 - &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a sequel, surely?&rdquo; 35:14 - Live action &ldquo;KPop Demon Hunters&rdquo;? 37:01 - &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still very grounded&rdquo; 37:22 - Diving back into the sequel? 38:00 - &ldquo;Wow! You are going to the Oscars!&rdquo;
Read this interview with Mishal&rsquo;s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview
Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net
Visit https://www.bloomberg.com/mishal
Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net
Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Make sense of the world with one essential conversation, every week. Mishal Husain, one of Britain's best interviewers, brings her signature blend of curiosity and tenacity to weekly conversations with world leaders, business titans, and cultural icons, revealing who they really are and how they see the world changing around them.

Subscribe today at Bloomberg.com/audio or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For annotated transcripts of Mishal's conversations head to Bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

Make sense of the world with one essential conversation, every week. Mishal Husain, one of Britain's best interviewers, brings her signature blend of curiosity and tenacity to weekly conversations with world leaders, business titans, and cultural icons, revealing who they really are and how they see the world changing around them.
Subscribe today at Bloomberg.com/audio or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For annotated transcripts of Mishal's conversations head to Bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

The Mishal Husain Show

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Creator Maggie Kang on the Global Hit No One Saw Coming

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7e790d0d-738d-48ef-8f87-b3f600f4cfcf/transcript