KPop Demon Hunters imagines that K-pop idols are more than entertainers. For generations, singing hunters have used their voices to hold up the Honmoon, a golden barrier that keeps demons out of the human world. The current hunters are HUNTR/X, a three-member girl group who play sold-out stadiums by day and slice through demons by night. They're close to sealing the Honmoon for good. Then the demon king Gwi-Ma launches a rival act, the Saja Boys, to steal their fans and their momentum.
The film was made by Sony Pictures Animation, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, and released on Netflix in June 2025. It became Netflix's most-watched original film, its soundtrack topped charts around the world, and "Golden" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The cast is small, so this page goes into more depth on each character than our broader K-culture guide. It covers who they are, the speaking and singing voices where those are confirmed, the songs, and the Korean traditions the characters draw on.
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
- Directors
- Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans
- Released
- June 2025 on Netflix
- Rating
- PG
- Setting
- Seoul
- Biggest song
- "Golden" by HUNTR/X
HUNTR/X: Rumi, Mira and Zoey
HUNTR/X (pronounced "Huntrix") are the newest generation of hunters. On stage they're a polished pop group with distinct roles, and in battle each has a signature weapon. Their friendship is the film's spine. Most of the plot is about whether it can survive the truth about Rumi.
Rumi
Leader · Main vocalist · Sword
Rumi is the leader of HUNTR/X and its strongest voice. She's disciplined, driven and quietly exhausted, because she has been hiding something all her life: she's half-demon, and the patterns spreading across her skin prove it. Celine has taught her that sealing the Honmoon will make the patterns, and the shame, disappear. As her voice starts to fail and the Saja Boys arrive, she's forced to choose between hiding and being known. She's one of the most talked-about animated heroines in years, and appears in our guide to female protagonists.
- Speaking
- Arden Cho
- Singing
- EJAE
Mira
Visual · Dancer · Curved polearm
Mira is tall, dry and blunt, the one who says out loud what everyone else is thinking. She was treated as the difficult child in a wealthy family that never understood her, and the band became the first place she felt she belonged. That history explains why she reacts so strongly when she feels lied to. She's the group's best fighter at range, swinging a long curved blade.
- Speaking
- May Hong
- Singing
- Audrey Nuna
Zoey
Maknae · Rapper · Lyricist · Throwing knives
Zoey is the youngest member, called the maknae in K-pop terms. She's the group's rapper and main lyricist, bursting with energy and constantly scribbling in notebooks. She's the most openly affectionate of the three, and also the one most anxious about being good enough. In fights she throws small knives with great accuracy, and her comic timing keeps the film light.
- Speaking
- Ji-young Yoo
- Singing
- Rei Ami
The Saja Boys and Gwi-Ma
The Saja Boys are demons in idol form. Their look borrows from the jeoseung saja, the black-robed grim reapers of Korean folklore, which is where their name comes from. Their debut is designed to pull fans away from HUNTR/X: the more fans they win, the more souls Gwi-Ma can feed on and the weaker the Honmoon becomes.
Jinu
Saja Boys leader · Demon
Jinu is charming, quick and much sadder than he lets on. Centuries ago, as a poor musician, he made a deal with Gwi-Ma to escape poverty, and he abandoned his mother and little sister to do it. His guilt is what Gwi-Ma uses to control him. When he and Rumi realise they're both hiding what they really are, their uneasy alliance turns into the film's emotional centre. Fans debate whether he's a love interest or a mirror for Rumi; the film supports both readings.
- Speaking
- Ahn Hyo-seop
- Singing
- Andrew Choi
Abby
Saja Boys · The muscular one
Abby is the band's gym-obsessed member, built on the K-pop "abs" type that fans love to tease. His shirtless moments are played as a running joke, and his confidence is mostly physical. Like the other members apart from Jinu, he's more a comic archetype than a full character.
Mystery
Saja Boys · The silent one
Mystery hardly speaks, a gentle parody of the "mysterious member" every group seems to have. Fans read a lot into his silence, which is exactly the joke the film is making.
Romance
Saja Boys · The flirt
Romance is the smooth-talking heartthrob who plays to the camera and the front row. He's the most obvious fan-service member, and his flirting is a weapon: every fan he wins strengthens Gwi-Ma.
Baby
Saja Boys · The cute youngest
Baby is the band's maknae image, all wide eyes and charm. It's a parody of the "baby of the group" role, given a sinister edge because the cuteness is a lure for the souls of fans.
Gwi-Ma
King of the demons · Main villain
Gwi-Ma rules the demon world and wants to break the Honmoon and consume humanity. He appears mostly as a burning mouth and a voice in the minds of the people he controls. His real power is whispering people's shame back at them, which makes him a villain about secrets as much as about monsters. Our guide to villain types would file him under the tempter.
- Voice
- Lee Byung-hun
Supporting cast
Celine
Former hunter · Rumi's guardian and mentor
Celine belongs to the previous generation of hunters and knew Rumi's mother. She raised Rumi after her mother's death. She trained HUNTR/X and loves Rumi deeply. She also taught her that her demon side must stay hidden, and the film shows that choice as both protective and harmful.
- Voice
- Yunjin Kim
Bobby
HUNTR/X's manager
Bobby is the group's devoted, overworked manager. He handles schedules, fan events and press, and has no idea his clients fight demons. He's a cheerful comic presence whose fussing over the girls shows how much he cares about them.
- Voice
- Ken Jeong
Healer Han
Traditional healer
Healer Han is a traditional herbal doctor who appears briefly in the girls' world. It's a small role, one of several cameos that give the film's Seoul a lived-in feel alongside the idol glamour.
- Voice
- Daniel Dae Kim
Derpy
Blue tiger · Messenger
Derpy is a goofy, round-faced blue tiger who carries messages between Jinu and Rumi. He's modelled on the friendly tigers of Korean folk painting, and his expression alone gets laughs. He became one of the film's most popular merch characters.
Sussie
Magpie · Derpy's companion
Sussie is a magpie in a traditional Korean gat hat who perches on Derpy and does the actual delivering. The tiger-and-magpie pairing comes straight from minhwa folk art, where the magpie is a bringer of good news.
The demons
Gwi-Ma's foot soldiers
Most demons are blue- or purple-skinned creatures with glowing patterns, the same kind Rumi has. They slip through weak points in the Honmoon to feed on people. Their designs show early on why Rumi's patterns are something she can't let anyone see.
Speaking and singing voice cast
Like many musicals, the film splits several main roles between an actor and a singer. The pairings below are the ones the production has confirmed. For the other Saja Boys, we've left the casting off rather than guess.
| Character | Speaking voice | Singing voice |
|---|---|---|
| Rumi | Arden Cho | EJAE |
| Mira | May Hong | Audrey Nuna |
| Zoey | Ji-young Yoo | Rei Ami |
| Jinu | Ahn Hyo-seop | Andrew Choi |
| Gwi-Ma | Lee Byung-hun | — |
| Celine | Yunjin Kim | — |
| Bobby | Ken Jeong | — |
| Healer Han | Daniel Dae Kim | — |
EJAE, Rumi's singing voice, is also a songwriter and co-wrote "Golden". Ahn Hyo-seop is a K-drama star, and Lee Byung-hun also plays the Front Man in Squid Game. Our voice actors page looks at how split speaking and singing casting works.
The songs and who sings them
The soundtrack does real storytelling work: nearly every song marks a turn in the plot. We describe them here rather than quote them.
| Song | Performed by | What it does in the story |
|---|---|---|
| "How It's Done" | HUNTR/X | The opening number: a mid-air concert and demon fight that sets up the group, the Honmoon and their roles. |
| "Golden" | HUNTR/X | A soaring anthem about stepping into the light. Rumi's struggle with its high notes shows that something inside her is breaking. |
| "Soda Pop" | Saja Boys | A bright, sugary debut single built to steal fans; the catchiness is the threat. |
| "Takedown" | HUNTR/X | A combative track aimed at the demons. TWICE recorded a version for the end credits. |
| "Free" | Rumi and Jinu | A duet in which the two admit, carefully, what they want. It's the film's love song, whatever you take that love to be. |
| "Your Idol" | Saja Boys | A dark, choral showpiece where the band drops the act and shows what it is. |
| "What It Sounds Like" | HUNTR/X | The finale: a song about accepting flaws and singing anyway. |
Story and ending
Where to start
- Watch the film — it's about 100 minutes on Netflix and needs no background knowledge. The sing-along version adds on-screen lyrics for the songs.
- Read up on the folklore — the Honmoon, the jeoseung saja, the tiger and magpie and the gat hats all come from Korean tradition. Knowing them makes rewatching more rewarding.
- Go wider — our K-culture guide covers K-drama leads, webtoon heroes and real K-pop mascots like BT21. If you liked the sister story of Frozen, the friendship here hits similar notes.
Themes
The film is about shame. Rumi hides her patterns, Jinu hides his past, and Gwi-Ma's power comes from making them believe those secrets are the truest thing about them. The answer it offers is that people can only really be loved for who they are once they're known, flaws and all. That idea shapes the ending, where the new Honmoon includes Rumi's patterns instead of erasing them.
It's also an affectionate send-up of idol culture. The member "types," the fan chants, the variety-show appearances and the manager's frantic scheduling are all drawn from real K-pop, and the film never sneers at fans. The joke is that devotion really is powerful: in this world it decides whether demons get in.
Finally, it's a story about friendship that has to survive honesty. Mira and Zoey's anger when they learn the truth is fair, and the film lets them feel it before they come back. Their reunion carries as much weight as anything between Rumi and Jinu.
All KPop Demon Hunters character names, A–Z
A–B
- Abby — Saja Boys
- Baby — Saja Boys
- Bobby — HUNTR/X's manager
C–G
- Celine — former hunter, Rumi's guardian
- Derpy — blue tiger
- Gwi-Ma — demon king
H–J
- Healer Han — herbal doctor
- HUNTR/X — the girl group
- Jinu — Saja Boys leader
M–R
- Mira — HUNTR/X
- Mystery — Saja Boys
- Romance — Saja Boys
- Rumi — HUNTR/X leader
S–Z
- Saja Boys — demon boy band
- Sussie — magpie
- Zoey — HUNTR/X
Frequently asked questions
What are the names of the HUNTR/X members?
Rumi, the leader and main vocalist; Mira, the dancer and group visual; and Zoey, the rapper and lyricist. Together they're the most popular girl group in their world, and they secretly protect it from demons.
Who sings for Rumi, Mira and Zoey?
The three have separate speaking and singing voices. Rumi is voiced by Arden Cho and sung by EJAE. Mira is voiced by May Hong and sung by Audrey Nuna. Zoey is voiced by Ji-young Yoo and sung by Rei Ami.
Who are the Saja Boys?
A five-member demon boy band: Jinu, the leader, plus Abby, Mystery, Romance and Baby. The demon king Gwi-Ma sends them to win HUNTR/X's fans so that he can feed on their souls and break the Honmoon. Jinu is voiced by Ahn Hyo-seop and sung by Andrew Choi.
Is Rumi a demon?
She's half-demon. Her mother was a hunter and her father was a demon, and she carries patterns on her skin that mark her as one. Celine raised her to hide them, and the film is about what that secret costs her.
Who voices Gwi-Ma?
Lee Byung-hun, the Korean actor best known internationally as the Front Man in Squid Game. Gwi-Ma is mostly a voice and a mouth of flame, so the performance carries the character.
Is KPop Demon Hunters suitable for kids?
Generally, yes. It's rated PG, the action is stylised, and there's no swearing to speak of. Younger children may find Gwi-Ma and some of the demon designs scary, and the film deals with shame and death in a way that may prompt questions.
Is there a KPop Demon Hunters 2?
Talk of a follow-up has surrounded the film since its success in 2025. We don't list sequel story details or new characters here until Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation confirm them, so treat anything else you read as rumour.