How 'K-pop Demon Hunters' made Saja Boys' soul-stealing 'Your Idol' performance
From the candy-colored energy of Soda Pop to a dramatic turn into sleek, jet-black silhouettes, the fictional boy band's transformation reveals their true selves in full demon form.
The villain anthem's music video has racked up 11.8 million views on YouTube as of Friday, and the soundtrack currently sits at No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100, with the film's fictional girl group Huntrix's Golden following at No. 81 as of Tuesday.
The fictional K-pop boy group is made up of 'jeoseung saja,' or Korean grim reapers.
Director Maggie Kang, who co-directed the film with Chris Appelhans, says the vision for that mesmerising scene was there from the very beginning.
The idea of a K-pop boy group made up of 'jeoseung saja,' or Korean grim reapers, was one of the earliest concepts in development.
'It was the first idea that came to mind when the concept of demons came together with K-pop,' Kang told The Korea Herald on Thursday.
'The jeoseung saja look – the black gat with all-black attire – felt like a very iconic image (but) we haven't seen in animation. So it was definitely something I wanted to feature in the movie. And of course, these guys would be the villains. There was no question.'
And because Jinu – the leader of the Saja Boys and the film's main male character – is 400 years old, Kang said she wanted the Your Idol performance to have a more traditional look.
the 'Your Idol' performance a far cry from the earlier candy-coloured 'Soda Pop'.
'This is also the moment where the Saja Boys reveal their true selves. There is no more hiding their true nature or their true image, so they are in their demon form,' said Kang. 'We took this idea and modernised it, but the look is generally quite traditional. That was our inspiration.'
Creating the performance was not just about historical nods; it also had to be a full-fledged K-pop spectacle. And like a concert director staging a comeback show, Kang carefully shaped the visual flow. The colour palette, in particular, tells its own story.
'This is the moment the Saja Boys are luring the audience to the underworld, so we leaned heavily into the demon color, which we establish in the movie as this vibrant magenta,' said Kang.
The deomon king Gwi-Ma is voiced by Lee Byung-Hun
The performance begins with more blues and greens, the colors of the demon world where we first meet Jinu at the beginning of the movie. Then comes the visual crescendo: stark silhouettes in black set against a red-hot backdrop, and finally, purple flames of Gwima, the demon king who thrives on the souls of humans, appear as a visual effect.
'For the last stage that starts with Baby Saja's rap, we start to really push the magenta because this is when Gwima bursts into our world and is taking over.'
Kang said it was important that every moment carry both narrative weight and concert-level flair.
'(Story-wise,) this is also a concert, so at every stage we pushed everything to look very K-pop and have the spectacle of a real concert or music video,' she said.
'Everything had to serve the story of the moment first, but it also needed to have the cool, fashion editorial feel. It was all very challenging to do, but worth the effort, and I believe we pulled it off.'
K-pop Demon Hunters is about a trio of K-pop stars who moonlight as demon hunters at the same time.
In the two weeks following its release on June 20, the film has made waves. Its soundtrack and music videos have climbed the charts, K-pop idols have uploaded song covers and dance challenges featuring Huntrix and the Saja Boys' choreography, and related merchandise is flying off the shelves.
For director Kang, the response has been both overwhelming and deeply meaningful, especially from Korean audiences.
'I worried a lot about what Koreans would think about this movie, if I was representing our culture correctly, whether I was the right person to make this kind of movie. So to see all this love for the film … I couldn't be more thankful,' she said.
'It's been great to see people who are not fans of K-pop, or don't know anything about it, become fans of the film. It really goes to show you that if you put passion and love into something, it can appeal to a bigger audience.' – Hwang Dong-hee/The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
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