“KPop Demon Hunters” has raised the already fervent Hallyu wave, especially in the Philippines, since its premiere on June 20. The Korean-American animated film has sent explosive ripples worldwide, dominating Netflix ranks and music charts—and making history.

“The Philippines loves Korea. That’s why it’s a hit,” Jacqueline Alvarez, a Filipino working mom, said of the musical fantasy produced by Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, the studio behind “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

The film spotlights K-Pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey of HUNTR/X, who play secret demon hunters that protect the world from supernatural threats, and face the biggest one yet: an irresistible rival demon boy band, the Saja Boys.

Its splashes of humor and fantasy hit the right notes with its booming soundtrack, original animation, and a storyline that tugs at the heartstrings with universal messages of self-acceptance and true bonds.

It is flooding social media feeds with song and dance covers, fan art, edits, memes, reviews, and theories—and people are chanting for a sequel.

Lea Salonga, VXON and SB19

The Philippines’ Lea Salonga is the singing voice of Celine, who adopts Rumi and is a former K-Pop star and demon hunter who mentors the main characters. P-Pop boy groups VXON and SB19 join the Soda Pop trend.

Fans are thrilled by the Filipino dub of songs like “How It’s Done” by Ruby Ibarra, “Free” by Kula and Jay-R, with G22 for Huntrix and SB19 for Saja Boys.

A Filipino dub of “KPop Demon Hunters” is also produced by Hit Productions Inc., with Rudolf Baldonado Jr. as dubbing director.

“I watched it more than five times with my family,” said Alvarez. “I have so many questions, like the backstory of Rumi’s parents and what happened to Jinu, so I look forward to Part Two. I like listening to the film’s song ‘Soda Pop,’ and my 7-year-old daughter loves ‘Golden.’ The songs are catchy, well-written and relatable.”

Official and fan-made merch are available for sale worldwide and on local online platforms and stores. HUNTR/X Tee, Saja Boys shirt and Derpy Tiger plush are among the best sellers in the Netflix Shop.

Filipino fans have until Aug. 4 to delve into Korean heritage in a four-part program, “Step into the World of KPop Demon Hunters,” sponsored by the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines.

Record viewership

In its official account shared on July 23, Netflix described the film as “the first Netflix film ever to reach a new viewing peak in its fifth week of release.” It drew 9.2 million views on its debut, ranked No. 1 in 27 countries and No. 2 globally in the first seven days, topping charts with 33.4 million streams in two weeks, and entering the Top 10 in 93 countries.

From logging a staggering 80.3 million views in under a month, the film pulled a whopping 24.2 million streams in early July, which skyrocketed to seize 25.8 million views in its fifth week to stay on top globally from July 7–20, Netflix said.

“It’s their moment! ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is Netflix’s most-watched original animated film of ALL TIME,” Netflix said on July 30.

With about 50 days left in its tracking period within the 91 days after its release, it needed to break through 137.3 million views to shoot their way into the all-time English-language top 10 movies.

It has garnered a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Soundtrack success

To top it off, the film’s soundtrack is a resounding success, and is keeping the momentum. HUNTR/X’s “Golden” recently hit No.1 on the Billboard Global 200—the first time for a virtual act to do so on a global list of the New York-based music and entertainment magazine.

“How It’s Done” by HUNTR/X and their counterpart Saja Boys’ “Your Idol” and “Soda Pop” rose in the top 10, with both fictional bands’ songs in the Top 20. All eight original songs are in the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Hot 100.

The soundtrack was also No. 2 on the main albums chart Billboard 200, and it topped charts in over 20 countries. Currently, all eight songs are on the Billboard Philippines Hot 100 chart; “Golden” was No. 2 and “Soda Pop” No. 9.

Moreover, “KPop Demon Hunters” became the longest-running No. 1 album from an animated film to top the ARIA albums chart for three weeks in a row.

“Golden” was in the top spot on Spotify’s daily US Top 50 as of July 23, followed by “Your Idol.” On Spotify’s daily Philippines Top 50 as of July 30, “Golden” was No. 3, “Soda Pop” was No. 11, “Free” was No. 23, “Your Idol” was No. 27, “What It Sounds” was No. 32, “How It’s Done” was No. 37, and “Takedown” was No. 49.

“I listen to it every day,” said Erin Co, a student at the University of the Philippines Diliman. “All songs are in my Top 10 on Receiptify. The music takes the movie up a notch.”

Co added: “In ‘What It Sounds Like,’ when Rumi sings the chorus, then Zoe and Mira shut off their demons and join in harmony? If you didn’t cry in that part, oh my gosh. Just as they fight supernatural demons, we all fight our personal demons, and that’s what makes the movie resonate with you. There’s so much to explore—I want a prequel!”

Teased in the trailer, “KPop Demon Hunters” also features a new original song, “Takedown,” performed by Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Chaeyoung of the K-Pop girl group TWICE, along with their song “Strategy” (with Megan Thee Stallion), which fueled international chart traction. “Takedown” is a diss track against the Saja Boys, with another version by HUNTR/X in the movie.

Fictional virtual bands

The film is directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. Kang was heavily inspired by K-Pop, around which the story revolves, hence the partnering with top music and K-Pop producers, including TheBlackLabel cofounder Teddy Park (who worked with Blackpink) and Grammy Award winner Lindgren (who worked with BTS and TWICE).

HUNTR/X and Saja Boys may be fictional virtual bands that surpassed BTS and Blackpink, yet behind them are real artists. HUNTR/X is composed of Korean American R&B singer and rapper Audrey Nuna (singing voice of Mira), Korean singer-songwriter and record producer Ejae (singing voice of Rumi), who is known for her work with K-Pop groups including aespa, LE SSERAFIM and TWICE, and Seoul-born American singer-songwriter and rapper Rei Ami (singing voice of Zoey).

Saja Boys include SM Entertainment-signed singer Andrew Choi (singing voice of Jinu) and FC ENM-signed singer and actor Kevin Woo (singing voice of Mystery). Neckwav, Danny Chung, and samUIL Lee are the singing voices of Abby Saja, Baby Saja, and Romance Saja, respectively.

With K-Pop artists embracing the virtual acts and new music phenomenon, Kevin Woo, the singing voice of Mystery Saja, considers it a “reinvention of [his] artistry.” He doesn’t mind that it outshines his earlier work of a decade in a K-Pop band after returning home to the United States four years ago to expand his career, with “KPop Demon Hunters” making his Spotify listeners spike from thousands to millions.

K-Pop stars have made covers, such as Lily of NMIXX singing “Golden” gaining 20 million views on TikTok, with many awestruck by the high notes. Others have even done cosplays along with song covers, such as “Free” by Junhee and AleXa, who have both just left their companies, letting fans believe the message also speaks about the artists.

Arden Cho and Cha Eun-woo, who director Kang said was one of the inspirations for Jinu along with other K-drama actors, also did a song cover. Even BTS members RM and Jungkook talked about the movie in their live broadcasts.

K-Pop culture

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos had this to say last July 18: “The mix of music and pop culture, getting it right matters…the storytelling matters, the innovation and animation itself matters, and the fact that people are in love with this film and in love with the music from this film…will keep it going for a long time.”

“But more importantly,” he continued, “‘Golden’ and… ‘Soda Pop,’ these are enormous hits and they all came from a film that’s available only on Netflix. So we’re really excited that we can pierce the culture with original animated features considering that folks have been poking us on it.”

The film also has an original score by composer Marcelo Zarvos, and its producer is Michelle Wong. It includes “Love Maybe,” the OST of K-drama Business Proposal, starring Ahn Hyo-seop, who is also Jinu’s voice actor.

As the film incorporated the aspects of a K-drama, such as meet cute, fans fell for the portrayal of the plot.

It’s an American production but it promotes Korean culture and lifestyle, with K-Pop and K-drama becoming mainstream. The representation of Korea is done with authenticity and respect, with the production team travelling to that country and conducting extensive research in traditional and modern aspects of the culture.

Animators designed the mouth movements to be patterned after Korean pronunciation, and anime-like reactions were made to feel Korean. Korean words were added in the English movie, and the scene was set in Seoul with mainly Korean people.

For instance, HUNTR/X and Saja Boys do synchronized dances known as Kalgunmu. Saja Boys represent the Korean Grim Reaper, and Derpy the tiger and Sussie the magpie in late Joseon folktales symbolize guardianship and good fortune.

“KPop Demon Hunters” is not just an animated film with fictional bands. It is a reflection of what happens when authentic representation, emotional storytelling, and global fandom converge.

It has left a K-Pop-infused mark on Filipino hearts—and the Hallyu wave rises even higher.

Orlaine Antonio, a third-year journalism student at the University of the Philippines’ College of Media and Communication, is an intern at CoverStory.ph.