On the evening of Oct. 29, students filed into the Science Center to listen to “KPop Demon Hunters” singer Andrew Choi speak on his role in Netflix’s hit film and the globalization of Korean culture. 

Choi was the voice actor for Jinu, the antagonist and leader of the boy band “Saja Boys” in the film, which topped the charts as the most popular English-language film on the site. The movie soundtrack also made history as the first to have four songs in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. 

The success of “KPop Demon Hunters” has brought renewed attention to Choi and his career in the K-pop industry, which includes over a decade of songwriting credits for global sensations like EXO, Red Velvet, and NCT Dream, and two new singles: “Under My Skin” and “Better With You.”

In a separate interview with The Wellesley News, Choi spoke of the unprecedented success of “K-pop Demon Hunters.” 

“I think every member of the cast was thinking the same thing: we hope that there’s a handful of people that like this. So we didn’t know that it was going to… blow up to the extent that it did … I never thought that I’d be recognized as an artist,” Choi said.

In the K-pop industry, Choi works as a topliner, which is a songwriter in the industry that writes, records, and pitches music to entertainment companies. He opened up about his struggles as a songwriter in such a fast-paced and competitive industry. 

“You have to make a conscientious effort to keep going back to the beginning. Right, and that takes effort … you have to fall back in love with it again,” Choi said.

Early in Choi’s career as a topliner, he recalls talking to others in the industry about the potential for an international K-pop market. 

“We would always end up asking the question: ‘Hey, do you think we’ll ever see K-pop becoming international?’ And we would laugh and shake our heads and go, ‘No. In our lifetime; it’ll never happen.’ I’m so glad we were wrong … It’s a blessing to say that we helped contribute to that,” Choi said.

Both during his talk and the interview, Choi pointed out the novelty of this public-facing role he has taken within the K-pop industry. 

“There’s actually fans of the Saja Boys, which is still very weird for me to think about. It’s a great honor… and also at the same time, it’s a little bit strange … I’m trying to steward it the best way that I can,” Choi said.

As this culturally Korean movie has taken on the global stage, Choi feels that the movie tastefully represents Korean culture. He praised Maggie Kang, Director of “K-pop Demon Hunters,” for being able to communicate Korean culture to Western audiences, while still connecting to Korean audiences.

“It was done so much better than I had expected. Introducing a completely different culture to people that are foreign to you gotta do it carefully.”

Lauren Lee ’26, Co-President of the Korean Student Association (KSA) at Wellesley, moderated the event and remarked on the authenticity of the film. 

“The deliberate choice to have Korean and Korean American actors … voicing these people, rather than just having celebrities taking over the spotlight … There’s a genuine connection between the people who are voicing it and… the project itself. I feel like that makes it more special,” Lee said.

Choi’s campus visit coincides with the celebration of the Korean Program’s 20th anniversary, spearheaded by Professor of Korean Sun-Hee Lee, who also coordinated the event. Professor Lee appreciated how the movie weaved traditional and modern Korean cultural motifs.

“It still brought that classic Korean culture from all the stories and Korean art, so they did an excellent job bringing… that traditional concept … They not only modernize[d] it for the modern time period; I think they globalized it,” said Professor Lee. 

In an industry that is becoming increasingly globalized, Choi remains concerned about preserving Korean culture in K-pop.

“This has always been the case right with all the labels I work with: every time they have an opportunity to get noticed by, [the] U.S or Europe … They’re frantic … almost as if they would sacrifice our tradition…everything about our culture,” Choi said. 

However, Choi disagrees with this sentiment. 

“We’ve got to stop trying to cater to everyone — just be ourselves,” Choi said.

Contact the editor for this article: Jessica Chen