Hyounjeong Yoo Examines ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ in New Publication
Hyounjeong Yoo, coordinator for Korean language programming in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies, recently published a piece in The Conversation titled “With ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ Korean women hold the sword, the microphone — and possibly an Oscar.”
“I’m interested in how KPop Demon Hunters marks a new phase of the Korean Wave. In this phase, folklore and women’s musical labour come together to challenge how Asian stories have long been sidelined in western media.”
Hyounjeong Yoo writes in “With ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ Korean women hold the sword, the microphone — and possibly an Oscar,” published in The Conversation
Yoo’s work describes how the movie uses Korean symbols, imagery, and folklore to anchor itself “in a specific Korean context that cannot be generalized or mistaken for a broad, pan-Asian esthetic.”
“For many in the Korean diaspora — including myself, who grew up rarely seeing people like me centred in mainstream media — this visibility carries emotional weight,” Yoo writes.
Read more of Yoo’s work on the Korean Wave: In music and film, a new Korean wave is challenging Asian stereotypes (2021).