🔗 Share this article

This feature explores extraordinary interviews and narratives from around the globe.

"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I lacked light-colored eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," says the actress, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's chart-topping movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, forty, is describing her childhood in Texas, as the firstborn child of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio who must rescue humanity from evil forces, the protagonist has to accept her true nature as part human, part demon – and when Cho first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having others view me like a foreigner, grappling with my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she explains.

These were all aspects of her early life that mirrored the character's path.

"I can honestly say, at different points in my life, I despised many parts of me and I longed to become someone else.

"As kids, what you see shapes who you become and it seems I lacked exposure to sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters registered 33 million views in just two weeks, and reached the highest positions of the Netflix charts in 93 countries. To be part of the pioneering animation set in Korea, with Korean leads, was for Cho "a dream come true" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the kind that was missing when she was young.

Cho says many Korean-Americans have told her it's "such a refreshing moment", making them feel pride for the first instance of their mixed background and culture.

"In my view Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had such a big impact on global appreciation for Korea. But I believe this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, inspiring travel to Korea, now," she comments.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and Cho says she felt the production crew were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"I feel like it's unfortunate to say this, but whenever there's an Asian-led project, people feel like a gamble," she says.

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to connect with the entire cast and crew face-to-face, she adds.

The movie was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of mass deportation efforts, which triggered demonstrations in numerous regions.

As an person of Asian descent living in the US "it's deeply saddening," says Cho. "Newcomers have made America what it is."

Korean news sources have suggested that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be deported.

As an grown-up, she came to realise that the racism she had experienced when she was younger was largely due to a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it meant to be of Asian descent.

"However today, in the modern era, when it seems the world and individuals should know better, it's deeply disheartening and at times it appears we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Due to this, it feels very special, she notes, that the film could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Perhaps this explains it's sort of like the season's hit film, because there was a need for positivity and something to unite us as one."

The growth of AI is a major concern for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in future it could be used to make a film like KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho says she is conscious that technology is already being used to copy actors' voices, but wants to "maintain faith in people" that audiences will still seek out art created by humans.

"Certainly, I'm sure they're going to have AI actors and singers. I know they already exist. I understand performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I trust people have appreciation and desire for something real."

The film has also been leading the global music charts, with seven tracks from its soundtrack featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and audiences around the world are demanding a sequel.

She reveals she would like to confirm the question of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the streaming service or the studio, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she shares. "Only time will tell, and I think fans everywhere would riot if it didn't happen."

• Starting conversations, building connections and challenging misinformation through articles, in-depth reports, conversations and extraordinary stories