I’m Christian and I watched KPop Demon Hunters—and You Should Too

This article contains heavy spoilers for the Netflix movie KPop Demon Hunters

I’ve never heard my roommates create more noise than when we had a watchparty of the hit animated kids movie of the summer—KPop Demon Hunters. For half an hour after the film was over, we sang (and screamed) the movie’s soundtrack—the likes of “Golden”, “Takedown”, and “Free.” Later on, some potentially blasphemous discussion about which person of the Trinity each HUNTR/X member might represent got me thinking about the Christian worldview on secular media—KPop Demon Hunters in particular. For a film that seems to be a simple story about good humans fighting evil demons, the film’s symbolism and analogies to the gospel story run much deeper than they seem at first glance. However, as other writers have noted, there is undeniable danger in absorbing the film’s messaging without discernment, as goes for all secular media.

KPop Demon Hunters is a film about a girl group called HUNTR/X, who sing to their adoring fans by day and fight demons by night. Those demons, consistently stymied in their efforts to steal the souls of regular citizens due to HUNTR/X’s influence, come up with a new plan—to create a competing boy band called the Saja Boys, who will win the hearts of the public and leave their souls ripe for the taking. In the end—spoiler alert—Jinu, the demon leader of the Saja Boys, turns from his evil ways and sacrifices himself to save the world from the big bad. 

For many Christians, the normalization and humanization of demons (making them perfectly attractive and giving them human emotion) is a cause for concern. However, I think it is a mistake to lump the portrayal of demons in KPop Demon Hunters in with other representations of demons in popular media. In reality, the Saja Boys are one of the most accurate representations in popular media of the way in which Satan and the world work to turn us away from God. 

First, the catchy earworm “Soda Pop”, sung by the Saja Boys, represents very well the ultimate emptiness of secular culture. On the surface, there is nothing strange or offensive about the band or their music. “Soda Pop” is marketed as an upbeat romantic pop song that comes packaged with catchy lyrics and fun choreography. Even the HUNTR/X girls, with the knowledge that the Saja Boys are demons, are not immune to their appeal, as they sing and dance along almost against their will. But while the song might seem innocent on the surface, the lyrics carry a darker double meaning about the demon’s desire to consume the souls of the humans they are singing to.

On the Saja Boy’s surface level appeal, Director Chris Appelhans said, “we wanted the Saja Boys to be super catchy, but slightly hollow, like there is no real soul underneath.” This perceived soullessness in music (a criticism often leveled at many a pop singer) could very well be seen as a representation of how secular culture is ultimately unfulfilling. As Christians, we understand that God is the only one who truly fulfills. As Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

Second, the Saja Boy’s climactic song, “Your Idol”, more explicitly touches on temptation, containing powerful religious messaging about how the devil subtly works to keep us blindly following him. In fact, the undeniably talented singer/songwriter EJAE wrote about harnessing her Christian upbringing for the song, saying, “I was raised Christian and remembered it’s a sin to idolize something. So, [the song] was like a twist of ‘I’ll be your Idol.’ It was kinda creepy.” Taking a quick glance at the first verse of the song instantly proves this idea:

And then the pre-chorus:

And finally the ending:

These lyrics (and the very idea of the Saja Boys as “your idol”) all point to a key idea that Paul, discussing false teachers, talks about in 2 Corinthians 11—that Satan “himself masquerades as an angel of light.” He follows up with, “it is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.” There is a clear parallel between the Saja Boys and this type of false servant, just as there is between Satan and their master. Satan, in fact, is the only one who loves our sins—who loves that we sin. It is a half-truth, a twisting of God’s grace—for God loves us, the sinner, but not the fact that we sin. And that is all that Satan operates on—lies and deception. The subtlety with which he often operates is what makes depictions like this so important—depictions that emphasize the devil’s disturbing ability to mimic what is good and attractive. Christian parents are right to be concerned about the possibility that their children will be influenced by this type of portrayal, but eventually they will have to address the fact with their children that this type of false teaching is often wrapped in pretty packaging. Ultimately, the demons in KPop Demon Hunters are clearly evil, and serve as a reminder that such evil is often appealing—and familiar. 

On the other hand, while HUNTR/X echoes the biblical idea that strength cannot be found within oneself, it fails to reach the ultimate Christian conclusion about the failure of human strength. The storyline surrounding “Golden” (currently in its 12th week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100) is a good example of how relying on our own strength ultimately fails us. HUNTR/X ultimately fail to seal the magical barrier between the human and demon world with this song because their leader, Rumi, relies too heavily on her own power. However, the solution to this is, for lack of a better term, the power of friendship. She reunites with the rest of HUNTR/X, and, together with a redeemed Jinu, takes down the rest of the Saja Boys and banishes them back to the demon realm. This is a very common theme throughout all media. While it is certainly better to work with friends than alone, this conclusion fails to make a connection to the true source of human strength. 

KPop Demon Hunters is only one example of how non-Christian media can contain important  connections to the Christian faith. I believe that it is very important that Christians engage with modern media in a thoughtful and intentional way. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Instead of either absorbing or attacking popular media at a surface-level, intentional and thoughtful engagement is one way for Christians to be a part of the world (1 Corinthians 9:22) but not of it (John 15:19).