'K-Pop Demon Hunters' Wins Two Awards at the 98th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song

The Netflix animated film 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 (hereafter 〈K-DH〉) has won two awards at the 98th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

〈K-DH〉 was named the winner in both categories at the Academy Awards held on the 15th (local time) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles (LA), USA. Notably, this is the first time a song in the K-Pop genre has won the Best Original Song award at the Academy.

Director Maggie Kang took the stage in a red dress as the theme song 'Golden' played, lifting the Oscar trophy for Best Animated Feature. She expressed, "I apologize for the long wait for a film like this, featuring 'people like me' as the protagonists. The next generation won't have to wait," and with a trembling voice, she said, "I dedicate this award to Korea and all Koreans around the world."

Co-director Chris Appelhans stated, "Music and stories have the power to connect us across cultures and borders," and added, "I want to tell young filmmakers, artists, and musicians to 'tell your story. Sing in your voice. The world is waiting.'" Producer Michelle Wong of 'K-DH' also expressed gratitude to her partners at Netflix and Sony Pictures, as well as to her family.

The original soundtrack (OST) 'Golden' from 〈K-DH〉 won the Best Original Song award. Singer Lee Jae (EJAE), who performed 'Golden' and participated in the songwriting, said on stage, "This song is about recovery, not success," and added, "As a child, people teased me for liking K-Pop, but now everyone sings our song. I'm proud."

Co-lyricist Mark Sonnenblick and composers from The Black Label, including Kwak Joong-kyu, Lee Yoo-han, Nam Hee-dong (all IDO), and Seo Jeong-hoon (24), also joined on stage to share in the joy.

〈K-DH〉 tells the story of a girl group called HuntRix, who are demon hunters fighting against a demon boy group called Saja Boys that preys on people's souls. Since its release in June last year, it has surpassed 500 million global views, breaking the record for the highest-grossing Netflix content, surpassing the 〈Squid Game〉 series.

The OST 'Golden' became the first K-Pop song to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Official Singles Chart Top 100. Following wins at the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song in January, and last month's Grammy for 'Best Song Written for Visual Media', it has now triumphed at the Academy, proving its artistic merit and global popularity, beating out strong contenders like Disney's 〈Zootopia 2〉 and Pixar's 〈Elio〉.