'K-Pop Demon Hunters'—IDO’s Acceptance Remarks He Couldn’t Quite Finish at the Academy…

〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 IDO, who participated in the OST, shared behind-the-scenes details from the moment they received the theme song award.

On April 1, a press conference for 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 was held at CGV Yongsan I-Park in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 is an animation that depicts the journey of Rumi, Joy, and Mira from the K-pop group 'Hunterix' as they protect the world. The film won the 98th Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and the award for Best Original Song. At this press conference celebrating the win, attendees included director Maggie Kang, who served as the chief director; co-director Chris Applehans; EJAE (Yi Jae), the composer of 'Golden' and the vocalist for Rumi in the story; and IDO (Yiyuhan, Kwak Joong-gyu, Nam Hee-dong), the co-composer behind beloved OSTs such as 'How It’s Done,' 'Golden,' and 'Your Idol,' and also a producer for Double Black Label.

At the Academy Awards ceremony, when asked about remarks he couldn't quite manage to share, IDO Yiyuhan spoke first. He said, “All the family members, producer Teddy, and everyone involved in making the film worked hard, and I wanted to thank you for that and congratulate you. It wasn’t a long speech, but it’s a shame I couldn’t say more.” Then he added, “But since it was such an honorable place, the joy was even bigger,” sharing his honest feelings.

Next, IDO Nam Hee-dong said, “The three of us discussed it among ourselves, and we wanted to speak together, so there isn’t anything else.” He continued, “In fact, from the audience’s side, every moment was glorious—including unexpected things like that,” expressing the happiness from that time on behalf of the team.

As for who would deliver the acceptance remarks among the three, they decided it with a “rock-paper-scissors” game. When director Maggie Kang told everyone about that, IDO Kwak Joong-gyu said, “We decide everything with rock-paper-scissors,” and laughed, while Yiyuhan added, “The same goes for my Academy acceptance remarks—and even at the Golden Globes. I went because I won.” Their playful camaraderie as three people was easy to see.

Netflix Original 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 has continued to build momentum in popularity, scoring wins including this time’s Academy Awards in the Animation category and the theme song category at the 31st Critics Choice Awards, the Animation category and the theme song category at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, and the OST award at the 68th Grammy Awards. It continues to show up on Billboard charts to this day.