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This exclusive piece explores extraordinary interviews and narratives from around the globe.

"{I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards at the time," reveals Arden Cho, who portrayed the lead character in Netflix's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

The performer, forty, recalls her childhood in Texas, as the eldest daughter of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the movie, which tells the story of a female K-Pop trio who must rescue humanity from evil forces, Rumi has to come to terms with her identity as part human, part demon – and when Cho first saw the screenplay, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, identifying as American but having people treat me like a foreigner, trying to figure out my sense of self as an Asian-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she says.

These were all components of her early life that paralleled Rumi's journey.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my life, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else.

"As kids, what you see influences who you become and I feel like I just didn't see sufficient individuals that shared my appearance."

When it debuted on the platform in the summer, the animated feature achieved millions of streams in just two weeks, and secured the top 10 of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To be part of the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the kind that was missing when in her youth.

She notes many Korean-Americans have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them proud for the first time of their mixed background and culture.

"I feel like K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. K-beauty has had a significant influence on Korea being loved. But I feel like this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, inspiring travel to Korea, currently," she comments.

But the film's success was uncertain and Cho says she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

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

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

The movie was released against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, 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 estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be deported.

As an adult, she understood that the prejudice she had encountered when in her youth was largely due to a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"However today, in this day and age, when it seems the world and people ought to be more informed, it's deeply disheartening and at times it appears there's a sense of despair," she expresses.

Because of this, it feels very special, she notes, that the film could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Maybe that's why it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and something to unite us all together."

The growth of AI is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in coming years it could be used to produce a movie like the animation.

The actress says she is aware that AI is already being used to copy actors' voices, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that individuals will still pursue art created by humans.

"Certainly, I'm sure they're going to have digital performers and vocalists. I know they're already here. I know performers' voices are already being altered, but I hope the public have appreciation and want and love for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the global music charts, with multiple songs from its score appearing in the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and audiences globally are demanding a sequel.

She tells us she would like to confirm the question of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to await the platform or the production company, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I'm aware rumors are circulating, the feedback is positive," she shares. "So we shall see, and I believe everyone in the world would protest if it didn't happen."

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