My daughter came home from school one day asking if we can watch K-Pop Demon Hunters on Netflix because one of her friends recommended the movie. Now, I’m not going to lie, the title gave me pause because it sounds like it might be too violent or possibly scary for her. I watched it with her so I could provide guidance and answer any questions she might have and ended up personally invested in the story myself!
Now, I totally get the hype. Let me tell you all about it.
First of all, is this movie appropriate for kids?
There are scenes where the Huntr/x girls Rumi, Zoey, and Mira battle demons and hypnotized fans having their souls taken. It’s not particularly bloody or graphic, but the ideas can be scary for some kids. You will have to rely on your own judgement if the film is appropriate for your child. We personally don’t shield our daughter very much from themes of conflict and the existence of violence as long as we are there to talk to her about it, but every child is different. Experts suggest that having age-appropriate discussion about conflict can foster stronger emotional comprehension skills. Being open to discussions about their thoughts and feelings about this can help them develop more positive conflict resolution skills.
Eventually Rumi gets to know their rival group’s frontman, Jinu, and about how he became a demon. She slowly develops empathy towards the other demons that they were supposed to destroy. She realizes that many of them were also just victims trapped by their circumstances. Experts Strayer and Roberts found that children 9-11 years of age were likely to identify with characters onscreen, indicating increases in empathy via media exposure. When we show our kids examples of empathy, both on and offscreen, we increase their likelihood of being able to understand and identify with the struggles of others, even if we don’t agree with their actions.
Beyond the hype, the movie leaves us with meaningful takeaways.
The truly scary thing about the villain, Gwi-ma, is that he doesn’t resort to physical harm. He infiltrates people’s thoughts and amplifies all the shame and despair so he can eventually take their soul. Rumi’s spreading demon patterns, Zoey’s struggle to fit in due to her mixed cultural upbringing, Mira’s hurt from being disowned by her family are thoughts and feelings we and our kids struggle with on a daily basis.
Rumi’s question for her foster mother, Celine, “Why couldn’t you love me? All of me?” is one that most of us can understand. We all have parts of ourselves that we think makes us unlovable and should be covered up. But we still have that deep desire to be accepted, to be loved, flaws and all.
As a parent, that scene broke my heart. Another study, one by Pullmer, showed that having lower levels of compassion towards oneself can be related to high rates of depressive symptoms in adults. We want to be the ones who build our children up to love themselves and to be their safe place when they feel like they can’t. But sometimes we have our own fears that bleed into the way we parent our children.
Celine, Rumi’s adoptive mother, was taught that Hunters should prioritize perfection over honesty and, despite all her good intentions, she passed this harmful belief on to Rumi. This highlights the need for us to keep working on our own individual insecurities so that we can be the parents that our kids need us to be.
The Honmoon, the spiritual gate shielding humans from the demon world, was forged by the voices of generations of Hunters. But when the Huntr/x girls struggled with their own demons, the Honmoon was destroyed. Once Rumi decided to embrace her full self as both hunter and child of a demon, Gwi-ma lost power over her. Their fans then joined their voices to create a new Honmoon. Shame thrives in shadows and secrets. When the girls were ready to be vulnerable about their insecurities and truly support one another, they became unstoppable.
We can teach our kids that honesty and self-compassion can help us in finding support from others and overall feeling better about ourselves. A study by Bajaj and Pande found that people who are more willing to acknowledge their vulnerability can cultivate hope and resilience to build better well-being. The more we present our authentic selves, the more chances we give the people around us to truly love and support us. Just like Rumi, no hero is a perfect figure who can do it all alone. But with honesty and the willingness to accept help, we can fight the demons both inside and outside our minds.
I’m not particularly familiar with the K-Pop genre of music so I know I’m late to the game here. The songs in this film are so catchy and inspiring that I ended up adding some of them to my workout playlist. My daughter was instantly obsessed with the empowering song “Golden” which talks about the Huntr/x girl’s struggles with their multiple roles and dual identities while emphasizing that, together, they can conquer these challenges. “Free” tackles the experience of finding someone who accepts you unconditionally once you’ve let them see all the darkness that you’ve been hiding. My personal favorite, “This Is What It Sounds Like”, is an anthem for anyone who has ever struggled to move on after hitting rock bottom. They sing about embracing all the broken pieces of yourself and letting the light shine on your imperfections. Nobody is perfect, but we do what we can to lift each other up.
Recent research shows that music plays a significant role in helping individuals manage their feelings. The next time you and your child face difficulties in emotion regulation, you can try listening to the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack to help let out some of those feelings. I’m sure the Honmoon can survive a few times of us dancing along with our kids to “Soda Pop”.
After countless (and I do mean countless) viewings, it’s clear to me that K-Pop Demon Hunters is a runaway hit because, behind the cute dialogue and infectiously catchy songs, it tackles heavy but relatable themes for both kids and adults. For parents, it’s a way to open conversations, to let kids know their struggles are seen, that they are not alone, and that even demons (literal or metaphorical) can’t define them. It’s a story about being brave enough to face what we are ashamed of, strong enough to let others in, and hopeful that redemption, self-compassion, and healing are all possible.
Sources:
Bajaj & Pande (2016) – Psychological vulnerability, resilience, and hope in relation to well-being (Personality and Individual Differences).
Cao, Wang, Lv & Xie (2023) – How children’s emotional understanding shapes their conflict resolution (Frontiers in Psychology).
Chong, Kim & Kim (2024) – A review of how music is used for emotion regulation (Behavioral Sciences).
Pullmer, Zeman, Cassano & Adrian (2019) – Self-compassion and its link to depressive symptoms in early adolescence (Journal of Adolescence).
Strayer & Roberts (1993) – Empathy differences in children watching a TV character’s fear (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology).