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

"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I didn't have blue eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," reveals Arden Cho, who voiced the lead character in the streaming platform's chart-topping movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

The performer, forty, is describing her childhood in the southern state, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which tells the story of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from dark powers, the protagonist has to come to terms with her true nature as part human, part demon – and when she first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having people treat me like I'm not, grappling with my identity as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she says.

These elements were components of her formative years that mirrored the character's path.

"I can honestly say, at different points in my life, I hated a lot of myself and I longed to become someone else.

"During childhood, your surroundings influences who you become and it seems I lacked exposure to enough people that look like me."

When it debuted on the platform in June, the animated feature registered 33 million views in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the streaming rankings in 93 countries. To star in the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "a dream come true" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the type that she lacked when in her youth.

She notes many Korean-Americans have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first instance of their dual heritage and culture.

"In my view K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I feel like this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, inspiring travel to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and Cho admits she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"It seems it's unfortunate to say this, but any time there's an Asian-led project, people feel like a gamble," she says.

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

The movie was released against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of mass deportation efforts, which triggered demonstrations in many states.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's heartbreaking and disappointing," she states. "Newcomers have made America what it is."

Korean news sources have suggested that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be deported.

As an grown-up, she understood that the racism she had encountered when in her youth was largely due to a lack of education, as people didn't know what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"But now, in the modern era, when it seems the society and people should know better, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes it appears we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Because of this, it feels very special, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Perhaps this explains it became this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and a unifying element all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in future it could be used to make a film like KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho acknowledges she is conscious that AI is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but wants to "maintain faith in people" that individuals will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I'm sure there will be AI actors and singers. I know they're already here. I know our voices are already being manipulated, but I trust the public have appreciation and desire for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the global music charts, with seven tracks from its score appearing in the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and viewers globally are demanding a follow-up.

Cho tells us she wishes she could answer the inquiry of if a sequel is planned – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the streaming service or the studio, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, the feedback is positive," she says. "So we shall see, and I think everyone in the world would protest if there wasn't."

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