Who owns the ‘K’ in K-content? From ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ to Katseye, Western origins blur the line.

The massive global success of Netflix’s hit animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” has set off something of an identity crisis for Korea’s cultural sphere. The one question echoing across the country’s content and media industry is deceptively simple: What, exactly, counts as K-content?

The question stems from a barrage of recent triumphs under the “K” banner, from Korean literature, films and series to music, musicals and animation — which, upon closer inspection, share surprisingly little beyond varying degrees of Korean elements or involvement.

It is not the first time the industry has faced such existential musings. K-pop has long been facing similar debates for years now, as groups like Katseye and XG push the definition of the genre well beyond its birthplace.

As the “K” label grows looser in meaning, this introspection leads to a bigger question: If the ownership of the “K” brand no longer stays solely in Korean hands, what does that mean for these industries’ future?

The dilemma is compounded by the rising dominance of global capital. For skeptics, the concern is not only about who finances the production but also who ultimately controls the narrative and profits that define the latest Korean wave.

At this turning point, experts argue that defining the financial borders of K-content in a borderless marketplace means little compared to the bigger challenge of building a lasting cultural identity in the modern era — something that Koreans themselves have been grappling with amid an unprecedented cultural expansion.

Introspection into ‘K-ness’

While “KPop Demon Hunters” certainly reignited the latest round of debates, modern Korean culture has always been a hybrid, shaped by foreign influences as much as by domestic traditions.

The global breakthrough of K-pop in the late 2010s, led by juggernauts BTS and Blackpink and amplified during the pandemic, marked a turning point. But even in its earliest form, K-pop was never entirely homegrown, and its evolution over the years has been driven by a global network of songwriters, producers and choreographers.

“By the mid-2000s, SM Entertainment had already begun to actively buy songs from the United States and Europe,” said Choi Jin-suk, the global A&R executive of Kreation Music Rights under SM Entertainment, during the MU:CON conference on Sept. 10, pointing out that some of K-pop’s biggest hits like Girls’ Generation’s “Genie” (2009) and TVXQ’s “Mirotic” (2008) were produced by studios in Northern Europe.

“K-pop quickly absorbed the songwriting structure of the United States and Europe […] and recreated them into something new through a unique Korean lens,” Choi noted.

In recent years, the industry has gone even further, debuting groups that defy traditional definitions of K-pop. That is one of the reasons many K-pop fans debate whether HYBE’s Katseye, which consists almost entirely of non-Korean members except one but was developed through a K-pop production system, could or should be considered a K-pop act.

“But such questions mean little, considering that overseas audiences already call the genre K-pop anyway,” said Lee Gyu-tag, a professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea. “If certain songs are marketed and branded as K-pop for global listeners, they are K-pop songs — debates on whether they should be considered Korean don’t really mean much when they are already perceived as such.”

Still, Lee emphasizes that public discourse about what constitutes modern Korean culture is essential.

“Many Koreans still associate the Korean-ness only with traditional elements,” he said. “For Korea to further foster its cultural ecosystem, embracing the contemporary Korean culture is integral going forward.”

And the same question has also been affecting film and television.

The record-breaking popularity of “KPop Demon Hunters,” a Hollywood-backed, globally marketed animation with Korean inspirations, has made many Koreans wonder: Can we celebrate it as another triumph for Korean culture as we did with homegrown successes like “Parasite” (2019) or “Squid Game” (2021-25)?

Korean gaze and global lens

Many global titles carrying the “K” label may appear to be part of the same wave, but in reality, they are from vastly different roots.

Some are crafted by Korean creators, with domestic audiences as their primary focus, while others are driven by diasporic or international producers and use Korean themes to explore questions of identity and heritage.

Take “Squid Game,” one of the most groundbreaking hits that redefined the possibilities of K-content. The series was helmed by director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who repeatedly admitted in 2021 that he never expected it would resonate so powerfully with people around the world.

Similarly, Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” which made history as the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, was a deeply Korean story of class struggle and was crafted squarely within Korea. Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win in literature and the massive global success of the reality TV show “Culinary Class Wars” (2024) are also two examples of Korean storytelling and narratives reaching a wider, global audience.

On the other hand, Oscar-winning film “Minari” (2020) was directed by Lee Isaac Chung, a second-generation Korean immigrant, and explored diasporic themes. Netflix’s “Beef” (2023) and “XO, Kitty” (2023-) are also crafted by Korean-American creators from immigrant backgrounds, with the latter set specifically in Korea. For these works, Korea and its culture serve as themes, inspirations or a physical setting.

Some projects fall in between, such as the Tony Award-winning musical “Maybe Happy Ending,” which was co-created by Korean writer Hue Park and U.S. composer Will Aronson.

“KPop Demon Hunters,” created by Korean Canadian director Maggie Kang and produced internationally, triggered new questions as the film is still steeped in Korean identity, aesthetics and soundtrack, and is widely acclaimed for its accurate depiction of authentic Korean culture.

In an exclusive interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily, Kang said that she has been asked whether “KPop Demon Hunters” should be categorized as K-content.

“I’m Korean. The idea [for the film] originated from me,” said Kang. “Also, we had many Korean artists who contributed and put their hearts into it. So I think the soul of the movie is Korean — which I think ultimately makes it Korean.”
 

Uncharted waters

Yet the film’s production structure underscores a stark reality as the profits, like those of many other hits branded as K-content, largely flow to non-Korean stakeholders — namely streaming giants such as Netflix — which has fueled worries for some about the financial and cultural sustainability of Korea’s domestic content ecosystem.

But as Korea now enters a new era of its cultural evolution, the industry’s current focus appears to be on seizing opportunities to accelerate its global reach.

“I agree that we should be concerned about Netflix and other similar global platforms hoarding financial gains,” said Prof. Lee. “But from an academic perspective, this landscape serves as a cultural opportunity for Korea.”

Chae Hwi-young, the minister of culture, sports and tourism, echoed the sentiment, highlighting new opportunities that global players could provide.

“Some say Korea’s culture industry has reached its peak, saying there is only a downward slope ahead of us,” the minister told the press on Sept. 4, referring to the lack of funds and creative infrastructure for domestic projects.

“Of course, it would be ideal if we could fully reap all the financial gains ourselves,” Chae said. “But I believe the wisest path would be taking these many emerging new opportunities for our future as a cultural powerhouse.”

Safeguarding what is rightfully Korean while also remaining open to new opportunities is the most preferable approach, the minister said, stressing, “Pursuing a strictly ‘Made in Korea’ approach is not the way forward.”

Director Kang Yun-sung, who’s behind the “The Outlaws” (2017-) film franchise, said that there are no “purely Korean” works in today’s industry landscape.

“There are many discourses about how ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ was created by overseas capital, but I believe there’s no such thing as ‘purely Korean’ works these days, with so many financing sources intertwined worldwide,” said Kang during the BCWW 2025 conference on Sept. 16. “If more diverse themes are explored through Korean creations, they will be global ones.”

Redefining ‘K-ness’
 
As the audience for Korean content has grown larger than ever, the industry is eager to tap into the growing momentum. To do so, experts suggest, the nation should first anchor its cultural identity from within.

“From the perspective of the general Korean public, [the success of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’] is an invaluable asset,” said culture critic Kim Heon-sik, noting that its popularity will lay the groundwork for long-term interest in Korean culture as younger generations who first encountered K-content through the film are likely to carry that familiarity into adulthood.

Regardless of the nationality of the production studios, the core identity of “KPop Demon Hunters” remains unchanged as Korean, Kim said.

“If artists play hip-hop or jazz music in Korea, does that mean the genre is no longer hip-hop or jazz?” said Kim.

Stressing that questioning the film’s Korean-ness represents “a lack of confidence to claim what is culturally ours,” the critic added that now is the crucial time for Korea to solidify and further build up its global presence based on its cultural identity.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]