Netflix animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” continues to earn accolades, this time winning a historic Best Animated Feature honor at the 98th Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars.

“This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere,” the film's director, Maggie Kang, said on Sunday after receiving the award.


Directed by Korean Canadian director Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the Oscar-winning film centers on the fictional K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, who secretly hunts demons to protect the world while facing off against a rival demon boy band Saja Boys.

Signs of what would become a groundbreaking cultural phenomenon were first spotted when the film was released on streaming platform Netflix in June last year.

Despite quite a humble opening, the film soon became the most-streamed on Netflix, dethroning “Red Notice” (2021). It later climbed to become the most-watched title in the streaming platform's history, pushing another Korean series, the first season of “Squid Game” (2021-25), to the No. 2 spot.

Its record-breaking success continued beyond its streaming platforms.

“KPop Demon Hunters” earned numerous accolades at major awards ceremonies. In January, it swept honors at both the 31st Critics’ Choice Awards and the 83rd Golden Globes for both the film itself and its music.

At the Critics’ Choice Awards, the film won Best Animated Feature and Best Song for “Golden” (2025). It also took home the animated Best Motion Picture honor and Best Original Song for a motion picture award at the Golden Globes.

While the film itself proved to be a major success, its songs propelled it even further, achieving several unprecedented milestones in K-pop history.

Following the film’s positive reception, its songs, such as “Golden,” “Soda Pop” (2025) and “How’s It’s Done” (2025), garnered global attention, climbing the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Its signature track “Golden” is still holding strong in the top 10 on the chart, sitting at No. 8 for the week of March 14, and has remained on the chart for 37 weeks. The song also held the No. 1 spot for eight consecutive weeks, becoming the ninth K-pop song to top the chart, and the first by female lead vocalists. It follows such songs as BTS's "Dynamite" (2020), “Seven” (2023) by BTS's Jungkook and “Like Crazy” (2023) by BTS's Jimin.

At the 2026 Grammys, “Golden” marked another milestone for K-pop, becoming the first K-pop song to win an award at the ceremony for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The track was also nominated in five categories, including Song of the Year.

In Britain, the HUNTR/X track became the first K-pop song in over a decade to top the Official Singles chart, the first since Psy’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012.

Not only did the movie's songs achieve remarkable success, but the fictional groups in the film — HUNTR/X and Saja Boys — also set several records.

HUNTR/X became the first girl group in more than two decades to top the Billboard Hot 100, following Destiny’s Child in 2001, and the first K-pop girl group to achieve the feat.

Saja Boys also became the first K-pop boy band to top Spotify’s U.S. Daily Top Songs chart with “Your Idol” (2025). The achievement made it the highest-charting boy band in K-pop history, surpassing BTS.

The singing voices behind HUNTR/X have also been busy bringing the group to life on real-world stages, ever since the trio gave its first live performance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (2014) in October last year.

The group also performed at major events, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in November last year. Duffy, the pet tiger of Saja Boys’ Jinu, appeared above New York City during the parade.

The HUNTR/X members also took the stage at the NFL Christmas Day game halftime show and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve in Times Square, New York, as well as in Britain for the BAFTA Film Awards and the Brit Awards.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]