4 min readMumbaiMar 16, 2026 10:04 AM IST
At the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night in California, KPop Demon Hunters emerged as one of the evening’s big winners, taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and later securing Best Original Song for its breakout track Golden. The double victory capped a remarkable awards-season run for the Netflix phenomenon and marked a milestone moment for Korean representation on Hollywood’s biggest stage.
Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, and produced by Michelle L. M. Wong, the animated feature beat contenders that included Elio, Arco, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Zootopia 2 in the category. The win added to an already dominant streak for the film, which had previously taken top animation honours at the Golden Globe Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, and the Producers Guild of America Awards, while also collecting 10 trophies at the Annie Awards.
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Accepting the award, Kang delivered an emotional speech about representation. “Thank you to the Academy and to all fans who got us here,” she said. Fighting back tears, she added, “To those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. But it is here. And that means that the next generations don’t have to go longing. This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere.”
With the win, Kang and Wong became the first Asian women to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Appelhans, addressing the audience, reflected on the power of storytelling across cultures. “Music and stories have the power to connect us as humans across cultures and borders,” he said, adding a message to aspiring artists: “Tell your story, sing in your voice. I promise you the world is waiting.”
Later in the ceremony, the film returned to the stage when Golden won the Best Original Song, becoming the first K-pop track ever to win an Oscar in the category. It makes them the first South Koreans to win Best Original Song. During the acceptance speech, EJAE delivered an emotional address. She said, “Growing up, you know, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics. I’m so proud.” She added how the song and the award is more about resilience than success. Co-writer Mark Sonnenblick was cut off as the music played him off mid-sentence.
For EJAE, the song’s success carries a deeply personal meaning. She had previously spoken about how working on the film helped her confront insecurities from her early days as a K-pop trainee. “I was dropped as a K-pop trainee as a kid and heard a lot about my voice being ‘too low or kind of ugly,’” she said. Writing and performing the song, she added, helped her reclaim that voice and embrace her identity as a Korean artist.
Blending pop spectacle with supernatural fantasy, KPop Demon Hunters follows a globally famous K-pop girl group whose glamorous stage lives conceal a secret: they are demon hunters tasked with protecting the world from dark forces. The film moves between high-energy concerts, backstage conflicts and supernatural battles, weaving Korean folklore into the hyper-polished aesthetics of the global K-pop industry.
The film’s sweeping success, both commercially and across awards circuits, reflects the growing cultural reach of Korean entertainment worldwide. With a sequel already announced and the creative team set to return, the world of KPop Demon Hunters is expanding further, carrying with it a story that has resonated far beyond the K-pop fandom.
Kpop Demon Hunters Oscar win 2026 (Photos: The Academy / Instagram)