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This feature delves into extraordinary interviews and stories from around the globe.

"{I disliked that I looked Asian, that I lacked blue eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful back then," says Arden Cho, who voiced the lead character in the streaming platform's chart-topping movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

The performer, forty, recalls her childhood in the southern state, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her journey toward belonging in the United States.

In the movie, which tells the story of a girl group who must save the world from dark powers, Rumi has to accept her true nature as a hybrid being – and when Cho first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Asian-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she explains.

These were all aspects of her early life that paralleled Rumi's journey.

"Truthfully, at different points in my life, I despised a lot of myself and I wanted to be a different person.

"During childhood, what you see shapes who you become and it seems I just didn't see enough people that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters achieved millions of streams in just 14 days, and reached the highest positions of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To star in the first Hollywood animated film set in Korea, with Asian protagonists, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the kind that was missing when she was young.

Cho says many Korean-Americans have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first instance of their mixed background and cultural roots.

"In my view Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had such a big impact on Korea being loved. But I believe this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, inspiring travel to Korea, now," she comments.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and Cho admits she felt the production crew were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"It seems it kind of sucks to mention this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, it's perceived like a gamble," she reveals.

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to connect with the entire cast and crew in person, she adds.

The film was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the US as part of mass deportation efforts, which triggered demonstrations in many states.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's deeply saddening," says Cho. "Immigrants have made America what it is."

Reports have estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including adopted children, are among those who could be deported.

As an grown-up, Cho came to realise that the racism she had encountered when she was younger was largely due to a lack of education, as people didn't know what it meant to be of Asian descent.

"But now, in the modern era, when I feel like the world and individuals should know better, it's deeply disheartening and at times I feel like we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Because of this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "optimism and happiness to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it became the season's hit film, because there was a need for positivity and a unifying element as one."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the film industry, raising the possibility that in future it could be used to make a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho says she is conscious that AI is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still seek out art created by humans.

"Sure, I'm sure there will be AI actors and vocalists. I'm aware they're already here. I know our voices are already being altered, but I hope people have appreciation and desire for authentic creations."

The film has also been dominating the international music rankings, with multiple songs from its score appearing in the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan creations, and viewers globally are demanding a follow-up.

She reveals she wishes she could answer the question of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the streaming service or the studio, which made the film, to approve the project.

"I'm aware rumors are circulating, the feedback is positive," she shares. "Only time will tell, and I think everyone in the world would protest if it didn't happen."

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