March 15, 2026Updated March 16, 2026, 1:04 a.m. ET
For the creators of “KPop Demon Hunters,” Oscars night is looking “Golden.”
The Netflix uber-hit took home the award for best animated movie at the March 15 ceremony, a no-brainer for anyone with children who was subjected to countless replays of the film’s instantly viral soundtrack.
Speaking with USA TODAY in the pressroom after nabbing the coveted trophy, the film’s creators gushed over how much it meant to them to see Korean culture recognized at the Oscars. “I’m just so proud of Korean film and movies about Korea. … I just feel immensely proud,” director Maggie Kang said. It’s also been moving, she added, to see the world embrace K-pop, an art form she’s loved for decades.
“Being a fan of KPop music since the ’90s when it was first created… That’s where my love started. Just to see it be loved by audiences globally, it just means so much to me. … For it to be accepted and loved globally by other cultures, it’s just so meaningful as a Korean filmmaker,” she continued.
Kang also shouted out “Parasite,” a Korean film that took home best picture at the Academy Awards in 2020. Watching that win was “one of the most emotional moments” for her as a filmmaker, she said.
Kang echoed that sentiment in her acceptance speech, telling audiences tuning in and the celebrity-studded crowd at the event itself: “This is for Koreans and for Koreans everywhere.”
To continue the film’s record run, which has smashed streaming records for Netflix and punctuated a growing global interest in K-pop, audiences also heard a rendition of “Golden,” the film’s most popular track, later in the ceremony.
‘Golden’ singers speak out after speech was cut off
“Demon Hunters” scored in another major category Sunday night with a win in the best original song category for “Golden.”
“Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop and now everybody is singing along,” EJAE, the singer and songwriter on “Golden,” said during a tearful speech from the stage. Sadly, the Oscar orchestra cut them off before the other songwriters could speak.
In the pressroom afterward, the winners reacted, sharing the sentiments that they wished they could have said from the stage.
“I would like to thank our families,” Yu Han Lee said. “This is an incredible honor.”
“My family… my husband… everybody who worked on this movie… it was a real collaboration across the board. … The fans too, who have loved this movie and made it what it is… A movie is like a village, and we’re lucky to be up here right now,” Mark Sonnenblick added in his own thank yous.