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This exclusive piece delves into extraordinary interviews and narratives from around the globe.

"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I didn't have blue eyes and blonde hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," says Arden Cho, who voiced the lead character in Netflix's chart-topping animated film, the K-pop themed animation.

The performer, 40, recalls her childhood in Texas, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which narrates the tale of a girl group who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to accept her true nature as a hybrid being – and when she first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.

"Being born in America, identifying as American but having others view me like I'm not, trying to figure out my identity as an Asian-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she explains.

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

"Truthfully, at different points in my life, I hated many parts of me and I wanted to be someone else.

"As kids, what you see influences who you become and I feel like I lacked exposure to enough people that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters registered 33 million views in just two weeks, and reached the top 10 of the streaming rankings in 93 countries. To be part of the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for her "a dream come true" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for Asian-American children, the type that was missing when she was young.

She says many Korean-Americans have told her it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first time of their dual heritage and culture.

"I feel like Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had such a big impact on Korea being loved. But I feel like this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," she comments.

But the movie's triumph was uncertain and Cho admits she felt the production crew were "occasionally struggling against odds".

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

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to connect with the entire cast and crew face-to-face, she says.

The movie was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the US as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in many states.

As an person of Asian descent residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Newcomers have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have suggested that up to one hundred fifty thousand Korean immigrants lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be deported.

As an grown-up, Cho understood that the prejudice she had encountered when in her youth was largely due to a knowledge gap, as people didn't know what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"But now, in the modern era, when I feel like the society and people should know better, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes it appears we feel so hopeless," she says.

Due to this, it feels very special, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "optimism and happiness to all these different communities".

"Perhaps this explains it became this movie of the summer, because there was a need for some hope and a unifying element all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in coming years it could be used to produce a film like the animation.

Cho says she is aware that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still pursue art created by humans.

"Certainly, I'm sure they're going to have AI actors and vocalists. I know they're already here. I know performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I trust the public have some respect and desire for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its score featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan creations, and audiences around the world are calling for a sequel.

She tells us she would like to confirm the question of whether that will happen – but both she and fans will have to await the platform or the production company, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I'm aware rumors are circulating, I've heard wonderful things," she shares. "Only time will tell, and I believe fans everywhere would riot if there wasn't."

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