🔗 Share this article

This exclusive piece delves into extraordinary interviews and stories from worldwide.

"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I lacked light-colored eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards at the time," says the actress, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's chart-topping animated film, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, 40, is describing her early years in Texas, as the eldest daughter of parents who emigrated from Korea and her journey toward belonging in the United States.

In the film, which tells the story of a girl group who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to accept her identity as part human, part demon – and when Cho first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, identifying as American but having others view me like I'm not, trying to figure out my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she explains.

These elements were components of her formative years that paralleled Rumi's journey.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my life, I despised many parts of me and I longed to become someone else.

"During childhood, what you see shapes your development and I feel like I lacked exposure to enough people that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, the animated feature achieved 33 million views in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the streaming rankings in 93 countries. To star in the first Hollywood animated film set in Korea, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "a dream come true" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the type that she lacked when in her youth.

She says many individuals of Korean descent have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first time of their dual heritage and cultural roots.

"I feel like K-Pop really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had such a big impact on Korea being loved. But I feel like the film is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now," she comments.

But the film's success was not guaranteed and the actress admits she felt the production crew were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"I feel like it kind of sucks to say this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, people feel like a gamble," she reveals.

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to meet the entire cast and crew in person, she says.

The film was launched amid increased immigration raids in the United States as part of mass deportation efforts, which sparked protests in numerous regions.

As an Asian-American residing in America "it's heartbreaking and disappointing," she states. "Newcomers have made America what it is."

Korean news sources have estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be removed.

As an adult, she understood that the racism she had encountered when she was younger stemmed mainly from a lack of education, as many were unaware what it signified to be of Asian descent.

"But now, in this day and age, when I feel like the society and individuals should know better, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes it appears we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Because of this, it feels very special, she says, that the film could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Perhaps this explains it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because there was a need for positivity and something to unite us as one."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the film industry, raising the possibility that in coming years it could be used to produce a movie like the animation.

The actress says she is conscious that technology is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that individuals will still seek out art created by humans.

"Certainly, I believe they're going to have digital performers and singers. I'm aware they're already here. I understand our voices are already being altered, but I trust the public have appreciation and want and love for authentic creations."

The film has also been dominating the global music charts, with seven tracks from its score appearing in the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and audiences around the world are demanding a follow-up.

Cho tells us she wishes she could answer the inquiry of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to await the platform or the production company, which produced the movie, to approve the project.

"I'm aware there's lots of murmurs, the feedback is positive," she says. "So we shall see, and I believe everyone in the world would protest if it didn't happen."

• Starting conversations, fostering relationships and challenging misinformation through articles, investigations, interviews and remarkable accounts