'I hated that I looked Asian': KPop Demon Hunters star on her struggle for acceptance

I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn't have blue eyes and blonde hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time, says Arden Cho, the actress who voiced Rumi, star of Netflix's chart-topping animated film, KPop Demon Hunters.

Speaking to the BBC World Service for the Global Women series, Cho, 40, is describing her childhood in Texas, as the eldest daughter of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in American society.

In the film, which tells the story of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to come to terms with her identity as part human, part demon - and when Cho first read the script this resonated powerfully.

Being born in America, feeling American but having people treat me like I'm not, trying to figure out my identity as an Asian-American, as a Korean-American, as a woman, she says. These were all elements of her early life that mirrored Rumi's journey.

I can honestly say that at different points in my life, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else. As kids, what you see shapes who you become and I feel like I just didn't see enough people that look like me.

When it launched on Netflix in June, KPop Demon Hunters registered 33 million views in just two weeks, and reached the top 10 of the Netflix charts in 93 countries. To star in the first Hollywood animated film set in Korea, with Korean leads, was for Cho a dream come true – but it has also made her a powerful role model for Asian-American children, of the kind that she lacked when she was young.

Cho says many Korean-Americans have told her it's such a refreshing moment, making them proud for the first time of their dual heritage and culture.

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 this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now, Cho says.

But the film's success was not guaranteed and Cho says she felt the team making it were sometimes facing an uphill battle. I feel like it kind of sucks to say this, but any time there's an Asian-led project, people feel like it's a risk, she says.

As an Asian-American living in the US, it's heartbreaking and disappointing, says Cho. Immigrants have made America what it is. Cho also realized that racism she experienced stemmed from a lack of education among people about what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

Despite facing challenges, Cho feels that KPop Demon Hunters brings hope and joy and love to all these different communities and emphasizes the importance of creating authentic narratives in media.

The film has also made an impact on music charts, and the audience is already clamoring for a sequel as Cho mentions, I think everyone in the world would riot if there wasn't.