[0:00] Go after the very thing that 
powers the The Honmoon. The fans.
[0:08] ...A demon boy band?
[0:10] I went down a Korean demonology 
mythology art history rabbit hole.
[0:15] Demon does not mean one specific 
thing in Korean mythology
[0:19] in a kinda a similar way that in the 
west fairy are fae, and gnomes are fae.
[0:25] And If you didn't know gnomes 
are fae I just blew your mind!
[0:29] in korean mythology
[0:29] Dokkaebi are different types of I wanna 
say goblin demons; but remove the idea  
[0:35] of inherent negativity, despite the 
commonness of fangs the vibe isn't orge
[0:41] its fae trickster who won't commonly 
hurt you if you don't hurt them.
[0:45] Traditionally, they were never 
human. They have never died. 
[0:48] They can be ugly or beautiful, but they commonly  
[0:51] wear traditional Korean hanbok. And 
sometimes appear out of blue flames!
[0:57] They were said to arise 
from old discarded objects,  
[1:00] an old basket an old broom, especially 
an object stained with human blood.
[1:04] I find the idea that they can 
be both nature spirits and arise  
[1:08] from objects very interesting rather 
than coming from a soul or from earth
[1:13] Dokkaebi are tricksters, and they dont all want 
the same thing. Some are helpers, Some want to  
[1:18] seduce humans, some wanna wrestle, some wanna 
wrestle even though they only have one leg!
[1:23] Theirs also a lot of art of them 
singing and dancing so they like music!
[1:27] They also often depicted with clubs, but these 
aren't just cave man clubs, they actually work  
[1:32] as magic wands, and while they cannot create 
matter they can summon existing objects.
[1:38] Some are friendly enough to have 
over for dinner but if you hang  
[1:40] out with them too much you start to turn into one.
[1:43] Which happens in one story and an old man 
has drinks with a Dokkaebi and then has to  
[1:48] trick a Dokkaebi into leaving him but 
not before tricking him into thinking  
[1:51] I'd be a really great act of revenge 
to leave him a whole bunch of money.
[1:56] In some traditions you might make 
an offering to them because some  
[2:00] are defenders against evil spirits or 
they might help you with your crops.
[2:04] But in other traditions they’re the 
trouble makers so you do things to  
[2:07] drive them away or at the very least do 
something to promote the good in them.
[2:12] Meaning for the movie this group of demons 
being imprisoned by Gwi-Ma may be different  
[2:17] types of creatures all clustered under 
one label. While Jinu made a bargain;  
[2:22] others might not have the 
same reasons for being there.
[2:25] What I learned from my rabbit 
hole was that Korean mythology  
[2:28] only reinforced the essentially 
not-evil nature of these creatures.
[2:33] The word Saja has a double meaning. 
Said one way it means lion but said  
[2:38] another way with a long vowel 
it means envoy or emissary the  
[2:42] band’s name has this double meaning 
that plays off of the jeoseung saja.
[2:48] jeoseung saja...
[2:50] jeoooooseug saaaaja
[2:50] Oh my god... Its hitting me 
how bad my pronunciation is...
[2:53] DO NOT COPY MY PRONUNCIATION IN THIS VIDEO!
[2:56] Be honest... do I sound like that 
cat that goes oh long johnson!?
[2:58] (clip)
oh long johnson
[3:00] jeoseung saja
[3:09] in korean mythology are jeoseung saja are 
kinda like government worker for death.
[3:14] They’re not evil spirits it’s just 
their job. They carry a death ledger  
[3:18] of the names of people who’s time is up. 
And they don't cause your death so don't  
[3:22] shoot the messenger you just follow them 
after you die cause its their sacred duty .
[3:23] They were typically in medieval 
armor maybe on a horse.
[3:26] This sleek all black aesthetic for the jeoseung  
[3:29] saja is based off of old 
korean movies and k-drama.
[3:33] The Saja boys are definitely not jeoseung 
saja as they have malicious intent,
[3:38] but them dressing as them comes 
off as a funny threat to me.
[3:42] You may notice that their outfits they 
wore in your idol are more modern shiny  
[3:46] versions of their original outfits 
they wore when they pitched the idea
[3:50] so I think this is canonically a 
costume to them mocking their victims
[3:55] as in, "If you see me in this outfit, 
its like you’re already dead."
[3:58] I think this is in character for 
them considering that the soda pop  
[4:01] song is basically a metaphor for them 
drinking up the souls of their victims.
[4:15] You're my soda pop, gotta drink every drop.
[4:15] I like that the romantic arc between Rumi and Jinu 
doesn't have a kiss; it can just be a meaningful  
[4:20] connection that ends in tragedy. This is super 
smart because it allows the connection between  
[4:25] Rumi, Mira and Zoey to be the strongest force 
in the movie which makes sense thematically.
[4:30] It shows serious restraint that their romance 
scenes are just brief sorta awkward conversations  
[4:36] where you get the sense that they could be 
so much more. Because selling a love story  
[4:40] between a 400 year old demon and a human is 
already hard but not having to rush it to get  
[4:45] to a big kiss or an I love you just adds so 
much oxygen and charm to their interactions
[4:51] i just want to talk
[4:53] talk?
[4:53] about your patterns
[4:55] uhh... but first i wanna talk about those pants.
[4:58] Teddy bears and choo choo trains, really?
[5:04] It much more romantic because it doesn't 
feel like a bullet train paint by numbers  
[5:09] forbidden love that would inevitably 
fight for time with everything else.
[5:13] Speaking of things that could have gone 
so so so wrong but went so so so so right.
[5:18] If the catchy songs weren't catchy. And if 
the choreography wasn't so addictive to watch
[5:24] oh my god it makes me nervous thinking 
of how much was riding on that.
[5:32] because that would- this would 
just be a different movie.
[5:34] But Golden and more concerning 
for our souls Soda Pop have done  
[5:39] extremely well and the album's official 
soundtrack hit number 1 on Spotify.
[5:44] I think it's interesting how this movie does 
its call to action very nontraditionally. It  
[5:48] starts "in medias res” in the middle of the 
action. And this is really suiting here when  
[5:52] you think about it because these girls are 
experts in the two things they do that are  
[5:55] sorta the one thing so that slow wind up of 
bumbling around being an everyman stage is  
[5:59] not really needed where and instead we 
can start with their baseline reality.
[6:05] and there baseline reality 
is bombastic glamorous chaos
[6:19] and that's why How’s It’s Done is 
a really satisfying way of getting  
[6:22] into this world. Into their mind set, 
what drives them, what upsets them.
[6:27] The entire movie keeps the tone very silly 
and high energy and i think that's why they  
[6:32] stayed away from giving too much 
backstory. Which I wanted more of;  
[6:36] but that's very good problem to have when I want 
more backstory but I still don't feel empty as  
[6:41] a viewer I just want more of it because I 
want more of the characters and this world.
[6:46] It’s honestly beautiful as 
a stand alone piece though
[6:48] I’m expecting a "tiger" has been spotted in 
the "pasture"... if you catch my drift...
[6:53] The tiger is made of money.
[6:55] The world building itself is very folklore 
driven which I love and it's honestly  
[6:59] an example about how, especially in movies 
when you can do interesting visual elements,  
[7:03] outright telling is not always a bad 
thing, sometimes it can be very fable-like.
[7:08] K-Pop Demon Hunters is actually doing a lot 
of that. But it's doing it with rich visuals  
[7:13] so I think it's getting away with this very blunt 
script. Where it is kinda just telling you things
[7:20] But its not like it always over explains, 
it doesn't take every opportunity to over  
[7:26] explain for example Celine or Jinu and 
I think that's why its getting away with  
[7:31] it because even after the movie there is a 
lot left to talk about that's up in the air.
[7:37] Also every piece of exposition 
is like very short and punchy  
[7:42] trying to get the most bang for its 
buck in terms of characterization.
[7:46] The momentum of the movie is very fast. It 
definitely gives this fun feeling, it can almost  
[7:52] feel exhausting but a glamorous sort of exhausted 
where I collapse next to my floating steps
[7:58] The drawback is; this movie didn't make 
me cry and I think that hummingbird tone  
[8:03] is part of that— however this movie 
has such a unique vibe it scratches  
[8:08] such a specific psychological itch that 
I don’t know if tampering with that to  
[8:13] fix my problem wouldn't just break that 
zippy funess to it. Because its going;
[8:20] beat. beat! beat!!!
[8:21] at a fast pace
[8:23] and that makes me feel like I’m following this 
larger than life magical Kpop demon hunter girl.
[8:30] The humor was a little corny for me, but a couple 
of jokes hit great and were more of my humor.
[8:34] I just need to look away and... 
relax Bobby... it's just social  
[8:40] media numbers. Its not the end of the world.
[8:45] Bobby generally hit very well with 
me. Very cute supporting role. So  
[8:50] did Mira’s concerning reactions to 
things despite her edgy exterior.
[8:55] you okay?
[8:56] uhhh what are you doing...? 
[8:58] ....umm...nothing just 
uh... did you wanna come in? 
[9:02] I mean yeah if you want me 
to come in I can come in.
[9:04] The tiger and the magpie fascinated me. I love 
how the magpies animated I love how METAL he is!
[9:12] I love designs with too many eyes.
[9:14] He's just such a perfect cute demon bird.
[9:16] There is a lot of Korean folk 
art about tigers and magpies!
[9:21] Now the tiger can represent a lot of things it can 
be good fortune but also be a stand in for like  
[9:26] people in position of power. Or notable for this 
it I think for us protection from evil spirits
[9:33] it’s ironic an evil spirit like Jinu 
would keep something that keeps him at bay 
[9:40] like a snail keeping salt 
as a pet. A pet … rock salt…
[9:44] But within that irony Jinu 
is obviously not the most  
[9:44] evil demon and he needs protection from 
evil demons so he literally needs them.
[9:45] Or it kinda of implies Jinu isn't evil and 
this may be some good spirit tethered to him.
[9:52] Also Jinu’s line about the hat is one 
of my favorite lines of the movie.
[10:03] I also think this from the credits 
points to the idea Jinu made the hat  
[10:08] small because the tiger was small... which 
is important information to tell you...
[10:14] Sometimes I wonder why some cute mascots hit 
harder for me than others. Theirs is this book  
[10:19] The power of cute by Simon May that has this 
interesting suggestion that on some level in  
[10:24] order for something to be really really cute 
there needs to be something sorta pathetic about  
[10:29] it something that cries for our help. Like 
a puppy is cute; but a puppy with a cast on
[10:37] I'm not sure if that's always true but I was 
definitely thinking about it watching this.
[10:41] Because that's how I feel about this tiger 
that just sorta innocently… curiously….  
[10:46] get the flower pot to stand upright but he 
keeps knocking it over. The tiger’s design  
[10:52] is beautiful based off Korean tiger art, but 
it has very unnerving eyes that are not the  
[11:00] obvious choice for a cute character that's 
essentially functioning as a walking mailbox,  
[11:04] but man… he works… I love this tiger. Also very 
boopable nos. The tiger has a boopable nose.
[11:12] There is also many things I find 
amusing even if they're not haha  
[11:15] funny to me like how tropey the soja boys are.
[11:19] Like I think it's funny it's like , "Oh theirs the 
mysterious one the ripped one who's name is abs  
[11:25] and then theirs the one that's the quote unquote 
"baby" of the group sucking on his water bottle.
[11:32] I will say the way these characters are flawed 
is very light for a story about shame. But they  
[11:38] are likeable because it’s kinda what’s not to 
like; they’re very cute and relatable. I too  
[11:43] enjoy eating and resting. A lot of it is in 
the character design and facial expressions.  
[11:48] And 5% of it might be that the glitter in 
the eye make up makes my dopamine go crazy.
[11:54] Rumi, Mira and Zoey feel unique and cohesive 
standing next to each other. This is a good  
[12:00] example about how similar proportions does not 
equal same face syndrome and can be handled well.
[12:07] The amount of detail in the nails, face make up is 
astounding. There is more than one make-up look.
[12:16] Even stuff like both groups' merch feels so 
well thought out. The merch light sticks the  
[12:22] Saja Boys have. I love how their emblems 
a lion and its like the lions mane is the  
[12:28] rest of the shape and for the Huntrix’s they 
loos both like the Honmoon and a microphone.
[12:34] They even cared enough to show the girls out of 
make up making them feel more believable and real.  
[12:39] Anatomical details like muscles flexing under the 
skin looked cool and helped add weight to scenes.
[12:46] I like Rumi’s demon marks and how they evolve and 
take on beautiful shining characteristics. Witch  
[12:51] sorta undoes them as a negative characteristic 
but at the same time I think it's cool and I  
[12:56] like the symbolism of the marks take on a new 
quality rather than her ever being freed from  
[13:00] the marks and them reseeding. They're 
like these beautiful healed scars. It's  
[13:07] neat. I also like how the outfits after the 
girls make up have a subtle pattern to them.
[13:12] While I think some people will see a beautiful 
character with sorta super physical flaws I  
[13:17] think the story actually did a good job 
of building that flaw up as plot and lore  
[13:22] relevant as well as with the demon voice 
creeping in effecting Rumi’s singing and  
[13:28] making her look demonic and untrustworthy. 
As well as building up that Zoey and Mira  
[13:48] are used to seeing everything with patterns as 
inhuman and being brainwashed by their training.
[13:54] And this plays into the lyrics 
of Take Down and why Rumi finds  
[13:57] it so upsetting. The hatred for demons 
for Rumi becomes a type of self hatred
[14:03] In the flashbacks Celine braids Rumi’s 
hair in a style similar to her mother as  
[14:08] she trains Rumi to hunt demons. Rumi’s 
mother has a braid as well and so it’s  
[14:10] sorta like Celine is emphasizing the half of 
Rumi that she's comfortable with. While the  
[14:21] obvious thing to develop her is Celine 
the mother, the demon father and Jinu I  
[14:29] understand tonally why this was either cut or 
not included it keeps the tone way sillier.
[14:37] I really enjoyed this movie. I’ve struggled 
with my projects all becoming huge and  
[14:41] unmanageable but I found my script for 
K-pop demon hunters was short and as  
[14:46] straightforward as the movie. I cant 
believe K-pop demon hunters fixed me.
[14:50] I’m gonna be thinking about how much Mira asks 
her friends if they're okay for awhile. As well  
[14:55] as the fact that Zoey’s ramyeon was hamburger 
flavored. I’m suspicious we have another Elsa  
[15:00] on our hands with Rumi and that my feed will soon 
be clogged with AI baby soja boys or whatever.
[15:07] But it’s nice to be back, I’m Quinn Curio. 
Thanks for listening. Let me know if there  
[15:11] is anything very interesting about K-pop 
demon hunters that I didn't touch on.