My daughter reached out to me and said, “Dad, trust me. Your next Parting Thoughts needs to be KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix. This is as appropriate as something like Inside Out. If not more.”
Now just for context, my daughter is married and has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from an Ivy League school. She’s a smart cookie as well as a kind and loving soul. I thought to myself, “I don’t like K-Pop music, and I don’t like anything similar to anime, and from the looks of it I’m far from the target audience – but I trust her.” I decided to watch it, and I was in for a pleasant surprise.
A kid’s movie
Now to be clear, I’m definitely not the target audience. I would not have been naturally attracted to this film. However, for a kid’s movie, it contains a considerable amount of psychological depth. Key messages include self-acceptance as well as the power of honesty and vulnerability.
I can recognize that the visuals by Sony Pictures Imageworks are stunning (like the graphics in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), and the music (with a score by Marcelo Zaros) is catchy even if neither is my preferred style. This film’s fun and ironic combination of femininity and violently destroying evil was reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Korean cultural elements are both interesting and accessible to a North American audience.
There’s a fair bit of humor and poking fun at pop culture throughout. If you allow your kids to watch it, there’s a great deal to talk about with them afterwards. My parental approach is to always have in-depth discussions with kids about the underlying philosophy and worldview depicted in any media they consume. Sidenote: my daughter once told me she was surprised as a teenager when she learned that other families don’t dissect movies after they watch them like we do.
Christian parenting considerations
For Christian parents you need to be aware that the movie incorporates elements of demonology from Korean mythology. The main villain is a demon-king named Gwi-ma (very much a typical Dark Lord á la Sauron, Voldemort, or the Devil) who arranges for a group of demons to pose as the Saja Boys, a K-Pop boy band. [As a side note, a part of me derives a perverse pleasure in the boy band being demonic.]
A crucial plot point is that demons can be identified when in human form because under their clothing they have patterns on their skin. All in all, there is a clear good vs evil dynamic where the demons are stealing people’s life energies (i.e. their souls) and the heroines must stop them. The film makes clear that it is a “battle for hearts and minds.”
The three heroines, Rumi, Zoey, and Mira perform as the popular K-Pop band “Huntrix” while secretly working as demon hunters using their pink phosphorescent blades to slay their enemies. Additionally, their inspiring music unites people, strengthens souls, and protects against evil.
The “Golden Honmoon,” a magical barrier which keeps demons out of our world, is maintained by music. Young children would need to understand that this is mythology and not real. Older children can discuss the similarities and differences between this mythology and their own belief system. I’ll have more to say about that later.
Spoilers Ahead!
The twist is that Rumi, one of the members of Huntrix, is secretly a half-demon herself. Rumi is deeply ashamed of her heritage and her adopted mother Celine helps her to hide the (demonic) patterns on her skin. Their hope is that as the Honmoon becomes completely sealed from all demons, the patterns will vanish. Rather than disappearing over time, the patterns start to grow, and she starts to lose her voice.
This is bad news because the Saja Boys turn out to be demons and in order to defeat the demon-king Gwi-ma, they must defeat the Saja Boys in a musical competition at the “Idol Awards.”
Again, another sidenote: I was thinking this is a dig at shows like “American Idol,” but I was told it was more of a reference to K-Pop “idols” who are multi-talented performers who are trained at a young age to be aspirational figures for others. I’m also told these “idols” are managed by entertainment companies who manage every aspect of their lives. So there may be more here than just a criticism about what we idolize in society, but a criticism of the K-pop entertainment industry and its practices.
The other twist is that one member of the Saja Boys, Jinu, the obvious heartthrob and love interest for Rumi, has a complex and disturbing history. In time we learn, along with Rumi, that Jinu lived a long time ago and was taken from his family by Gwi-ma. The demon-king gives Jinu a beautiful voice and promised him a better life for his family.
In the end, his literal “deal with the devil” backfired. Later we learn that Jinu betrayed his family for a better life for himself. Jinu tells us that all demons feel shame and that the patterns on his skin remind him of the shame from which he can never escape. Rumi attempts to enlist Jinu to defeat Gwi-ma. Yet another sidenote, side questions really: what is shame? What does it mean that “demons” feel shame and regret? How does shame keep us stuck in patterns of sin?
One of the main consequences of shame is a desperate desire to hide from others. Sometimes shame, however, is helpful and can help us escape an unsafe situation. Sometimes shame can generate a necessary call to conscience. But “toxic” shame traps us in cycles of isolation and can lead to an increase in unhealthy behaviors.
The well-intentioned Celine keeps Rumi trapped in her shame cycle. Ironically, shame can have a relational function when we confront it. If we are vulnerable with safe others, we can share our shame and receive support and love. Sharing our shame in healthy relationships can lead to healing and inner transformation. This takes courage because it is not easy to be vulnerable.
KPop Demon Hunters and parts
When Rumi’s voice begins to fail, the Huntrix team goes to visit a traditional Korean doctor who tells her, “In order to heal a part, we must understand the whole.” And when he struggles to understand Rumi’s larger problem, he says, “you have lots of walls up!”
She obviously doesn’t want the doctor to see her skin patterns or know of her demonic parentage. This doctor’s words underscore the reality that we have an interior world. When we ignore the pain and shame in our inner world, it negatively effects our physical bodies. Brilliant!
Despite giving her useless “tonics” for her voice, he offers her true wisdom, “Focusing on one part leads to ignoring other parts making you separated, isolated.” Her voice issue, clearly, is a symptom of the larger problem of hiding her identity. From an IFS perspective, she is exiling a part of herself that is carrying a burden of shame, and this is manifesting itself as a voice problem.
We learn that Jinu chose to betray his family because he believed he was not good enough. We also discover from Jinu that demons are prisoners of Gwi-ma and that the demon-king makes them do the evil things they do. Jinu states that he hates the demon-king and that “if hate could kill Gwi-ma, I’d have done it a long time ago.” Jinu, then, like most firefighter parts, are trapped in a cycle they can’t escape from. Rumi tries to instill hope in Jinu as she offers him a way out.
It is interesting that with this revelation about Jinu, Rumi is no longer comfortable with the lyrics of Huntrix’s new song “Takedown.” She begins to realize that the answer is not to destroy (or “take down”) parts.
Her song with Jinu is powerful: “You’re waking up parts of me I thought were buried for good.” There is a recognition of an exiled “imposter” part and a “monster” part. She sings, “We can’t fix it if we never face it. We could be free. So, take my hand… what if we heal what’s broken. Free!”
Instead of hiding and continuing to live in old cycles, patterns really, of maladaptive behavior, they face their shame-filled parts. Jinu then says he no longer hears Gwi-ma’s voice in his head and Rumi’s singing voice returns. Their burdens are released as they sing, “Let the past be the past ‘til it’s weightless.”
Unfortunately for Jinu, he’s pulled back in by Gwi-ma’s lies, vulnerable to the shame of his past sins. How true is that for most of us? We often remember our past sins and start believing the old lies. Jinu hears Gwi-ma, “You betrayed your family and left them behind. Don’t think you can escape what you are.” I don’t know about you, but that hits hard!
At the Idol Awards, Huntrix decides to sing Golden, a song about the best of us, but the demons have other ideas as they expose Rumi’s demonic heritage. Mira and Zoey back away and are replaced by demons who look like them. The song switches to Takedown.
Jinu confesses that he lied about his history and tells Rumi, “You’re a demon just like me. All we get to do is live with our pain, our misery. That’s all we deserve.” As the Saja Boys win the competition, the protective Honmoon falls apart and all the characters are tempted to believe the lies that come from Gwi-ma: Zoey hears, “You don’t deserve a family.” Mira hears, “You’re too much. You’re not enough, but I can give you a place to belong.”
Rumi challenges her well-meaning mentor Celine for teaching her to cover up and hide. Rumi declares, “No more hiding. No more lies. Why can’t you look at me. Love me. All of me.” She no longer believes she must hide her faults and fears. Rumi builds up the strength to face the Saja boys who are singing about being idols. The demon-king tells her, “You want to fix the world. You can’t fix yourself.”
This final demonic challenge is met when Rumi sings the trauma-informed parts song, What it Sounds Like:
I broke into a million pieces
And I can’t go back
But now I’m seeing all the beauty in the broken glass
The scars are part of me
Darkness and harmony
My voice without the lies
This is what it sounds like.
Why did I cover up the colors stuck inside my head
I should have let the jagged edges meet the light instead
Show me what’s underneath
I’ll find your harmony
The song we couldn’t write
This is what it sounds like
Truth after all this time
Our voices all combined
When darkness meets the light
This is what it sounds like
I’m not going to lie. I love this song. It is about acknowledging trauma and past mistakes. It is about facing the darkness and bringing it into the light. It is about the strength in honesty and vulnerability. It is about accepting all your parts and bringing them into harmony.
My son-in-law pointed out to me that the song What it Sounds Like shifts to a lower key (compared to the more soprano range of Huntrix’s hit song Golden) so that the actress/singer can stay in her more comfortable range. Rumi’s “true voice” is reflected in both the personal insight of her words as well as her vocal range as an alto. The musical harmony matches her newfound internal harmony. Brilliant!
This act of bravery and vulnerability inspires Jinu to sacrifice himself to support Rumi in defeating Gwi-ma. She says to Jinu, “I wanted to set you free.” He replies, “You did. You gave me my soul back.” The Honmoon is restored and the demons defeated. Rumi is no longer ashamed of her skin patterns.
A Catholic critique
Despite finding so much depth in this film and so many interesting and moving messages about our parts, I’m going to shift into a different kind of critique. Obviously, the writers and producers of KPop Demon Hunters were not trying to write a Catholic parable so I can’t hold them to that standard. But I feel my review would not be complete if I didn’t also explore the film from a critical Catholic lens.
I’m always a little concerned when I hear lines such as “like I’m born to be,” because I worry about the possible implications. On the surface it sounds right, and as a Catholic I believe we were indeed born to be a certain way: a child of God, uniquely formed, created in His image. But “I was born that way” can become a rationale to excuse any behavior, even unhealthy ones.
I don’t want to diminish the importance of self-actualization, self-knowledge, and self-growth, but at what point does it simply become self-justification, self-absorption, and self-denial? How do we know that we’re “being ourselves” and how do we know we’re deluding ourselves? I don’t have an immediate answer, and the film obviously doesn’t explore this further.
On the other hand, and perhaps ironically, “like I’m born to be” implies an objective truth about a person. From a Catholic perspective this would be resolved with reference to a divine being of some kind, see further discussion on that below.
The words “like I’m born to be” come from the song Golden which is about living up to expectations, hiding all shame and being perfect. Rumi can’t sing it – her voice cracks and she can’t hit the right note. The message here is that being this perfect “idol” who hides all shame doesn’t work.
The drive to be perfect was the breeding ground for her shame. The demon catches her on this very point, “You want to fix the world. You can’t fix yourself.” Like Moses who was not a good speaker or David who was young and small, or Peter who denied Jesus, Rumi is flawed. God, however, still uses us despite the demons who would tell us otherwise.
Catholics also have a particular theological view of demons. They are fallen angels incapable of redemption. So, what are they saying about demons in this film? We have big bad demon-King Gwi-ma and a horde of ugly looking mindless demons. We have the boy band who are clearly under the demon-king’s spell.
But then we have one misunderstood, shame-filled demon who used to be human who hates the demon-king but sees no way out of his misery. So, most of the demons are, in IFS terms, unattached burdens, and basically pure evil. But in the case of Jinu, a demon could be a hurt and wounded human who is stuck in his own shame. Again, I shouldn’t expect a consistent demonology, but I just want to point out that there isn’t one here.
And what does it mean that Rumi is half-demon? Does that make her more susceptible to evil than others? Or does that just mean she has a bigger trauma to get over? Again, they don’t really explore this.
And the biggest question of all, where is God? What motivates the good characters? Is there any sense of a God, a Creator, a benevolent entity, a higher power for good? Without any God or “God-like” presence, we become god. It is our self-sufficiency, our resilience, and our fortitude that saves us. There is no ultimate or objective source for truth and goodness except in ourselves.
This is often the problem in our post-modern society: we create our own truth. Now, I don’t expect a depiction of a Judeo-Christian God figure, but it made me curious about what the Korean (I assume indigenous) culture would say about a Supreme Being, if anything. When I looked it up, this is what AI told me:
In Korean mythology, the supreme deity is often referred to as Haneullim (also spelled Hanullim, Hanallim, or Hwanin), which translates to “Heavenly King” or “Lord of Heaven”. He is also known by other names like Sangje (“Highest Deity”), Cheonju (“Lord of Heaven”), or simply Haneul (“Heaven”). He is considered the creator of the universe and the ruler of the heavens.
So why was this missing from the movie? Instead, we have a world with a Devil but no God. And yet Korean mythology does have a supreme deity. Maybe this will be revealed in the sequel, but I won’t hold my breath.
Conclusion
This was in my opinion a brilliant movie with psychological depth and an interesting exploration of parts. The veneer, KPop music etc., may not be my cup of tea but I enjoyed discovering the unfamiliar, especially when there was a payoff. I’ll do my best to forgive the secular blind spots, such as the absence of a benign God-like character, and appreciate it for what it is: a movie that creatively encourages values such as self-acceptance, honesty, emotional vulnerability, and human connection.
Dr. Gerry Crete is the author of Litanies of the Heart: Relieving Post-traumatic Stress and Calming Anxiety Through Healing Our Parts which is published by Sophia Institute Press. He is the founder of Transfiguration Counseling and Coaching, Transfiguration Life, and co-founder of Souls and Hearts.
Interested in learning more about your own parts?
More than 300 faithful Catholics are doing their own work in the Resilient Catholics Community (RCC), using the best of human formation resources grounded in a solid Catholic understanding of the human person. During their Foundation Year, RCC members discover different parts of themselves just as Dr. Gerry has hypothesized parts of these movie characters. We work on “understanding the whole” to heal our parts.
This coming October we’ll be opening our 11th cohort of the Resilient Catholic Community, named after St. Kateri. This year-long program is all about learning to love self, God, and neighbor more fully. Learn more here and put your name on the interest list so we can reach out with more details.
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We are in the final weeks of registration for our fall 2025 Foundations Experiential Groups (FEGs), designed for Catholic formators. Catholic therapists, spiritual directors, coaches, priests, and others who professionally accompany others are invited.
We have limited spots with a team of IFS-trained leaders on a variety of days and times. Check out all this information and officially register here.
And if you have already completed an FEG or Stepping Stones, or are IFS Level 1 trained, you are eligible for one of our Advanced Groups this fall, including two groups led by Dr. Gerry Crete. See all details here.
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Be with us live for the recording of Interior Integration for Catholics podcast episode 172 Your Questions about Catholicism and Parts Work Answered, tomorrow evening, Tuesday, August 5, 2025 from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM Eastern Time. We will start with a brief drop-in experiential exercise, and then take your questions and have a panel discussion on the Catholic foundation for parts work approaches to flourishing, covering primarily episodes 166-170 of the IIC podcast on how a Catholic understanding of IFS and parts and systems thinking was prefigured by Scripture, the Early Church Fathers, St. Augustine, St. Maximus, and St. Bonaventure. Registration is free but required.