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This exclusive piece explores remarkable conversations and narratives from around the globe.

"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and blonde hair, because those were the beauty standards at the time," reveals Arden Cho, who portrayed Rumi in Netflix's highly successful movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, forty, recalls her early years in Texas, as the eldest daughter of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which tells the story of a girl group who must rescue humanity from evil forces, Rumi has to come to terms with her identity as part human, part demon – and when she first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having others view me like a foreigner, trying to figure out my identity as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a woman," she says.

These were all aspects of her early life that paralleled the character's path.

"Truthfully, at various stages in my life, I hated many parts of me and I longed to become someone else.

"During childhood, your surroundings influences who you become and it seems I just didn't see sufficient individuals that shared my appearance."

When it debuted on the platform in June, KPop Demon Hunters registered millions of streams in just 14 days, and secured the highest positions of the streaming rankings in dozens of nations. To star in the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "a dream come true" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the kind that was missing when in her youth.

Cho says many individuals of Korean descent have told her it's "a breath of fresh air", making them proud for the first time of their mixed background and cultural roots.

"I feel like K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I believe the film is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, inspiring travel to Korea, now," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and Cho admits she felt the production crew were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"It seems it kind of sucks to mention this, but any time there's an Asian-led project, people feel like it's a risk," she says.

So, when she took on the role, she took steps to connect with the entire cast and crew in person, she adds.

The film was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the US as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in numerous regions.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Immigrants have made America what it is."

Reports have suggested that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be deported.

As an adult, she 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 it seems the world and people should know better, it is beyond disappointing and at times it appears we feel so hopeless," she says.

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

"Maybe that's why it became the season's hit film, because there was a need for positivity and a unifying element all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the film industry, raising the possibility that in future it could be used to produce a movie like the animation.

The actress acknowledges she is conscious that AI is already being used to replicate performers' vocals, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still pursue human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I'm sure there will be digital performers and singers. I'm aware they already exist. I understand our voices are already being manipulated, but I trust the public have some respect and want and love for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been dominating the global music charts, with multiple songs from its score appearing in the prestigious charts. It has its own fan creations, and audiences globally are demanding a sequel.

She tells us she would like to confirm the question of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the platform or the studio, which made the film, to give it the green light.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I think everyone in the world would riot if there wasn't."

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