What to know
- Toronto director Maggie Kang won the Academy Award for best animated feature for K-pop Demon Hunters alongside co-director Chris Appelhans.
- Kang and producer Michelle Wong became the first people of South Korean descent to win the category.
- The animated K-pop musical, about a girl group secretly fighting demons, also won best original song for “Golden.”
- Kang, who moved to Toronto from South Korea as a child and studied animation at Sheridan College, dedicated the historic win to Koreans around the world.
Toronto director Maggie Kang made history at the Oscars on Sunday, winning Best Animated Feature for KPop Demon Hunters alongside co-director Chris Appelhans.
Kang and producer Michelle Wong became the first people of South Korean descent to win the category.
“For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry it took us so long to see ourselves in a movie like this,” Kang said in her acceptance speech. “But it is here, and that means the next generations don’t have to go longing. This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere.”
Kang, who was born in South Korea before moving to Toronto at age five, is a graduate of the animation program at Sheridan College.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow left kind words for Kang following her win.
“Congratulations to our hometown hero,” Chow said.
KPop Demon Hunters has quickly become the filmmakers’ most prominent hit. The film also won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Animated and Best Original Song at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards.
The movie-musical follows a K-pop girl group, Rumi, Mira and Zoey, who secretly protect the world from demons.
At Sunday’s ceremony, the film also won Best Original Song for “Golden,” performed by EJAE, the singing voice of Rumi.
Kang wasn’t the only Canadian to win big at the ceremony. Montreal’s Maciek Szczerbowski and Chris Lavis took home the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for The Girl Who Cried Pearls.
Kang’s chapter with K-pop Demon Hunters is far from over. Netflix has confirmed a sequel with a target release date of 2029, with Kang and Appelhans set to return as directors.
