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This feature explores extraordinary interviews and narratives from around the globe.

"{I disliked that I looked Asian, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," reveals Arden Cho, who voiced the lead character in the streaming platform's chart-topping movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, forty, recalls her early years in the southern state, as the firstborn child of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in American society.

In the film, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from dark powers, the protagonist has to accept her identity as a hybrid being – and when she first saw the screenplay, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having people treat me like I'm not, trying to figure out my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she says.

These were all components of her early life that mirrored the character's path.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my life, I despised a lot of myself and I longed to become someone else.

"During childhood, what you see influences your development and it seems I lacked exposure to enough people that shared my appearance."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters achieved millions of streams in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To star in the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for her "a dream come true" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for Asian-American children, the type that she lacked when in her youth.

Cho says many individuals of Korean descent have told her it's "such a refreshing moment", making them feel pride for the first time of their mixed background and cultural roots.

"I feel like Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had such a big impact on Korea being loved. But I feel like the film is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now," she comments.

But the film's success was uncertain and Cho admits she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"It seems it's unfortunate to mention this, but whenever there's an Asian-led project, it's perceived like a gamble," she says.

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to connect with everyone working on the film in person, she says.

The film was released against the backdrop of increased immigration raids in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which triggered demonstrations in numerous regions.

As an person of Asian descent residing in America "it's deeply saddening," says Cho. "Immigrants have shaped the nation."

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

As an grown-up, she understood that the racism she had encountered when in her youth stemmed mainly from a lack of education, as people didn't know what it meant to be of Asian descent.

"But now, in the modern era, when I feel like the world and individuals ought to be more informed, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes I feel like we feel so hopeless," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Perhaps this explains it became the season's hit film, because we just needed some hope and something to unite us as one."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the film industry, creating the potential that in future it could be used to make a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho says she is aware that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that individuals will still pursue art created by humans.

"Sure, I believe there will be digital performers and vocalists. I'm aware they're already here. I understand our voices are already being altered, but I hope people have appreciation and want and love for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the global music charts, with multiple songs from its score featured on the prestigious charts. It has its own fan creations, and viewers around the world are calling for a sequel.

Cho reveals she wishes she could answer the inquiry of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the streaming service or the studio, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I'm aware there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "Only time will tell, and I think everyone in the world would riot if there wasn't."

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