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Oscars 2026: KPop Demon Hunters wins Best Animated Feature, director Maggie Kang apologizes to Koreans as it ‘took so long’
KPop Demon Hunters creators accept their Oscar win with an emotional note about not disappointing Korea. Check it out below.
They’re going up, up, up! The KPop Demon Hunters family is unstoppable, and the 98th Academy Awards are the big proof of what one can achieve when they set their mind to it. Appearing at the ceremony held at Dolby Theatres on Sunday, the Netflix production was awarded the Best Animated Feature Film prize, continuing a successful run for the project. It left behind Arco, Elio, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Zootopia 2, to grab the win after becoming the OTT platform’s most-watched movie ever.
KPop Demon Hunters makers celebrate Best Animated Feature Film win at the Oscars
Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, and Michelle L.M. Wong arrived on the stage to accept the prestigious award with a loud cheer roaring for the bunch. It is the first K-pop-related project to win in this category at the Academy Awards. In line with such, the director did not hold back on her emotions while accepting the trophy, “Thank you to the Academy and to all fans who got us here, and for those of you who look like me.” Appearing very caught in the moment, she added, “I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. But it is here. And that means that the next generations don’t have to go longing. This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere.”
Later, during a chat with Variety, she added how proud she was of the Korean films and movies about Korea. She recalled how emotional it was for her to see director Bong Joon Ho win Best Director for Parasite back in the day, and now receiving a Best Animated Feature award herself for a culturally Korean film feels like a double win. She concluded with a laugh, “I’m really proud and relieved, honestly, because I didn’t wanna disappoint Korean.”
Soon after, the movie's song Golden won the Best Original Song award at the Oscars. “People made fun of me for liking K-pop and now everyone is singing our song,” said EJAE, who sang and co-wrote the song.
The film was just renewed for a sequel, all set for a 2029 release.
