Celine Dahyeu Kim, art director of “KPop Demon Hunters”, recently publicly called out a Sony executive for discrimination and mistreatment during the film’s production.
After receiving fan inquiries about a possible sequel on social media platform X, Celine Dahyeu Kim responded by sharing her experience of mistreatment. She posted an image of a crying animated character and wrote, “This was exactly how I looked when I left the company. Even if there’s a sequel, Sony probably won’t call me back.”
She further explained, “Without going into full detail, the reason I left was because a high-ranking person in the production repeatedly dismissed my efforts and didn’t hesitate to act in discriminatory ways.” Kim emphasized that these actions weren’t isolated to her, adding, “The entire art team, including the production designer and character art director—who all worked hard to represent Korean culture—left together.”
While condemning the individual involved, Kim clarified that her frustration wasn’t directed at Sony as a whole. “I hope that person has learned something from all this and changes such unacceptable behavior going forward,” she wrote. “Sony executives genuinely listened to my concerns and supported me. Please don’t criticize the company—this was the result of one individual’s misconduct.”
Despite the ordeal, Kim expressed pride in the final film, “I hope this thread doesn’t affect your enjoyment of the movie. Over 90% of my efforts made it into the final product, and as seen in the end credits, this was a meaningful collaboration of hundreds of people with a shared vision.”
Her revelations sparked international attention, with some foreign media reporting on the incident. Following public scrutiny, the Sony employee in question reportedly left the company. Kim confirmed the departure, saying, “That ‘higher-up’ is no longer at Sony. Honestly, working with them was awful. Let’s never cross paths again in this industry.”
Meanwhile, K-Pop Demon Hunters continues to enjoy immense global success. According to streaming analytics site FlixPatrol, the film topped Netflix’s movie charts in 41 countries—including the U.S., Canada, Germany, Thailand and the Philippines—just days after its release.
The animated feature follows a fictional K-pop girl group, HUNTR/X, who lead double lives as demon hunters; they face off against a rival boy band, whose members are secretly demons.
The film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed globally by Netflix.
