Riding on "K-Pop Demon Hunters" to Promote Domestic Animation... "Absurd China"

Using "K-Pop Demon Hunters" to Promote Domestic Animation "Nezha 2"
Seo Kyung-duk: "Such Absurd Actions Must Stop"

Images combining characters from K-Pop Demon Hunters and Neoja. Photo by Seokyoung Deok professor Facebook

It has been confirmed that some Chinese internet users are using characters from the globally popular Netflix animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters" (K-Pop Demon Hunters) without permission to promote domestic Chinese animations.

On September 11, Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women's University reported on his social media that certain Chinese internet users are mentioning K-Pop Demon Hunters characters together with the protagonist of the Chinese domestic animation "Nezha 2," or attaching K-Pop Demon Hunters as a hashtag in an apparent attempt to ride on its popularity.

The Chinese animation "Nezha" was released in North American theaters in August but was a box office failure. Its sequel, "Nezha 2," adapted the story of the ancient mythological hero Nezha, widely known from the classic Chinese novel "Fengshen Yanyi," and after three weeks in theaters, it surpassed the American film "Inside Out 2" to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time. However, most of its revenue came from within China, and it did not achieve global box office success.

In particular, "Nezha 2" produced an English-dubbed version with the support of the Chinese government and even cast Michelle Yeoh, but it failed to win over international audiences. As a result, some Chinese internet users have continued to post on social media, mentioning both K-Pop Demon Hunters characters and the protagonist of "Nezha 2" in an effort to increase exposure.

Professor Seo Kyung-duk criticized, "Not only are they watching K-Pop Demon Hunters without permission, but now they are shamelessly trying to capitalize on its global popularity. They are also inserting the K-Pop Demon Hunters hashtag into various China-related content to draw attention to their own animation, Nezha 2. Chinese internet users must stop now. They should no longer use others' content for promotion, stop watching without permission, and refrain from selling counterfeit goods."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.