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This exclusive piece explores extraordinary interviews and stories from around the globe.

"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and blonde hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," says the actress, who portrayed the lead character in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

The performer, 40, recalls her childhood in Texas, as the eldest daughter of Korean immigrant parents and her journey toward belonging in the United States.

In the movie, which tells the story of a female K-Pop trio who must rescue humanity from dark powers, Rumi has to accept her true nature as a hybrid being – and when she first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, trying to figure out my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she explains.

These elements were aspects 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 wanted to be someone else.

"As kids, your surroundings influences your development and it seems I just didn't see sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in June, the animated feature registered 33 million views in just two weeks, and reached the top 10 of the streaming rankings in dozens of nations. To star in the pioneering animation with a Korean setting, with Korean leads, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the type that was missing when she was young.

Cho notes many Korean-Americans 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 K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. K-beauty has had such a big impact on global appreciation for Korea. But I feel like this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, inspiring travel to Korea, now," Cho says.

But the film's success was uncertain and the actress says she felt the production crew were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"I feel like it kind of sucks to mention this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, it's perceived like a gamble," she reveals.

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

The film was launched amid heightened enforcement actions in the US 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," she states. "Immigrants have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have suggested that up to one hundred fifty thousand Korean immigrants without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an adult, she understood that the prejudice she had encountered when she was younger was largely due to a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"However today, in the modern era, when I feel like the society and individuals ought to be more informed, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes I feel like there's a sense of despair," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she notes, that the film could bring "optimism and happiness to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it became this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and a unifying element all together."

The growth of AI is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, raising the possibility that in coming years it could be used to produce a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho says she is aware that technology is already being used to replicate performers' vocals, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that individuals will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Sure, I believe there will be AI actors and singers. I know they already exist. I know our voices are already being altered, but I trust the public have appreciation and desire for authentic creations."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been dominating the international music rankings, with multiple songs from its soundtrack appearing in the prestigious charts. It has its own fan art, and viewers around the world are calling for a sequel.

She tells us she would like to confirm the inquiry of whether that will happen – but both she and fans will have to await the platform or the studio, which produced the movie, to approve the project.

"I know rumors are circulating, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I believe fans everywhere would protest if it didn't happen."

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