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"{I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn't have blue eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful back then," reveals the actress, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

Cho, 40, recalls her childhood in the southern state, as the firstborn child of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

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

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having others view me like I'm not, grappling with my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a woman," she explains.

These were all components of her formative years that paralleled the character's path.

"I can honestly say, at different points in my existence, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else.

"During childhood, your surroundings shapes who you become and it seems I lacked exposure to enough people that look like me."

When it debuted on the platform in the summer, the animated feature registered 33 million views in just two weeks, and reached the highest positions of the streaming rankings in dozens of nations. To star in the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Korean leads, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the kind that she lacked when in her youth.

Cho says many individuals of Korean descent have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first time of their dual heritage and culture.

"In my view Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. K-beauty has had a significant influence on Korea being loved. But I believe this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was uncertain and the actress admits she felt the production crew were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

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

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

The movie was released against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the US as part of mass deportation efforts, which triggered demonstrations in many states.

As an person of Asian descent living in the US "it's heartbreaking and disappointing," says Cho. "Immigrants have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have estimated that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be removed.

As an grown-up, she came to realise that the prejudice she had encountered when in her youth stemmed mainly from a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it signified to be Korean or Asian.

"However today, in this day and age, when it seems the society and people should know better, it's deeply disheartening and at times I feel like we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Because of this, it's particularly meaningful, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it became the season's hit film, because there was a need for some hope and something to unite us all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the entertainment sector, raising the possibility that in coming years it could be used to make a film like the animation.

The actress acknowledges she is aware that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I believe there will be digital performers and vocalists. I'm aware they're already here. I understand our voices are already being manipulated, but I trust the public have appreciation and want and love for authentic creations."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the global music charts, with multiple songs from its score featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and viewers globally are demanding a follow-up.

She tells us she would like to confirm the question of whether that will happen – but both she and fans will have to wait for the platform 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 shares. "Only time will tell, and I believe everyone in the world would riot if it didn't happen."

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