At the U.S. Academy Awards, Netflix's film 'K-pop Demon Hunters' (abbreviated as KDH) achieved two wins, but controversy over racial discrimination erupted when an acceptance speech was cut off.
The 98th Academy Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, U.S., at 8 a.m. on the 16th (7 p.m. on the 15th local time). Among them, the Netflix animated film 'K-pop Demon Hunters' drew attention by winning best animated feature and best original song, achieving two wins.
But the joy of the two wins was short-lived as controversy over alleged racial discrimination by the Academy toward KDH arose. After KDH's OST "Golden" was selected as the second winner, an incident occurred in which the acceptance speech was cut off.
"Golden" was co-composed by Lee Jae, IDO, 24, Teddy and Mark Sonnenblick. All of them were on stage together as winners. After Lee Jae spoke first, another composer who came forward with a paper attempted to continue the remarks, but immediately a signal music played and the order was changed.
This has sparked criticism that the Asian winners were subject to racial discrimination. Especially since KDH caused a global sensation, ranking first in Netflix's cumulative viewership, overseas fans raised accusations of racial discrimination. On social media, critics said, "Of all people, why cut off an Asian's acceptance speech?", "They should have let that Korean man keep speaking", and "This is Asian passing."
Because films typically involve many creators working jointly, team awards are common except for acting or directing awards. At this Academy Awards, several winners shared awards, and there were occasions for them to deliver their acceptance remarks side by side.
However, only the acceptance remarks for KDH's "Golden" were stopped. As a result, criticism has grown among not only domestic but also global KDH fans that this was Asian passing and that KDH alone was discriminated against.
At the same time, the KDH team's acceptance remarks emphasizing Korean and Asian sentiment are drawing renewed attention. First, Korean American director Maggie Kang, who went on stage as the winner of best animated feature, choked up and said, "I thank the Academy and all the fans who have supported us to get us here. I'm sorry it took so long to tell a story about people who look like me. This work is for Korea and Koreans around the world."
After performing a celebratory stage with "Golden," Lee Jae, who went on stage as the winner of best original song, said, "I am truly grateful to the Academy for giving me this wonderful award. Growing up, people teased me that I liked K. Now we are all singing songs with Korean lyrics. I'm really proud," adding, "I realized this award is not about success but about resilience. I'm thankful to my team. Thank you for being by my side. I thank the cast of 'K-pop Demon Hunters' and producer Maggie King and Michelle Wong," giving the credit.
'K-pop Demon Hunters' is a story about K-pop idol girl group Hentriks protecting the world from evil spirits. After it was released on Netflix in June last year, it surpassed 500 million cumulative global views. This surprised many as it set the No. 1 record on Netflix not only among films but also including series such as Squid Game. In addition, "Golden" reached No. 1 on Billboard's main chart, the Hot 100, and eight KDH OST songs including "Golden" swept the upper ranks of the Billboard Hot 100, creating a syndrome.
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