KPop Demon Hunters — Filming Locations & Real Places

Wait, I think I've seen this place in the movie. That was honestly my first reaction watching KPop Demon Hunters. Has Seoul always looked this pretty?

Going in, I figured this was just a flashy idol animation. HUNTR/X's Rumi, Mira, and Zoey are global superstars on stage but secretly demon hunters off it — that double-life setup was exactly what I expected.

But Rumi's secret runs a lot deeper than that. She's hiding from her own teammates that she's half-demon, born to a legendary hunter mother and a demon father. The weight of hiding that identity behind the glittering stage is exactly why this film gets treated more seriously than you'd expect.

When rival boy group the Saja Boys debut, the music rivalry kicks into gear — and their leader Jinu is carrying a heavy secret of his own. It turns out he's a musician who made a deal with the demon Gwi-Ma centuries ago and became a demon himself.

That's why Rumi and Jinu's relationship never stays a simple rivalry. Two people standing on very different stages end up tangled together in unexpected ways, and cracks slowly start appearing around the Honmoon, the soul gate.

광화문(서울 종로구) — 서울을 상징하는 대표 랜드마크 · Wikimedia Commons

Tension inside the group runs just as high. The conflict over 'Takedown' reaches a boiling point, and Rumi finally faces the moment where she has to embrace both her human and demon natures at once.

In the final performance, the fans' collective power resolves the story in a way you won't see coming — but exactly how Rumi opens the golden Honmoon, I'm not going to spoil here. That one's better watched.

Instead, here's the part that's fun in an almost surreal way: 'Golden,' the fictional group's song within the film, actually topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks in real life and picked up Grammy nominations. It's a rare case of a fictional animated group's song genuinely taking over the real charts.

On top of that, EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI — who provide Rumi, Mira, and Zoey's real singing voices — appeared live as HUNTR/X on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and SNL. No wonder fans keep saying 'these three ARE HUNTR/X.'

Namsan, Myeongdong, Bukchon — places I walk past all the time — suddenly looked like a different city once they showed up on screen.

동대문디자인플라자(DDP) 야경 — 서울의 미래적 스카이라인을 대표하는 건축물 · Wikimedia Commons

Especially Myeongdong, where the Saja Boys perform 'Soda Pop.' I figured they just borrowed the vibe, but apparently they even copied the round pattern on the pavement in front of Myeongdong Theater. Now I'll probably glance down at the ground every time I walk by.

The hanok roof where Rumi and Jinu meet is modeled on Bukchon, and the palace from Jinu's flashback is Gyeongbokgung. I usually just walk past both because of the crowds, but somehow the hanok roofs look prettier to me now.

What I was most curious about was that tall building where the Hunters live. Turns out its location is where Lotte World Tower actually stands. The team says they got the idea from the real tower but didn't just copy it — they designed a whole new tower for the Hunters instead, even taller than the real thing.

Seoul wasn't roughly sketched in either. The team built the terrain from real satellite data of Seoul first, then placed the film's buildings on top of it. Maybe that's why, even as an animated film, I kept getting this 'wait, I think I know where this is' feeling.

The final stage at N Seoul Tower is also somewhere you can actually go. Obviously there's no giant concert venue underneath it in real life. But climbing Namsan after watching this hits differently — I'd probably find myself wondering, 'did Rumi really manage to hold onto both sides of herself, human and demon?'

Whether Jinu deserves redemption is still one of the hottest ongoing debates among fans, apparently. If you're in Seoul after watching this, you don't necessarily need to hunt down new attractions. Just take the Seoul you already know and try spotting the movie's Seoul inside it, one place at a time. That sounds like more fun.