Unlocking Symbolism in KPop Demon Hunters
Have you ever had a thought or an idea come to you, one you tried to ignore, yet it kept circling back again and again?
When I first sat down to watch Kpop Demon Hunters, a title, by the way, that completely turned me off, I had very low expectations. I had no idea that this movie would be the thing to spark a thought so persistent it wouldn’t leave me alone. The first time through, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. I loved the ending, but I still felt unsure about the movie as a whole. Yet a few little details stood out to me and I knew I had to watch it again.
On my second viewing, I began testing some of my thoughts, looking for patterns I thought might be there: elevation changes, triangular imagery, wardrobe changes, weapons and swords. Once I confirmed those elements were definitely there, I realized there was far more to this movie than most people were seeing.
So, like everyone does, I went to YouTube to see what others had noticed. I was hoping someone else had already done the hard work so I could just share their video. Most people picked up on some general gospel parallels (though some even refused to acknowledge even that much). But, yes, there were a handful of creators connecting certain scenes or storylines to biblical teachings, and plenty of videos highlighting fun little details, but few offered real depth. No one was showing the larger picture. No one seemed to realize that the movie was speaking in a highly symbolic language -the same kind of language woven throughout scripture.
And, it was that realization that wouldn’t leave me alone. I felt a call to gather my thoughts, study the movie more intentionally, and help others see what I could see. I knew it would be a lot of work, but no matter how much I tried to push the feeling away, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to do it. And, I share this because I just want others to know, I wouldn’t have put my time or energy into creating this video if I thought it would just be like everything else out there.
We live in a digital world overflowing with so much illusion. And, in a quick click information saturated time, being able to discern and see in depth really matters. Teaching our children how to do this really matters. Symbolism is one of the ways the Spirit teaches us to recognize and understand spiritual truths. And, as life becomes increasingly difficult to discern spiritually, we need every tool we can get.
So, from my classroom to yours, I’m excited to share what I’ve discovered in this film…because sometimes, learning to see the unseen changes everything.