Musical Exorcisms from Kut to K-pop: Music, Spirit Power, and Fandom across Korean Religions in KPop Demon Hunters

This paper addresses the Future/s theme by interpreting KPop Demon Hunters (KDH) as a meditation on Korea’s contested religious past that imagines a global future in which shared musical experiences exorcise literal and metaphorical demons by uniting religiously and culturally diverse audiences. KDH celebrates but does not merely represent Korean “shamanism,” creating a hybrid cosmology that cross-references elements from Christianity, Buddhism, and popular culture. Specifically, the film’s conceit of music as exorcism connects centuries-old kut (musical rituals to appease spirits) to pre-Pentecostal Protestant uses of hymn-singing and modern Pentecostal megachurch worship as techniques deployed first to demonize indigenous religions and then to exorcise spirits identified as demons. KDH is sufficiently non-specific about this religious history to attract diverse audiences, bringing together established fan bases for Hallyu (Korean wave) and exorcism media. Mobilizing ambiguous meanings of “idol,” KDH idealizes a global spiritual community fueled by fan devotion to popular cultural artists.