KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration

An electric energy filled the Red Room at Cafe 939 as students packed in for a Berklee K-Pop and Beyond series event featuring Andrew Choi and EJAE, two of the creative forces behind the global phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters. Choi, the singing voice of main character Jinu, and EJAE, who voices the film’s protagonist Rumi and cowrote several songs from the soundtrack, fielded questions from students and watched live performances inspired by the film.

Past K-Pop and Beyond events have featured leading K-pop artists and industry figures, including Nuel Always Cho of Muzlive, producer KENZIE, and former SM Entertainment CEO Chris Lee. This year’s event, which was sponsored by the CJ Cultural Foundation, coincided with the breakout success of KPop Demon Hunters. Despite their major contributions to the film, both Choi and EJAE spoke modestly about their own achievements, opting instead to praise each other’s work.

“A lot of my career I owe to Andrew. He taught me so many things,” said EJAE, who joined the conversation remotely. Reflecting on her struggle to gain traction earlier in her career, she added, “I wanted to give up all the time. This industry is really tumultuous. What helped is finding joy in everything and not taking music so seriously.”

Choi noted how much chance factored into his own career journey. “So much of reality is based on statistics. You increase luck by putting yourself out there,” he said, adding that EJAE, his former trainee, brought him into the KPop Demon Hunters project. “Staying relevant in the industry is luck, but you have to be able to persevere, and have good people around you to keep you focused and motivated until that opportunity hopefully comes.”

The night opened with performances from student K-pop bands B-Girls and Koji & Friends, who brought songs from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack—“Soda Pop,” “Your Idol,” and “Golden”—to the stage with original choreography inspired by the film. B-Girls also premiered their original song, “Non-Stop,” as Choi watched from the audience.

Watch student K-pop groups B-Girls and Koji & Friends perform at the event:

The event capped a full week of programming for the 2025 K-Pop and Beyond series, marking the first time in its four-year history that the series spanned multiple days. Produced by associate professor and event organizer Ray Seol in collaboration with the Professional Music Department, the series featured one-on-one career counseling sessions with Choi, a vocal technique and toplining workshop led by the singer-songwriter, K-pop dance classes, a panel on the genre’s role in the music industry, a lecture on KPop Demon Hunters from Seol, and live music showcases.

Across the many conversations throughout the week, one theme continued to surface: the music and the craft comes first. “The song is king,” said EJAE when asked what advice she would give aspiring songwriters. “No ego—it’s the biggest creativity killer. It’s hard to work with. Collaborate with people better than yourself. Do what you have to do to get the best melody, which takes time and practice. Any road you take will be hard. You have to choose which struggle you’re willing to go for.”

“I’m really blown away by the brilliant performances from students tonight,” said Choi looking back on the evening and the week of engaging with the community. “I was at the first K-Pop and Beyond event and I am so happy to be back at Berklee. You all keep us humble and remind us of why we make music and why we love it.”