Walking through the mall last week, I heard a very catchy tune playing with indiscernible lyrics but an incredible beat, which instantly stuck in my head. I found myself humming it at home. “Mom, do you know that song you are humming is called Golden from the KPop Demon Hunters movie?” my 11-year-old daughter asked. Hmm, it didn’t sound like the kind of movie’s songs I wanted to be singing, but I knew nothing about KPop Demon Hunters other than its title, so some research ensued. We, as parents, in preparation for writing this article, also watched the movie to make sure what we were reading online was indeed valid.
KPop Demon Hunters is an animated musical fantasy film on Netflix about a trio of K-pop singers whose singing has magical powers to create a golden protective shield around the earth, preventing age-old demons from sucking and stealing the souls of humans. The movie has over 236 million views on Netflix, and its number one hit, “Golden”, is set to be the most-streamed track on Spotify for 2025.
Why did I bother researching this movie? What is the danger to my family in a cartoon with cool songs and dance moves? Isn’t there far worse things out there to worry about? Those are all very valid questions! What is the harm?
We live in an age of easy access to information, entertainment, and global trends—it is literally at our fingertips. News spreads in minutes; movies are available quickly; trends are easily known and copied. It is very difficult to shield our children from anything these days. My daughter has not watched KPop Demon Hunters, but many of her friends have, and they are talking about it, doing the little viral dances, singing the songs. My daughter hasn’t seen the movie, but she still has access to, knowledge of, and news about it. I can’t control what my children experience outside my home, but I can teach them to discern, to know what God does and doesn’t allow for their own good and for the protection of others. I can help them to make choices that guard their innocence and purity. But I can only teach them when I have had my eyes opened to what they are immersed in. I am trusting that this article serves as a tool to help you discern, so that you can train your children in the way they should go when you can’t control everything they are exposed to. After all, we are in the world, but not of it!
I can’t control what my children experience outside my home, but I can teach them to discern, to know what God does and doesn’t allow for their own good and for the protection of others. I can help them to make choices that guard their innocence and purity.
Firstly, I want to touch on the clever strategy of the lack of “obvious evil”. If KPop Demon Hunters was a gory, murderous, scary movie with terrifying monsters and violence, it would be obviously evil, and most Christian parents would not allow their children to watch the movie. But the strategy of the enemy is far cleverer than that! Evil wants us to be attracted to it, not repulsed by it. So be discerning; be careful when something is not obviously evil but rather has evil that masquerades as light or portrays evil to be a strength that is worthy to be embraced, rather than something Christians should flee from.
The animation is vibrant, the songs topped charts, and the demons are described as ‘ugly’ rather than scary. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it? However, one parent review is very concerning, saying that they “love how the themes of the movie mirror messages in the bible – the Golden protective shield mirrors the Holy Spirit, three singers mirroring the trinity, fighting against demons, etc.”
But doesn’t the Bible say that satan masquerades as the angel of light? Doesn’t he try to mirror God for the purposes of pulling us away from God and towards himself? When we let our children absorb these movies and themes and images, are we allowing them to become confused by the angel of light, who can make anything appear godly when it actually has a more sinister purpose?
In my research on this movie and others with similar themes, I noticed many Christian voices making the same thought-provoking points. Here are a few of their and my main concerns with KPop Demon Hunters:
- It normalises and makes witchcraft attractive, as evil is fought with magic rituals rather than the power of God.
- It blurs the lines between good and evil, as a demonic element is celebrated as heroic when the lead singer is revealed to be secretly part demon, and in the end, instead of dealing with the darkness inside her, she embraces it.
- It misuses music, portraying it as a magical power apart from God, rather than the gift God has given us to enjoy and worship Him with, as something empowered by the Holy Spirit.
- The movie encourages acceptance of our worst parts, our sins, as strengths worth embracing, rather than the culture of repentance and the renewal of our minds in God’s truths.
- Glamourising evil with bright colours, music, and quirkiness could drip-feed a deception in our kids that the demonic is not that bad, rather than the incredible evil it is, like a lion waiting to devour us.
The five points mentioned above are important for us as parents to consider as we learn to discern what is innocent and what is just evil disguised as fantasy; mirroring God in some themes but being nothing like Him; pointing to strength in self, rather than strength that comes from closeness to and purity in Jesus.
I believe there is a real risk that the more our children are exposed to entertainment where evil masquerades as light, the more likely it is that the devil could have a foothold in their lives to begin forming and shaping their worldview away from God.
So, what is the actual risk? Is there any substance to its impact on my children? Ephesians 4:27 says, “Do not give the devil a foothold.” In his writing, the Apostle Paul warns us not to allow the enemy a place in our lives that he can use to influence our thinking away from God. When our children watch movies, read books, or immerse themselves in entertainment that contains evil masquerading as light, there is an opportunity for something of the demonic to enter their thoughts and form a foothold from which deception can grow. Even if it is just a bit of confusion, a leaning away from the truth.
For example, could watching a movie about our own powers being the key to overcoming evil, plant the foothold thought that says, “If I am brave and skilled, then I am enough and an overcomer,” instead of growing in the knowledge that we are fully reliant on Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit? Could watching movies that make witchcraft look empowering and fun, encourage our children to be curious about it and find it enjoyable, rather than guarding themselves against witchcraft’s impact? I believe there is a real risk that the more our children are exposed to entertainment where evil masquerades as light, the more likely it is that the devil could have a foothold in their lives to begin forming and shaping their worldview away from God.
For this reason, it is important that we help them to discern what would be a poor decision for their hearts and souls, and what God would rather encourage them to participate in. It has been so important for us to teach and train our children in discernment. To chat at the dinner table and hear about school and their lives, so that we can pick up on things they are exposed to, like KPop Demon Hunters, and then have discussions with them about its content and why it is not healthy for their minds and souls to watch movies like this. My hope is that they will soon be able to discern for themselves what is wise and godly when it comes to the world they live in.
To be able to do this, we need to know our children. We need to spend time with them, talk to them about school and their friends, go to their school events, listen to other parents, watch movies with them, know what books they are reading, check their cell phones and digital devices. We need to be aware of the world our children live in, so that we can train them to be “foreigners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11) even as they are part of it. KPop Demon Hunters is only one recent example, but there are hundreds of trends, movies, books, and forms of entertainment that are available to our children that could have a real impact on their minds and souls.
Unfortunately, if we don’t train our children, the world is all too ready to do it for us.
Unfortunately, if we don’t train our children, the world is all too ready to do it for us. How we explain these things to our children is a very important part of training them. While it is not their job to judge the world, their friends, and others around them, it is their responsibility to walk out their own faith, with conviction and love. With this in mind, I have explained to my children why we wouldn’t want them to consume these types of entertainment, so that they understand and can form their own convictions.
If my children are in a situation in which a movie is being shown in class or at a friend’s home that they don’t feel comfortable watching, then they know how to excuse themselves in a way that protects their souls and maintains their relationship with their friends. They know to say things like, “I don’t mind if you watch the movie, but for me, because of my faith and what we believe, I’m personally not comfortable watching it.” It’s important to help our children respond in ways that don’t judge the world but still protect their hearts and souls.
Parenting today can feel like we are sweeping waves off the sand with a broom in trying to hold back the world from our children. The reality is that we can’t always keep our children out of the world, but we can train them to be discerning and careful. The Holy Spirit is in this with us, and we can partner with Him in raising a generation that is not thrown to and from, but who know their identity in Jesus and live in purity and relationship with Him. I want that so much more for my children than the temporary and damaging entertainment the world has to offer them!
As a last comment, if you are reading this and feeling any concern about what your kids have already been exposed to, remember that parenting is a journey that we walk with the Spirit and with our local leaders. So don’t let the enemy bring condemnation, but rather look to the Lord and the leaders He has put in your life and start a new chapter. Draw a line in the sand and start again, repent where needed, and ask Jesus to redeem and restore. He does it for us as adults every day and wants to do the same for our children, too.
