Product Lessons From KPop Demon Hunters
Creating product advantage from alignment, ownership, and collective rhythm
Since the launch of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters this past summer, there have been no other songs playing (on repeat) in my car.
After watching the movie with my kids a few times, and building a custom Rumi Halloween outfit for my daughter, I started to notice how popular it had become through its songs and characters. The scale of its popularity was evident on Halloween night, with countless kids dressed as Rumi and other characters. The movie has clearly taken over elementary schools everywhere.
Parenting experts like Dr. Becky Kennedy have drawn out its themes of shame, authenticity, and belonging. Her takeaway that honesty builds connection mirrors exactly what product teams need to work with clarity and trust.
The themes in the movie and how Netflix rolled it out resonate with me as I think about building empowered product teams and resilient cultures.
Spoiler alert: If you haven’t seen the film and plan to, watch it before reading further.
“KPop Demon Hunters” is a story blending Korean mythology and K-pop culture, where a trio of idols use their music to fight demons and protect the world by creating a magical barrier called the Honmoon.
1. Story as System Design
KPop Demon Hunters works not just as a narrative but as an interconnected system. The music reinforces the mythology → mythology reinforces the emotional arc → emotional arc reinforces the character’s growth. Every subsystem strengthens the others, creating a cohesive world rather than a sequence of scenes.
This systems thinking is a core product skill. Great product teams design ecosystems the same way, thinking about the user journey end-to-end. Every touchpoint: onboarding, UX flows, data signals, brand moments, support interactions, reinforces the same core purpose. Nothing feels bolted on. Nothing contradicts the narrative. Everything compounds.
Lesson: The real skill is in designing systems where every part reinforces the “why.”
2. Collective empowerment over individual heroism
In the film, the trio only wins when they move as one. Rumi, the protagonist — who is part-demon herself — can’t hold the barrier alone; it takes their synchronized strength to protect their world.
In product work, alignment carries the same weight. When teams act as individuals chasing local goals, priorities get rehashed, and quality breaks down. When they operate from a shared mission and success metric, agility and progress follow naturally.
Lesson: Alignment is a force multiplier.
3. True ownership, even of our demons
Rumi is ashamed of her “demon” half, and keeps it a secret from her bandmates — until it affects her performance and she learns to own it in the end. That act of honesty flips the power dynamic: hiding weakens her; truth strengthens her.
Product teams do the same dance. When delivery pressure, ego, or fear of blame take over, people start hiding reality — risks, delays, and unclear decisions. And when they hide, trust erodes and the product suffers.
The fix isn’t more process; it’s courage. Courage to say we’re off track or we don’t yet know, followed by here’s what we’re doing to get back on track.
Lesson: Truth and ownership strengthen trust.
4. Leadership alignment and transparency
The barrier, called Honmoon, protects their world and needs constant care. If left neglected, demons leak through.
In organizations, that barrier represents alignment and transparency at the leadership level. When direction shifts weekly, decisions are made in a vacuum, or communication is filtered, teams lose clarity and confidence. Leaders who are consistent, transparent, and explicit about priorities build the foundation that keeps the entire system steady.
Lesson: Alignment from the top sustains trust and focus throughout the organization.
5. Momentum, not moments
Netflix didn’t drop KPop Demon Hunters and walk away. It released the movie, then the soundtrack, then the sing‑along events, and later localized experiences — each one a new entry point back into the world.
That’s how great products grow: thinking beyond features to building user experiences that people identify with, return to, and talk about.
Teams that measure success by the number of features shipped miss this energy. They deliver outputs, not outcomes.
The better question: what sequence of experiences will keep users coming back?
Lesson: Design the rhythm of engagement, not just the release date.
6. Depth > Breadth
The movie didn’t try to be “universal.” It stayed deeply rooted in Korean culture and mythology — a deliberate choice to go deep rather than wide, proving that depth of authenticity can drive global appeal more effectively than generic universality. The film’s success also reflects the fusion of art and algorithm, good human storytelling, and Netflix’s data-informed distribution.
In product, most PMs do the opposite. They try to build for everyone and end up resonating with no one. Building MVPs and solving one use case deeply for a real user problem in a real context before scaling.
Lesson: Building depth before breadth is how product teams learn and earn lasting resonance.
From fantasy to real‑world leadership
KPop Demon Hunters isn’t just a story about idols and demons. It’s a blueprint for collective courage. The film conveys messages about building emotional connections, community engagement, and storytelling that align well with product management strategies focusing on creating customer loyalty, brand identity, and user ecosystems. Popular culture sometimes surfaces truths about organizational behavior before business literature catches up.
The biggest demon in our organizations is the feature‑factory mindset. It is the trap where teams equate delivery speed with progress. The deeper cost is waste and solving the wrong problems.
The antidote is clarity of thought, courage to take ownership and be accountable, and thinking in systems.
That’s how product teams stop fighting the imaginary demons and start building the product barrier with shared rhythm, skill, and clarity under pressure.