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The infectiousness and the energy of the songs or original soundtrack (OST) linked to K-Pop Demon Hunters has led to varieties of creative covers, helped by social media channels like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Offering a slight window into the human—demon world, the animated film serves as a cultural symbol of what it means to be a South Korean – even if you’re living a hyphenated identity.

True fans of K-Pop Demon Hunters will highly likely resonate with the upbeat Golden, which was written by a songwriter on her way to a dental appointment. However, Free is also one of the top songs that’s popular amongst listeners and fans. One of the reasons Free is instantly relatable is due to its familiar melody use as employed by a certain South Korean boyband and in Jordin Sparks’ No Air.

The film’s producers and songwriters have not shied away from admitting that many of the songs have been written, after having consulted other songwriters of popular bands as they wanted to create a film that’s not only culture-centric but also distinctively memorable through its songs that have elements that are meaningful and would also instantly hook audiences or make them moved, even if this film is also laced with comedy through its characters’ demeanours and personalities.

In the film, Rumi starts off the song, with Jinu breaking into a rap verse, before the two voices blend and harmonise. The bridge of the song is where it gets interesting as she sings about being together, instead of riding solo, afraid to face her fears, as depicted in the opening.

Within the Malaysian sphere, there’s the Malay version of Free, known as Desolasi. In contrast with the English original version, Desolasi is Desolation and associated with sadness. Surely, Free sounds more hopeful. Even then, Desolasi has its own merits and deserves more views (its full video is available on YouTube). While there are two versions, the version that is more recent and referred to in this context is the one featuring MeerNash and Anis Athilah. As for translating from one language to another, it can be difficult to translate word for word or directly. For example: Why does it feel right when I let you in is succinctly captured through Kurasa tenang bila kita berdamping to deliver the same effect. Hence, this version offers younger, perhaps more subdued voices to match the vulnerability levels that Desolasi tends to give off. The differences in the syllable structures, especially word stress of both English and Malay influences the songwriting and the sound of the song – work has to be done to ensure it is tandem with the beat. For instance, the bridge in the English: So take my hand vs the translated Malay version, which reads: Kita langkah bersama (direct translation: We move/stride together). Ultimately, the overall meaning of the song is still captured quite beautifully.

It's unclear who provided the translations though. There’s yet to be any reliable source confirming this, as Internet users are increasingly presented with social media account handles – an alternative to providing full names of a person which can sometimes be a nickname or pseudonym of the creator.

MeerNash is born to a Hokkien Penangite mother and a Malay father. Apparently, MeerNash had also attended a Chinese medium school, making him able to acquire a certain level of proficiency in Mandarin. He also has some degree of fluency in Malay, English, and Hokkien.

Anis Athilah is a lover of K-Pop and would post cover songs on her corresponding social media accounts.

The film K-Pop Demon Hunters is the brainchild of a Korean-Canadian Maggie Kang and US-based Chris Appelhans. Several others like the art director helped with the artistic representations in the film to make it more realistic. Kang’s spouse had also contributed in terms of scriptwriting for the film that premiered on Netflix 20 June 2025, as pointed out in a September 2025 interview conducted in predominantly Korean with parts in English.

There’s a Malay dub version of the film, although it is said the songs’ original language is maintained to retain a certain level of authenticity.

Due to the earworm effect of the songs, a corresponding sing-along version was created.

Although a kids film, many young adults and even older adults (across the globe) are participating in recreating a variety of experiences related to the film, while also finding a sense of community – making it such a spectacle worth watching and rewatching/enjoying to your heart’s content.