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"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I lacked blue eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," reveals the actress, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's highly successful animated film, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, 40, recalls her childhood in Texas, as the firstborn child of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in American society.

In the film, which tells the story of a girl group who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to come to terms with her identity as a hybrid being – and when she first saw the screenplay, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a female," she says.

These elements were components of her formative years that mirrored Rumi's journey.

"Truthfully, at various stages in my existence, I hated many parts of me and I wanted to be someone else.

"During childhood, your surroundings shapes who you become and it seems I lacked exposure to enough people that shared my appearance."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, the animated feature registered 33 million views in just two weeks, and secured the top 10 of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To be part of the first Hollywood animated film set in Korea, with Asian protagonists, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the kind that she lacked when in her youth.

She notes many Korean-Americans have expressed it's "such a refreshing moment", making them proud for the first time of their dual heritage and cultural roots.

"I feel like Korean pop music really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I feel like the film is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now," she comments.

But the film's success was not guaranteed and the actress says she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"I feel like it's unfortunate to say this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, it's perceived like it's a risk," she says.

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to meet the entire cast and crew in person, she says.

The film was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of mass deportation efforts, which sparked protests in numerous regions.

As an Asian-American residing in America "it's heartbreaking and disappointing," she states. "Immigrants have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an adult, she understood that the prejudice she had encountered when she was younger stemmed mainly from a knowledge gap, as people didn't know what it signified to be Korean or Asian.

"But now, in the modern era, when it seems the society and individuals should know better, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes I feel like there's a sense of despair," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that the film could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it's sort of like the season's hit film, because we just needed positivity and something to unite us all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the film industry, creating the potential that in future it could be used to make a film like the animation.

Cho acknowledges she is aware that technology is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still seek out art created by humans.

"Certainly, I believe there will be AI actors and vocalists. I'm aware they already exist. I know performers' voices are already being altered, but I trust the public have appreciation and want and love for something real."

The film has also been leading the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its score featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and viewers globally are demanding a follow-up.

She tells us she would like to confirm the inquiry of if a sequel is planned – but both she and fans will have to wait for the streaming service or the production company, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I think fans everywhere would protest if there wasn't."

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