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"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I lacked blue eyes and blonde hair, because those were the beauty standards at the time," says the actress, who voiced Rumi in Netflix's chart-topping animated film, the K-pop themed animation.

The performer, forty, is describing her early years in Texas, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which narrates the tale of a girl group who must rescue humanity from dark powers, Rumi has to accept her identity as a hybrid being – and when she first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having others view me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she explains.

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

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my life, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else.

"During childhood, what you see influences your development and I feel like I lacked exposure to enough people that shared my appearance."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, the animated feature achieved millions of streams in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the streaming rankings in dozens of nations. To star in the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for her "a dream come true" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for young Asian-Americans, the kind that was missing when she was young.

Cho says many Korean-Americans have told her it's "such a refreshing moment", making them proud for the first instance of their mixed background and culture.

"I feel like K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. K-beauty has had a significant influence on Korea being loved. But I believe this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the film's success was uncertain and Cho admits she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"It seems it's unfortunate to mention this, but whenever there's an Asian-led project, it's perceived like a gamble," she reveals.

So, when she accepted the part, she took steps to meet everyone working on the film in person, she says.

The movie was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which triggered demonstrations in many states.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's heartbreaking and disappointing," she states. "Newcomers have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have estimated that up to 150,000 Korean immigrants lacking legal status, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an grown-up, she understood that the racism she had experienced when she was younger stemmed mainly from a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it signified to be of Asian descent.

"But now, in this day and age, when it seems the society and people ought to be more informed, it is beyond disappointing and at times it appears we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "optimism and happiness to all these different communities".

"Maybe that's why it became the season's hit film, because we just needed positivity and something to unite us as one."

The growth of AI is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, raising the possibility that in coming years it could be used to make a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.

The actress says she is conscious that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still pursue human-made creativity.

"Sure, I believe there will be digital performers and vocalists. I know they already exist. I know our voices are already being manipulated, but I trust people have appreciation and desire for authentic creations."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been dominating the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its soundtrack featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan creations, and viewers globally are calling for a follow-up.

Cho reveals she would like to confirm the question of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the platform or the production company, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I'm aware there's lots of murmurs, the feedback is positive," she says. "So we shall see, and I think fans everywhere would protest if it didn't happen."

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