Maggie Kang is a Korean-Canadian animation director, screenwriter, and story artist who gained global attention with the animated film KPop Demon Hunters (2025), which ranked number one in 41 countries worldwide. Born in Seoul, she immigrated with her family to Toronto, Canada, at the age of five and grew up visiting Korea every vacation, developing a deep affection for Korean culture, arts, and popular music.
Her path to becoming a film director was strongly influenced by her father, a movie enthusiast. Exposed from a young age to works by masters such as Akira Kurosawa and Federico Fellini, she cultivated visual imagination and artistic sensibility, growing as a creator with both unique cultural roots and global awareness. She received professional education majoring in 2D animation at Sheridan College in Canada and built her career by participating in major Hollywood productions at world-class studios such as DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, and Warner Animation Group.
She notably worked as a storyboard artist and head of story on productions including The Lego Ninjago Movie, The Croods: A New Age, Rise of the Guardians, Kung Fu Panda 3, Trolls, the Shrek series, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Minions: The Rise of Gru, and The Grinch.
Director Maggie Kang has always expressed her desire to create “global content centered on Korean elements.” For the KPop Demon Hunters project, she personally visited Korea multiple times to research and infuse authentic details of Korean traditional culture such as martial arts and shamanic rituals (gut), as well as K-pop, hanok houses, streets, and food. Thanks to the high understanding and engagement of the entire staff in K-culture, the film was acclaimed globally as “the most Korean and most innovative K-content.”
She stated her conviction: “We wanted to vividly portray the K-pop world while simultaneously incorporating truly Korean elements. I think ‘gut’ might be the very first concert.” She added memorable quotes such as “When ‘K’ is attached, Americans go crazy,” and “Koreans have tremendous passion.” The idol girl group in the film, Huntrix, was born from this philosophy, and the dubbing featured numerous world-renowned Korean actors including Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yunjin, Ahn Hyo-seop, Arden Cho, and Ken Jeong.
Consequently, KPop Demon Hunters earned praise for its fresh genre fusion of “K-pop exorcism action,” spectacular musical concert structure, and bold combination of Korean shamanistic faith with idol culture, receiving favorable media attention domestically and internationally. Thanks to the global success of Netflix productions, the film earned Kang the title of “creator who expanded the Korean worldview globally” through a unique attempt blending “K-pop + grim reaper + musical + sisterhood.”
Maggie Kang Profile
- English: Maggie Kang | Korean: 매기 강
- Date of Birth: July 22, 1982 (age 43) Exact birth year not officially disclosed
- Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
- Nationality: Canada
- Current Residence: US (presumed Los Angeles)
- Height: – | Weight: – | Blood Type: – | MBTI: – | Religion: –
- Education: Sheridan College, Canada (majored in 2D animation)
- Family: Husband Radford Sechrist, daughter Rumi, etc.
- Agency: Sony Pictures Animation
- Debut Year: 2006 (DreamWorks / Storyboard Artist)
- Personal SNS: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/nutmags/)
Table of Contents
Maggie Kang Director A to Z
Maggie Kang has nearly 20 years of experience working at world-renowned animation studios as a story artist and director, participating in numerous major Hollywood animated blockbusters. She gained recognition as Head of Story for The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) and has been a core creative force on The Croods: A New Age, The Grinch, Kung Fu Panda 3, Trolls, Madagascar 2, Shrek, and other series at DreamWorks, Illumination, and Warner Animation Group.
Her personally planned KPop Demon Hunters blends music, animation fantasy, Korean shamanism, and modern K-pop culture in a novel way, achieving No. 1 rankings in 41 countries on Netflix after its 2025 release, marking her as the first Asian female director to lead a globally successful musical animation. Memorable quotes from her include: “We wanted to vividly portray the K-pop world while simultaneously incorporating true Korean elements,” “I think shamanic rites (‘gut’) might be the very first concert,” “Koreans have tremendous passion, and whenever K’s attached, everybody goes wild,” and “Only when you truly become yourself and connect openly can you experience genuine liberation.”
Notably, Kang personally visited Korea multiple times to handle research and scouting, ensuring Korean details were authentically rendered in animation design, music, acting, and all other aspects. The family warmth rooted in her personal experience, plus cultural elements like food, streets, and hanok houses, deeply permeate the animation backgrounds.
Maggie Kang Director Filmography
- KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
Role: Director, Screenwriter, Creator
Features: Fusion of traditional gut shamanism, K-pop, urban life, and concert spectacle; tight collaboration with Korean actors; global Netflix No. 1 in 41 countries; dubbing by Hallyu stars Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yunjin, Ahn Hyo-seop, etc. - The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)
Role: Head of Story
Known as a blockbuster franchise highlighting the presence of a Korean female creator in Hollywood. - The Croods: A New Age (2020)
Role: Additional Story Artist - Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Role: Storyboard Artist - Shrek Forever After (2010), Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
Role: Storyboard/Story Team Contributor
Maggie Kang Awards and Key Milestones
- Joined DreamWorks in 2006 as a Story Artist
- Key involvement in Madagascar, Shrek, Trolls, Lilo & Stitch, Kung Fu Panda, Croods, and Lego Ninjago Movie from 2008–2017
- 2017: Lego Ninjago Movie nominated for various international animation feature film awards
- 2025: Nominated for Netflix Global Honorable Director Award for box office success
Maggie Kang Family, Background, and Wealth
Her family is a first-generation Korean-Canadian immigrant family originally from Seoul. They moved to Toronto when Maggie was five. Her husband, Radford Sechrist, is a creator who participated in the production of KPop Demon Hunters. Their daughter, Rumi, lends her name to the main character of the film.
Maggie Kang KPop Demon Hunters Season 2
Following the global success of KPop Demon Hunters, Maggie Kang gained worldwide attention. The film topped Netflix charts in 41 countries, and she expressed pride in the strength of Korean culture and the message embodied in the work during interviews. In a New York Times interview, she said she aimed to make a film commemorating Korean culture and expressed gratitude for the positive response from Korean fans.
Maggie Kang has revealed plans for sequels and series extensions of KPop Demon Hunters. Netflix is positively reviewing producing a sequel based on the success, and fans eagerly anticipate an animated follow-up. We look forward to seeing Demon Hunters Season 2.
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