Arden Cho has opened up about why she nearly walked away from acting — and how the upcoming animated film Kpop Demon Hunters convinced her to return.
The former Partner Track star revealed that years of burnout and disillusionment led her to “retire” from the industry, only to rediscover her sense of purpose through the project, directed by Korean Canadian filmmaker Maggie Kang.
“I went through many difficult periods over the course of 20 years of filming, and eventually, I was burned out,” Cho said in an interview Friday in Seoul.
“Partner Track was my first drama as a top-billed lead. Just getting to that point had been an incredibly difficult journey. But after Partner Track ended the way it did, I started to feel, for the first time very clearly, how difficult it is for an Asian woman to sustain a leading role (in the US).”
“I had been doing this work for such a long time, and I felt exhausted, both emotionally and professionally. That’s when I began to think that maybe it was time to do something else,” said Cho, adding that she went into a retirement from acting for a year and half after Netflix legal drama TV series was cancelled.
Read more: Arden Cho Auditioned For Different ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Character — Before Landing Lead Role, Rumi
Even so, the offers didn’t stop coming. “Even after announcing my retirement, my US agent continued to send me auditions, but I politely declined most of them, saying I was OK,” Cho said.
“At some point, I think I had lost sight of the mission that made me start this work in the first place. But working on this film, I felt a renewed sense of hope and found myself wanting to take on new challenges once again.”
That film was Kpop Demon Hunters, directed by Maggie Kang. Cho said it was the combination of genre, story, and leadership behind the project that drew her back in.
Read more: Why It Took Netflix’s ‘Kpop Demon Hunters’ For a Kpop Song to Win a Grammy
“Then I was approached with Kpop Demon Hunters. I’ve always loved sci-fi and action and when I heard that the project was being directed by Maggie Kang — a Korean woman — it immediately caught my attention,” she said. Kang, who was born in Seoul, is a Korean Canadian filmmaker.
“Maggie Kang had a very clear vision of what she wanted and a strong understanding of the core of the character,” said Cho, adding that a central priority was shaping a protagonist who felt sincere and grounded.
“She’s an incredibly cool character, but also a leader with real weight and responsibility,” she said.
The challenge grew deeper behind the mic. “With voice acting, you have nothing but your voice to work with, so (we aimed to) make her feel charismatic and cool, but also polished and, at the same time, endearing,” said Cho.
Beyond her work on Kpop Demon Hunters, Cho also reflected on how her personal experiences have shaped her creative ambitions. In her latest work, Cho is starring in and producing Perfect Girl – an upcoming psychological thriller centring on a Kpop girl being stalked and attacked ahead of their debut concert.
According to her, Perfect Girl stems from her desire to change the way Americans see Koreans.
“Throughout my life, I hated feeling dismissed and looked down on because I was Asian, and I experienced a lot of bullying,” said Cho. “I want to give the next generation the opportunities I never had,” she said.
“I hope there will be more Asian producers and creators working in the US. If we want to show strong, compelling images of ourselves, in the end, we have to create them ourselves.”
For Cho, Kpop Demon Hunters wasn’t just another role — it was a reminder of why she started acting in the first place.
