Hyperconnectivity and Tech-Animism in KPop Demon Hunters

This paper interprets the dramatic actions of KPop Demon Hunters as a net-war in which Huntrix and Saja Boys compete for attention. Through this net-war, human and non-human agents recognize and enact human bonds and social solidarity. The dramatic vision centers on a journey of self-expansion, through which characters reconnect with the world via self-discovery. The self-expansion embodied by Rumi and Jinu destabilizes long-standing prejudices and hierarchical boundaries. Non-human and hybrid characters, grounded in animistic communication, form a parliament of things and realize the essential unity of humans and the world through the completion of the golden Honmoon. Tech-animism advances a relational ontology and an ethics of coexistence. As a form of technē that combines art and technology, Huntrix’s stage restores potenza and embodides hyperconnectivity.