“Killing Demons is Cardio”: Participatory Culture and Parasocial Interaction in Online K-Pop Demon Hunters Discourse

This paper analyses YouTube comments on the viral short “ Do NOT Interrupt Our Mukbang!” from the Netflix phenomenon K-pop demon hunters to explore how participatory culture and parasocial interaction intersect in digital fandom. Drawing on 1,798 comments, we show how fans collaboratively construct meaning through humour, insider knowledge, and affective identification with animated idols and the K-pop industry beyond them. Commenters blend discourses of food, fitness, body ideals, and K-Pop industry realities, collapsing boundaries between fiction and reality. These practices illustrate a dual parasociality in which intimacy is projected onto both fictional characters and real-world idols. Through such playful and emotionally charged exchanges, fans transform online commentary into a participatory, interdiscursive space that negotiates identity, belonging, and critique. The analysis highlights how affective engagement and cultural production converge to sustain collective intimacy within transnational K-pop fandoms.