[OSENWORLD] This Halloween, the world is dressing up — and K-Pop Demon Hunters is leading the charge.
According to Google’s global trend tracker Frightgeist, six out of the top ten most-searched Halloween costumes of 2025 are characters from the Netflix animated phenomenon K-Pop Demon Hunters. It’s the clearest sign yet that K-culture has overtaken Hollywood as the heart of global pop fantasy.
Rumi, Zoey, Mira, Jinu, and Baby Saja claimed the top five costume spots, followed by Derpy the Tiger at No. 8 — giving the Korean IP an unprecedented 60% dominance of Halloween’s global rankings. No Western franchise has ever achieved that feat.
Rumi’s purple dragon braid has become the season’s most copied hairstyle, while Zoey’s space buns went viral across TikTok and Instagram as this year’s ultimate fashion meme. Mira’s pink wig and yellow skirt combo emerged as Gen Z’s new costume favorite, and Jinu’s “Trending Demon” persona topped supernatural character searches. Baby Saja’s pink argyle sweater inspired fan-made lookbooks, and Derpy’s surreal blue-cat aesthetic added a playful twist to the Halloween lineup.
Once, Halloween reflected the dominance of Hollywood — a parade of Jokers, Harley Quinns, and Iron Men. But in 2025, K-Pop Demon Hunters flipped the script, showing that K-content has evolved beyond streaming into fashion, beauty, and everyday culture.
The impact reaches beyond fandom. Hairstyles and makeup inspired by Rumi and Zoey are already driving brand collaborations, while the hashtag #KpopDemonHuntersChallenge has generated hundreds of millions of views on TikTok. What started as an animated feature has become a full-scale creative ecosystem, blending Korean mythology, girl-power storytelling, and global consumer trends.
Halloween used to belong to Hollywood — but not anymore. With six K-Pop Demon Hunters characters ruling the costume charts, 2025 will be remembered as the year K-culture didn’t just join the party — it owned it.
/k_inside@osen.co.kr
Courtesy of Netflix
