Lee Byung-Hun Took 3 Full Sessions To Dub His English Lines In K-Pop Demon Hunters!
Squid Game fame Lee Byung-Hun voiced the demon king Gwi-Ma in the animated movie K-Pop Demon Hunters. But did you know he faced a few obstacles while doing so?
Lee Byung-Hun Took 3 Recording Sessions To Perfect His English Dubbing In K-Pop Demon Hunters, And Here’s Why ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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K-Pop Demon Hunters is an animated movie that went on to become massively successful across the globe. Even though it’s about K-pop and Korean culture shown in a more global aspect, people from every corner showered their love on the film. The scenes have gone viral, and the film still gets talked about on social media platforms. The storyline revolves around a girl band – Huntrix – including three members, who are pop stars by day and demon slayers by night.
Things change when the demon king Gwi-Ma, unable to destroy them, sends a demon boy band, Saja Boys, led by Jinu. In the film, popular Korean actor Ahn Hyo-Seop voiced Jinu, whereas Squid Game fame Lee Byung-Hun can be heard as Gwi-Ma. In a recent conversation, the actor opened up about the difficulties that he faced while doing the voice project in English. Even though he has a limited screen time, he definitely left a mark. Scroll ahead to read more.
Did Lee Byung-Hun Face Any Challenges While Voicing Gwi-Ma?
During a conversation with Dispatch (via AllKpop), Lee Byung-Hun shared how he landed the role of Gwi-Ma in K-Pop Demon Hunters and said, “While I was in the U.S., I had a meeting with Sony Pictures. I found the concept fascinating from the early planning stages. Initially, I was only slated to do the English dubbing, but I later ended up doing the voice acting for the Korean version as well.”
The actor further revealed the challenges that he faced while dubbing the character in English, “It required an understanding of emotions, nuances, and cultural differences. While the Korean dubbing was done in a day, the English version needed to be split across three sessions to refine it properly.” He continued, “The part where Gwima awkwardly tries to sing along with Jinu’s song stuck with me. I put a lot of thought into how to deliver the right tone. Gwima is set up as a terrifying, charismatic king of darkness, but there’s a clumsy, almost endearing aspect to him. I really liked that part.”
After seeing the massive success, Lee Byung-Hun shared his happiness in the same conversation and added that he now realized how people have grown to like K-pop more than before. The whole process was rewarding for him. The director, Maggie Kang, even expressed her excitement for working with the actor in her project. She called it “one of the most exciting and pivotal experiences during the making of the film.” The director further praised him and said, “He asked so many thoughtful questions from the beginning and completely embraced the concept we envisioned.”
If you haven’t watched K-Pop Demon Hunters yet, stream it on Netflix, and enjoy Lee Byung-Hun’s voice as Gwi-Ma.
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