Maggie Kang

Maggie "Min Ji" Kang

Maggie Kang (born 1981 or 1982) is a South Korean and Canadian storyboard artist, writer, and director. She is best known for creating the story for KPop Demon Hunters (2025), which she co-wrote and directed with Chris Appelhans. The film earned the duo two Annie Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. Life and education Kang was born in Seoul, South Korea. When she was five, her fam...

Maggie Kang (born 1981 or 1982) is a South Korean and Canadian storyboard artist, writer, and director. She is best known for creating the story for KPop Demon Hunters (2025), which she co-wrote and directed with Chris Appelhans. The film earned the duo two Annie Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. Life and education Kang was born in Seoul, South Korea. When she was five, her family moved to Toronto, Canada, for her father's work. The family decided to stay in Canada, and Kang grew up there. She studied animation at Sheridan College in Ontario. Career In her third year at college, Kang was recruited to DreamWorks Animation. She served as a story artist for such animated films as Puss in Boots (2011), Rise of the Guardians (2012), and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016). She served as head of story for The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017). In 2018, Kang developed the concept for KPop Demon Hunters (2025). She has cited numerous inspirations for the film: Twice and Blackpink for the fictional K-pop girl group Huntrix; Monsta X for the fictional boy band the Saja Boys; and The Host for the film's tone and style. In a lunch meeting, she pitched the idea to Sony, which bought the rights and began development one week later. Kang said Ejae's song demos helped get KPop Demon Hunters greenlit. She directed the flim with Chris Appelhans. In March 2026, it was announced that a sequel is planned for release in 2029. Kang and Appelhans negotiated a contract with Netflix for the sequel: a five-year, $10 million-per-year plus a share of ancillary revenue from the franchise. In April 2026, Kang signed with agency The Present Company to launch activities in South Korea. Personal life Kang is married to Radford Sechrist, creator of Netflix series Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. In 2020, Sechrist said that Kang took him to BTS concerts, and said the K-pop genre was close to his heart. She has said that Sechrist gave her the idea for merging Korean mythology and K-pop, and that they thought up the concept for the animation film K-Pop Demon Hunters. Sechrist is said to have designed characters and written "a lot of the scenes" for the film. Sechrist designed the Derpy Tiger character in the film, basing it upon minhwa and his cat Yumyan. Sechrist and Kang have a daughter, who voiced the younger Rumi in KPop Demon Hunters. Filmography Accolades Awards and nominations Other accolades State and cultural honors Listicles Notes References External links Maggie Kang at IMDb