“KPop Demon Hunters” Creator Sparks Major Controversy With “2026 Oscars” Winners Speech

Many thought she was being ignorant.

KPop Demon Hunters creator has sparked major controversy with her speech at the 2026 Oscars.

| Netflix

On March 16 (local time), the Oscars took place, and along with the award for best original song, the movie won “Best Animated Feature.”

During the speech, creator Maggie Kang sparked major controversy with her comment as she said, “To Koreans everywhere, I am so sorry that it took so long to see us in a movie like this, but it is here. And that means the next generations don’t have to go longing.”

The creator of #KPopDemonHunters, Maggie Kang, dedicates her #Oscar “to Koreans everywhere”: “I am so sorry that it took so long to see us in a movie like this, but it is here. And that means that the next generations don’t have to go longing.”

(via ABC/AMPAS)… pic.twitter.com/gPu6Y5ssQQ

— Variety (@Variety) March 15, 2026

Yet, while it was meant to be inspiring, it sparked major backlash towards the creator, who was accused of forgetting history. In particular, netizens brought back movies like “Parasite” that won several awards at the Oscars in 2019, and how, despite what Maggie said, there is a huge presence of Korean media across the world gaining attention.

Didn’t Parasite win best picture in 2019? https://t.co/rmcXte5ae8

— Danny Polishchuk (@Dannyjokes) March 16, 2026

This is an example of Asians living in the West forgetting about Asians in Asia – both Parasite and Squid Game won lots of mainline awards in the US, but I guess because they are actual Koreans and not Korean Americans, they don’t count in the eyes of some. https://t.co/TJzCf2xPyn

— Kevin Yam 任建峰 (@kevinkfyam) March 16, 2026

Maggie Kang is pretty young so she probably doesn't remember when Parasite (a Korean film that, unlike her film, used Korean dialogue) won Best Picture in 2020 https://t.co/JmdYbwdbtX

— PoIiMath (@politicalmath) March 16, 2026

A Korean movie won best picture 6 years ago. This was before the rules of the Oscar's were changed to make it easier for minority films to win. These self centered people think history started the with them lol https://t.co/k1MUkUauuZ

— Sean Fitzgerald (Actual Justice Warrior) (@IamSean90) March 16, 2026

Bong Joon Ho already won an academy award lol and Korea def does NOT suffer from lack of visibility. Our cheaper, tackier, baser output already has so much visibility it doesn’t need anymore, like just take your Oscar for most engaged-with slop and go https://t.co/PAciU6weqh

— k-hole (@g4ykawakubo) March 16, 2026