(C) The Wrap
SAN FRANCISCO - The year 2025 will be remembered in the United States not only for major political events and the emergence of new AI but also as the year a K-pop-themed Netflix animation unexpectedly soared to the top of the nation's search charts. According to Google's "Year in Search 2025" report released on December 5 (local time), the animated series 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' (KDH) secured the highly coveted second spot in the overall US search rankings.
KDH’s performance was nothing short of a breakout hit. The animation, which blends the high-energy world of K-pop with supernatural action, achieved the number one position in both the Film category and the Cast/Actors category, indicating intense public curiosity extending beyond the show itself to its creators and performers. This unprecedented level of engagement for a foreign-produced animation underscores the growing mainstream appeal of Korean cultural content in the American market.
The series' soundtrack, produced by the fictional group Hantrix and featuring dynamic tracks, also showed significant chart success. Hantrix’s "Golden" ranked 3rd in the Songs search category, with "Takedown" and Saja Voice's "Soda Pop" following at 10th and 7th, respectively. Most impressively, "Golden" dominated the "Hum to Search" feature globally, taking the top position worldwide, demonstrating its immediate memorability and infectious quality among listeners who sought to identify the tune simply by humming the melody.
Globally, the top search term for 2025 was Google's own artificial intelligence model, "Gemini," reflecting the enormous public interest and user attempts to access the new chatbot. Although KDH did not make the global top-ten overall list, its soundtrack maintained its worldwide relevance, with "Golden" leading the "Hum to Search" ranking and "Soda Pop" securing the 10th spot in the Song Lyrics search category.
While KDH delivered a surprising cultural phenomenon, the number one overall US search term was the political activist Charlie Kirk, who tragically died in an assassination attempt in September. Other high-ranking terms in the US included the Hong Kong designer plush character "Labubu" at 3rd, followed by "iPhone 17," and the legislative term "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
Beyond KDH, other Korean content continued to show robust global interest. "Squid Game" ranked 5th in the US TV Show searches, while the latest installment, "Squid Game 3," claimed the 2nd spot in the Worldwide TV Show category. Furthermore, actor Song Ji-woo, who featured in the 'Squid Game' series, was listed 4th in the worldwide Actors search ranking, cementing the global status of Korean performers.
A Google representative introduced the "Year in Search 2025" service by stating, "2025 was the year an American became Pope, 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' swept the charts, and new artificial intelligence captivated the imagination of people." This positioning highlights the significant cultural impact of KDH, placing it alongside major global news stories as a defining search trend of the year. The report firmly establishes K-Content, from high-concept animation to survival dramas, as a foundational element of contemporary global popular culture.
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