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"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I lacked light-colored eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful back then," says the actress, who voiced the lead character in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

The performer, 40, recalls her early years in Texas, as the eldest daughter of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which narrates the tale of a girl group who must save the world from dark powers, Rumi has to accept her true nature as part human, part demon – and when she first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Asian-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she says.

These elements were components of her formative years that paralleled the character's path.

"Truthfully, at various stages in my existence, I despised many parts of me and I longed to become someone else.

"During childhood, what you see shapes who you become and I feel like I just didn't see enough people that look like me."

When it debuted on the platform in June, KPop Demon Hunters achieved millions of streams in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To be part of the first Hollywood animated film set in Korea, with Korean leads, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a inspiring figure for Asian-American children, the kind that was missing when in her youth.

Cho says many individuals of Korean descent have expressed it's "such a refreshing moment", making them feel pride for the first instance of their dual heritage and culture.

"I feel like Korean pop music really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had a significant influence on Korea being loved. But I believe the film is the one that pushed it further, of, inspiring travel to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and Cho says she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"It seems it kind of sucks to mention this, but whenever there's an Asian-led project, it's perceived like a gamble," she says.

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to meet the entire cast and crew in person, she says.

The film was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of mass deportation efforts, which sparked protests in many states.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's deeply saddening," says Cho. "Immigrants have shaped the nation."

Reports have estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including adopted children, are among those who could be deported.

As an grown-up, she understood that the prejudice she had encountered when she was younger stemmed mainly from a lack of education, as people didn't know what it meant to be of Asian descent.

"However today, in this day and age, when it seems the society and people ought to be more informed, it's deeply disheartening and at times it appears there's a sense of despair," she says.

Because of this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "optimism and happiness to various groups".

"Perhaps this explains it became this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and something to unite us all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the film industry, raising the possibility that in coming years it could be used to make a film like the animation.

Cho says she is conscious that AI is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still pursue art created by humans.

"Sure, I believe there will be AI actors and singers. I know they're already here. I know performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I trust people have appreciation and desire for authentic creations."

The film has also been dominating the international music rankings, with multiple songs from its soundtrack appearing in the prestigious charts. It has its own fan creations, and audiences around the world are calling for a sequel.

Cho reveals she wishes she could answer the inquiry of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to await the streaming service or the studio, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I think everyone in the world would riot if it didn't happen."

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