A scene from Netflix’s animation “KPop Demon Hunters” / Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix’s smash-hit animation “KPop Demon Hunters” has dominated YouTube Korea’s 2025 year-end charts, cementing its status as the phenomenon of the year as its soundtrack and related fan content have taken center stage on the platform since the movie’s June release.
YouTube Korea on Wednesday announced four year-end lists for 2025: Trending Topics, Top Creators, Top Songs and Top Songs on Shorts, focusing on topics that either newly surfaced this year or recorded sharp spikes in user interest in the country.
For trending topics, three K-content titles — “KPop Demon Hunters,” “When Life Gives You Tangerines” and “Squid Game” — made the list. “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Squid Game” in particular also appeared on most countries’ trending topic lists, reflecting the global influence of Korean entertainment on the platform.
Along with those three titles, the chart included K-pop newbies Allday Project and Hearts2Hearts, and games such as Roblox and Mabinogi.
The impact of “KPop Demon Hunters” is most visible in the music charts, with three of its soundtracks making it into the top 10 songs of 2025. “Golden” topped the chart, while “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol” landed in third and 10th, respectively.
Along with the soundtracks, newly discovered artists including Maktub and Zo Zazz, along with established K-pop stars such as G-Dragon, IVE and BLACKPINK, were also featured in the chart.
The Shorts chart confirms the franchise’s reach among short-form creators. In the top Shorts songs list, “Soda Pop” and “Golden” ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, after becoming staple background tracks for dance challenges, cosplay videos and meme content.
They are joined by global and K-pop favorites such as BLACKPINK’s “Jump,” IVE’s “Rebel Heart” and indie artist Hyun Seo’s “DayDream,” which was released through direct interaction with viewers using shorts.
The Top Creators list, based on domestic subscriber growth, is led by mixed martial arts fighter and TV personality Choo Sung-hoon, who has been garnering popularity on the platform with candid and comedic daily life videos.
Comedian Lee Su-ji’s channel, Hot Issue Ji, took second place with her persona-driven sketches reflecting contemporary life, while the channel for Michelin-starred chef Anh Sung-jae’s personal life took sixth place.