Arden Cho, the voice behind Rumi, the fearless protagonist in Netflix's global phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters, is paving an unconventional course in Hollywood, one shaped by the evolving conversation around representation and her own reinvention as an Asian American artist.
Born in Texas, Cho began her career with varied roles across US television, including CSI: NY and Pretty Little Liars.
Her breakout came with MTV's supernatural hit Teen Wolf (2013-2016), where she established herself as a rising presence. Years later, she would headline Netflix's legal drama Partner Track (2022), her first solo leading role, portraying a Korean American attorney exploring the rarefied world of New York corporate law.
That milestone, however, arrived with unexpected emotional consequences.
"I went through many difficult periods over the course of 20 years of filming, and eventually, I was burnt out. Partner Track was my first drama as a top-billed lead. Just getting to that point had been an incredibly difficult journey. But after Partner Track ended the way it did, I started to feel, for the first time very clearly, how difficult it is for an Asian woman to sustain a leading role (in US markets)," Cho said in an interview in Seoul.
"I had been doing this work for such a long time, and I felt exhausted, both emotionally and professionally. That’s when I began to think that maybe it was time to do something else," said Cho, adding that she retired from acting for a year and a half after Partner Track.
That hiatus triggered a period of deep reckoning, but the hiatus would ultimately set the stage for a comeback, one that arrived in animated form. – The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
