K-Pop Demon Hunters ending explained: The character growth of Jinu, explored

The Netflix animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters has made its release on 20th June 2025. It explores the double lives of a K-pop band, HUNTR/X, comprising three women—Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. They not only make incredible music but also save humanity from the wrath of demons. But, there are challenges!

The film explores themes in relation to justice, identity, shame, patriarchy, and community care. While these women safeguard humans from demons, things get complicated when Jinu, a demon, schemes a masterful plan to take them down. There are secrets, conflicts, personal history, and a lot of drama!

So what might have happened in the ending of K-Pop Demon Hunters? Why does Jinu plan to take them down? Is he just a bad guy or much more than that? Let's take a deep dive into the life and journey of Jinu in the film.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for K-Pop Demon Hunters as well as the author's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.

Analyzing Jinu of K-Pop Demon Hunters: The one who finally frees himself in the end

Jinu, voiced by actor Ahn Hyo-seop, is the villain of K-Pop Demon Hunters. But not a quintessential villain who just wants to make people suffer for the sake of it. In the beginning, he does come across as a villain, but something changes, and his character experiences a sense of salvation.

The women of HUNTR/X, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, are immensely popular for their music, but covertly they are also demon slayers who save humans from demons who are constantly striving to enter the human world and cause havoc. There is a safety barricade named the Honmoon, which the women strive to protect. That is what has barred demons from entering the human realm. All of these are mentored by a woman named Celine, the guardian of Rumi.

In K-Pop Demon Hunters, the leader of the demons is the archvillain Gwi-Ma, an authoritarian figure who controls the demons. So Jinu is one of the men of Gwi-Ma who works under him. When the women successfully safeguard humans from demons, Gwi-Ma loses his mind and wants to sabotage them in order to gain access to humans. That is when Jinu comes up with a carefully crafted plan.

He walks them through a plan of making a boy band named the Saja Boys as a counterattack to the HUNTR/X girls. The boy band manages to suck away all the energies from the people, and hence, the potency of Honmoon diminishes. Also, one of the girls in the band, Rumi, possesses a secret that neither Mira nor Zoey knows. An identity that is laced with shame, as she is partially a demon. That explains Rumi's struggle with her voice as she begins losing it.

However, soon the women reveal the truth about the Saja Boys, and they come into direct conflict with the boys. That is when Jinu realizes the truth about Rumi as he witnesses the marks on her body. These marks are only seen by a demon on another. That is when a shift arrives in the story of K-Pop Demon Hunters. There develops an unexpected understanding between them, as Jinu safeguards this secret of hers.

Then Rumi and Jinu engage in a covert conversation where we get to know Jinu's history. Jinu is basically a pawn in the massive game of Gwi-Ma, as around 400 years ago, the demon king and Jinu had settled for a deal. An impoverished Jinu was gifted with the bonus of an enchanting voice from Gwi-Ma. However, he is then confined in the demon world under the rule of the Demon King.

Rumi is conflicted about her identity, as she is burdened with shame and unable to come to terms with her truth. And interacting with Jinu deepens it for her. As Jinu opens up to her about his vulnerability, they strike a chord as they are both in a state of internal suffering. Jinu is filled with remorse for letting Gwi-Ma control him and, therefore, causing his family's sabotage.

However, Gwi-Ma then uses Jinu's history and vulnerability as leverage, which forces him to go against Rumi. The men of Gwi-Ma, during a performance of HUNTR/X, expose the truth about Rumi in the guise of Zoey and Mira. That creates more misunderstanding as the real Zoey and Mira appear and realize the truth of Rumi.

A series of chaos and conflicts arise as Gwi-Ma comes in his form to take down the Honmoon. But here comes the twist in the ending of K-Pop Demon Hunters. As soon as he launches an attack on Rumi, Jinu comes forward and lets him get killed instead. His soul is then handed over to Rumi. With this act of sacrifice, Jinu not only saves Rumi and the rest of humanity but is also freed from his own remorse and pain.

Jinu finally frees himself from the exploitation and abuse of Gwi-Ma. While his past actions can never be justified, what also counts is his mighty efforts to undo his bad actions. And this is what makes our hearts swell for the villain we once hated.

This emancipatory act was his personal rebellion and a closure that he owed himself for years. In K-Pop Demon Hunters, Jinu undoubtedly begins as a villain, but he ends up as somebody whom we end up empathizing with. He lived a life filled with a sense of defeat, but towards the end, he gives a heroic, triumphant ending that paves the way for a more positive beginning in the future.

However, at the end of K-Pop Demon Hunters, Mira and Zoey get back together with Rumi, and they spend some leisurely time together. Rumi slowly heals herself and comes to terms with her demon identity.