[News Today] ‘Golden’ tops Billboard Hot 100

[LEAD]
An animated film inspired by K-pop, KPop Demon Hunters, is showing no signs of cooling in popularity.

Its theme song Golden has climbed to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

This is the second time for a K-pop track after BTS.

[REPORT]
One for the first time is 'Golden.'

K-pop has once again topped the Billboard Hot 100 main singles chart.

Achieving this feat is the song Golden from the animated film KPop Demon Hunters.

Thanks to the film's global popularity, Golden has topped the chart seven weeks after landing on the Hot 100.

Earlier on August 1, it also ranked number one on the UK's Official Singles Chart.

Maggie Kang / Director, KPop Demon Hunters
Korean culture has come and how big of a cultural force we have become.

The popularity of this song is nothing short of a craze.

From K-pop artists to overseas pop stars, a challenge has sprung up where celebrities sing along to the song.

At the National Museum of Korea, people even lined up early to buy the Korean characters featured in the film.

Kim Do-heon / Pop music critic
The film is popular, but the moving story of Korean American singer-songwriter Ejae, who overcame hardships, moved to the U.S. and achieved her dream, adds to its appeal.

K-pop is leading the trend in global pop culture.

The world is watching to see how far K-pop’s unstoppable rise will go.