This year marks the 99th edition of the largest Thanksgiving event in the U.S., the 'Macy's Thanksgiving Parade', where characters from the Netflix animation 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' (hereafter 'K-DH') joined, drawing attention.
On the 27th (local time), NBC reported, "The beloved duo from the popular Netflix animation 'K-DH' participated in the parade," highlighting the parade debut of the tiger character 'Duffy' and the magpie character 'Seossi' with three eyes.
The 'Macy's Thanksgiving Parade' is the largest annual parade in the U.S., started by Macy's department store in New York in 1924. It features giant character balloons, performance teams, and marching bands along a route of about 4 km in Manhattan, becoming a representative holiday event in the U.S. watched by millions of on-site spectators and live-stream viewers worldwide. Therefore, the characters appearing in the parade are recognized as global pop culture icons.
This year's event featured Duffy and Seossi from 'K-DH' appearing as giant balloons side by side. Sony Pictures Animation announced on their official social media on the 18th, "The two characters will debut as Macy's parade balloons," raising expectations among fans worldwide. On the actual parade day, as the two characters floated between the buildings of New York, both children and adult spectators cheered and took photos and videos, enhancing the excitement of the event.
Before the parade began, Korean-American artists Lee Jae, Audrey Nuna, and Ray Ami, who sang the OST for the K-Pop girl group 'HuntRix' from 'K-DH', performed the theme song 'Golden' live, decorating the opening stage. The simultaneous appearance of the OST performance by Korean-American artists and the Korean culture-based animation character balloons in one event is being evaluated as "a symbolic moment for K-Content."
This year's parade featured not only 'K-DH' characters but also globally popular characters such as Labubu, Spider-Man, Buzz Lightyear, Super Mario, Minions, SpongeBob, Pikachu, and Shrek. Each character balloon adorned the skies of downtown New York, creating a spectacular scene and providing family audiences with memorable experiences that were "truly Macy's Parade-like" this year.
The 'Macy's Thanksgiving Parade' has long served as a symbolic platform where American culture and global entertainment naturally blend. The official participation of 'K-DH' characters this year is interpreted as a scene showing that K-animation and K-content are no longer peripheral but have established themselves as 'main characters' in the U.S. mainstream market.
Immediately after the event, social media was filled with reactions such as, "Duffy was definitely my number one pick among the parade balloons today," and "I never expected 'K-DH' to appear in the Macy's Parade; it has truly become a global IP." Fans hope that this appearance will be the starting point for various K-content characters, including 'K-DH', to appear more frequently in future parades and global events.
