Fighting Shame with a Song: What K-Pop Demon Hunters Taught Me About Grace

It’s hard to escape the influence of the popular summer hit “Golden” from K-Pop Demon Hunters. What can the story of this movie teach us about who we really are in the light of God’s grace for us in Christ?

Our hero is Rumi, leader of the demon-hunting K-Pop group, HUNTR/X. Rumi’s group is a part of a multi-generational legacy of singers who work to keep demons at bay from entering our world by creating a magic barrier known as a “Honmoon.” HUNTR/X is determined to seal away the demons forever with their new release, “Golden.” This song reveals that Rumi is hiding a hidden shame from the world. She is both a saint and a sinner. She sings:

“Waited so long to break these walls down to wake up and feel like me

Put these patterns all in the past now, and finally live like the girl they all see.”

Rumi is struggling with shame, which can be so isolating. Fast forward to the closing climax of the movie, and the last song, “This is What It Sounds Like.” The stakes are so high! In the face of overwhelming shame and rejection, Rumi sings these words:

“I broke into a million pieces, and I can't go back,

but now I'm seeing all the beauty in the broken glass.

The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony.

My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like.”

When my students are feeling overwhelmed by grief or sickness, I love to give them a psalm to pray. When I’m feeling broken and filled with shame, I’m drawn to meditate on the Psalms. The Psalms demonstrate what it sounds like when we need help. The Psalms offer us words that both express our pain and provide us with promise and true comfort.

God doesn’t ask us to fix ourselves, but comes to restore our brokenness. He knows our broken hearts and gives healing and hope to all sinners.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).

The finale of K-Pop Demon Hunters has one quick moment that takes my breath away. The scene shows the fans joining Rumi in song. But they aren’t singing along with her; they are singing in harmony with a beautiful descant, adding their voices to her struggle and bringing power for the dramatic victory over evil. Rumi and HUNTR/X sing out:

“Truth, after all this time,

our voices all combined.

When darkness meets the light,

this is what it sounds like."

The church has a gospel gift in our shared worship. It’s here, where we gather together, openly admit our shame and sin, and receive through our confession the promise of forgiveness and restoration. We sing Psalms and hymns that remind us that the chaos in this world is not forever. The peace that is promised is given even to sinners like you and me: sinners filled with shame and guilt, sinners who try to fix themselves but cannot. We hear the word of promise in the Word of God. The reminder that we are not alone but joined together and restored by the work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Do you feel isolated?

Are you overwhelmed by the often unexplainable chaos and destruction of our world?

Have you ever felt at war with yourself?

We can’t fix any of these things, and avoiding their reality will not ultimately give us an answer. We need redemption, and we receive it in our church community through God’s Word.

We receive restoration through Jesus, the one who sacrifices himself, taking on our sins and shame for us. We can be healed because we have a God who is on our side, who desires and creates a right relationship with us through his Son.

In Christ, we receive a new heart and a new song,

“I waited patiently for the LORD;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God” (Ps. 40:1-3).

This is a beautiful song because it's true.

Because of what Jesus has done, we can sing out against our shame, knowing we have a Redeemer who loves and restores us. When we combine our voices in song, darkness meets the light, and it sounds like hope.

Sarah Crowder, Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School, Las Vegas

adapted from an article originally posted in 1517