SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - NOVEMBER 24: Eider brand ambassador, Jang Won-Young poses for a photocall for "Eider" Cashmere Coat Down pop-up store opening at Eider Cashmere Down House Myeongdong on November 24, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/WireImage)
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It is, by Jang Wonyoung’s own admission, something she has never said out loud before. In a new interview with Esquire Korea conducted in connection with her Bulgari campaign, IVE’s Wonyoung revealed that when she first heard "Golden" — the Oscar and Grammy-winning centrepiece of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters — the song immediately reminded her of IVE's own "I AM."
When Esquire Korea’s Park Se-heo asked what group she was reminded of when listening to the songs in that movie, Wonyoung said, “Um... this is the first time I’m talking about this, IVE. When I listened to the song 'Gold(en),' it reminded me of our song 'I AM.' I thought I was the only one who felt that way, but this is the first time I've said it out loud. People around me mentioned it, so I realized that many people felt the same way.”
Park noted that the part where the melody builds in the song was “was exactly like IVE,” to which Wonyoung replied, "That’s right. The song styles are really similar."
"I AM," released in April 2023 as the lead single from IVE's first studio album I've IVE, is built around a soaring pre-chorus that lifts unexpectedly before a held melodic peak — a structural trick that generates the kind of crowd sing-along moment that Wonyoung describes experiencing live.
"Golden," written by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, and a team of Korean composers including Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park, per Netflix Tudum, operates similarly; the song’s most emotionally resonant moment is a sustained melodic rise that functions as its emotional apex.
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Wonyoung is not the only K-pop figure to have commented publicly on the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. BTS’s Jimin and Jungkook discussed "Golden" during a Weverse live session last year, with Jimin noting that Jungkook had released a solo album called Golden in 2023 and asking whether the shared name bothered him. Jungkook’s response was characteristically direct, saying, “If it’s good, that’s all that matters”.
IVE member Yujin has also previously covered “Golden”.
"Golden," performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami as the fictional group HUNTR/X, won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 68th Grammy Awards; the first K-pop associated song to win at that ceremony. It subsequently won Best Original Song at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, with EJAE accepting both awards and emotionally referencing her own journey from rejected K-pop trainee to Oscar-winning songwriter.
The song’s official lyric video reached one billion views on YouTube in January 2026. It topped the Billboard Global 200 and reached number one in more than 30 countries, per Rolling Stone.
INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 10: Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo of girl group IVE attend the 2023 The Fact Music Awards on October 10, 2023 in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
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Jang Wonyoung is a 20-year-old South Korean singer and the co-leader and centre of IVE, one of the leading fourth-generation K-pop groups under Starship Entertainment. She debuted with IVE in December 2021 and has since become one of the most visible individual presences in the K-pop industry, maintaining ambassador relationships with luxury brands including Bulgari, which is the context in which the Esquire Korea interview took place.
Her public persona, which she described in the interview as deliberately consistent. “I have a kind of professional mindset. I can’t say there isn’t some fatigue from being in the spotlight every moment, but most of the people who come to see me or watch me are those who like and support me,” makes candid admissions like this rather rare.
Quotes from the Esquire Korea interview with Wonyoung was translated from Korean.
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