Pansori at the Oscars: An Interview with Lauren Han
2026 began with disappointments for Lauren Han, an LA-based actor, singer, and filmmaker.
But on March 15, Han found herself on stage at the 98th Academy Awards, dressed in hanbok and performing the Hunter’s Mantra from KPop Demon Hunters. The stunning showcase of traditional and modern Korean culture was certainly not on Han’s bingo card, but it’s now opening doors for new and much deserved opportunities.
Since then, the internet has been asking, “who is Lauren Han?” I had the pleasure of interviewing Han, who I met over a decade ago in music theory class in college, over Zoom one April afternoon. Han spoke about how the Oscars performance was a full-circle cultural moment, what it’s like to be an Asian American woman in the film industry, and what it takes to stay aligned with your dreams.
(Quotes have been edited for clarity. You can read the whole interview here.)
From Bleak to Golden: the Journey to the Oscars
Halley Kim and Lauren Han, pansori singers for the KPDH Oscars performance
Photo courtesy of Lauren Han
“There's always ups and downs, but this one was kind of a blow.” This was how Han described the start of her year, which was a combination of personal and professional challenges. On the personal side, she and her family were healing from a difficult year that included health issues and grieving the loss of a loved one.
On the professional side, she had a front-row seat to the stagnation of the film industry. Between the exportation of production to other states (and even other continents) and the growing influence of streaming services and social media, work has been on the decline. Creatives and actors are being pressured to become content creators and influencers whether they like it or not, Han said.
Then, out of nowhere, Han got the call for the Oscars gig. Though she was on stage for less than a minute, the internet was flooded with close-ups of Han singing the hauntingly beautiful and soaring vocals of the Hunter’s Mantra alongside Halley Kim and against a backdrop of colorful, swirling dancers and traditional Korean drums. This historic performance marked a positive turning point for Han.
But that success didn’t happen overnight. As with the many talents behind the scenes of KPop Demon Hunters, Han’s road to the Oscars was a lifelong journey.
“You know the cliché, ‘it's about the journey’? The road to the Oscars—that’s the whole road of my entire life as a performer leading up to that, the fact that I didn't give up, didn't know where I was headed, and just kept doing what I felt I was born to do and just kept going.”
Han’s philosophy is that “nothing has happened until I’m there and it's already live.” The Oscars gig didn’t feel real until she was on stage, a similar feeling to when she landed a dream role performing as Mulan in the production of Mickey and the Magical Map at Disneyland.
Her parents’ response was also what you might expect from Asian parents: pride hidden behind caution that bordered on skepticism.
“My parents are like typical Asian parents where they're proud of you, but they weren't able to express it until after the fact, after my face was shown on TV. It was all over Korean news and Korean social media. Then they realized the impact it had. I think they knew all along but were afraid to express it externally. They started to post it everywhere and show it to all our cousins and everyone in Korea, so they were definitely proud of me. But I didn't know that until after it happened.”
Lauren Han with pansori drummers
Photo courtesy of Lauren Han
Han has many credits to her name, including O-Ren Ishii in Tarantino Live as well as appearances in Beef and Loot. But it was her skill in pansori, a Korean art form of storytelling through music, that made her and fellow singer Halley Kim the right candidates to sing the Hunter’s Mantra.
As someone who identifies more as an actor who sings rather than simply a singer, Han found the perfect balance in pansori. It immediately felt natural to her, which she attributed to her Korean heritage and experience performing in Korean traditional musicals.
“Pansori is like trying to imitate all the sounds of the world, all the emotions, all the happy, all the sad, there's no limitations. You're never going to be shamed for making the strangest sounds. You're never going to be shamed about making an ugly face to emote… If a pansori singer does a great job, the people listening will feel something out of this world, something ethereal. I felt like it happened on the Oscars stage… I, as a pansori singer, had to bear the responsibility of representing my culture for a lot of people.”
The hard work of Han and the entire ensemble paid off in this historic performance. She said she performed not for herself, but “for everyone who’s ever suffered or felt any type of hardship.”
Lauren Han (far right) pictured with 2026 Oscars KPop Demon Hunters performers
Photo courtesy of Lauren Han
The addition of the Hunter’s Mantra to the performance of “Golden” had an unexpected and tremendous impact. And for Han, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea as a child, it was a full-circle moment. In order to assimilate into American culture and focus on learning English, her dad discouraged her from watching Korean dramas and listening to K-pop. She’s thankful for that push, though she acknowledged that the tradeoff meant losing touch with Korean culture.
It wasn’t until she moved back to Koreatown in Los Angeles that she reconnected with her heritage through Korean theater groups, Vocal Seoul (a Korean a cappella group), and pansori. These connections paved the way to the Oscars pansori performance.
“Out of all the things that I thought I would do on the Oscars stage, I don't think any of us would have guessed that it would be Koreans performing in a traditional Korean style, showing our Korean traditional outfits and dance... So to have that come full-circle, especially growing up as a Korean American getting called names because I'm Asian and telling me to hide my identity—it felt like a healing, cathartic moment for me, and I hope for a lot of Asian people in America and in Asia too…It’s okay to tell our story. It's okay to take up space.”
KPop Demon Hunters
Performers of the Hunter’s Mantra
Photo courtesy of ABC
Performing the Hunter’s Mantra was an interesting turn of events, considering that Han auditioned for the movie four years ago. She never expected that she would be able to take part in it.
“I was kind of bitter about not doing well in the audition so I didn't watch it for a while actually. And then, my close friend was like, “you have to watch it! Are you crazy?” I watched it, and I actually love it! It was very novel, and the message is very important, I think, for a lot of marginalized communities, or people who don't feel good enough. Not only that, the music is incredible.”
(Fun fact: Han’s favorite songs are “Takedown” and “How It’s Done” – highly recommended for when you need to get hyped up!)
I asked Han what it meant to see depictions of Korean food in KPDH. She said she was thrilled to see gimbap. She also shared sentiments on what it meant for someone who grew up Asian in America.
“I saw someone saying, ‘Oh, a Korean Korean wouldn't make something like this, because everyone knows what gimbap is, and everyone knows what ramyeon is, and they would think it's tacky. Only a Korean-American would make something like this.’ Which is actually true, because all our lives, we've been trying to hide ourselves in America. Hide our stinky food, hide kimchi, hide everything, hide what we eat and be made to feel ashamed of what we eat.”
HUNTR/X pre-performance feast
Image courtesy of Netflix
An Actor Who Sings
As someone who was constantly awed by Han’s singing in college, I was curious about her journey as an actor. In an interview with Voyage LA, she shared that she identified more as “an actor who sings” rather than simply a singer. Her love of films and acting, which started from an early age, led to musical theater and acting classes. In college, her vocal teachers pushed her towards opera. Han graduated with a degree in vocal performance from the University of California, Irvine, but she knew she wanted to do more than sing.
“I saw an interview of opera singers who…were reprimanded for acting too much while singing. That's when I had a whole identity crisis…If I can't act while I'm singing, then I can't do it.”
Though Han didn’t see herself represented in the media, she persisted and eventually landed acting gigs, including the dream role of performing as Mulan at Disneyland.
“When I was growing up, I didn't really have me, you know? For example, I was walking by the Disneyland show. At the time, it was Snow White. I was like, ‘it would be so great if I could sing [in this beautiful theater] but I’m never gonna do it because they only will pick white people,’ but there I was [playing Mulan], right? So even if you don't see someone else do what you want to do, don't ever limit yourself. You can do whatever you want to.”
Asian American Women in the Media: “Where are they?”
Lauren Han singing the Hunter’s Mantra
Screenshot of Oscars performance, courtesy of ABC and YouTube
The huge success of KPDH has ushered in a new era of representation. The talented Asian women behind the screen are gracing the covers of fashion magazines, making appearances at music awards, and being featured on podcasts and talk shows. As someone who has been in the industry for over a decade, Han recognizes the wins but also the challenges.
“When I'm trying to look for [Asian] talent, it's like, 'Where are they?’ They are here, but there's just not as many of us… There’s discrimination still when it comes to Asian women. There’s this topic of Asian fetishizing, [which] people think is a positive thing, like ‘Well, people like you.’ Well, do like me or are you just trying this out because you're fantasizing about this culture? Are you fully understanding our perspective, or are you telling it as a generalized statement?”
Han has often found herself in one of two situations: being the only Asian person in the cast or not being hired because there’s already another Asian actor. This includes being cast in stereotypical roles such as a sex worker. In addition, tokenization is still an issue in casting as well. On one hand, it has led to the diversification of casts, creating more jobs for actors like Han. But on the other hand, it continues to limit representation and storytelling.
“If I'm the only Asian, what about the other Asian girl who wants to be in it? Or what if I want to be in it, but there’s already another Asian girl?... The diversity thing is like, ‘okay, one here, one here, one here.’... and we're not covering the different variety of Asian individuals… So I think that becomes a problem, but it's definitely changing.”
Photo courtesy of Lauren Han
Staying Kind to Yourself
The calls for interviews and opportunities have been nonstop since Han’s appearance at the Oscars. She quit one of her jobs in order to focus on being in the moment and taking care of herself. But self-care is something she hadn’t prioritized until recently. Han shared that there was a point in her life when all she did was work. She didn’t socialize, take trips, or put herself first, all of which eroded her mental health.
“It's because I had low confidence in my abilities that I had to stretch myself thin just in case I can't make it or in case I need money. I just didn't trust myself... so be gentle on yourself, be easy on yourself, and know that those little things do matter and compound over time. And take that trip, take those sick days, who cares? Just take care of yourself and rest. We’re human!”
Pansori singers Lauren Han (left) and Halley Kim with pansori drummers
Photo courtesy of Lauren Han
Even though she knew what she wanted to do early on, it still took time for Han to narrow her focus and find her path. She shared some advice for anyone pursuing their dreams.
“I've been told so many different things: ‘you're too old,’ ‘you're too Asian,’ ‘you're not Asian enough’—I'm never enough for someone. So all [you] can do is really just focus on… loving yourself and being proud of who you are, and investing in yourself… and what you want to do. And if you want to try a few things and fail at it, great! I think failing is the best thing I've ever done… It's easy to say, ‘oh, it's because she has a special thing.’ No, I'm a normal person who just, every day, did a little bit something towards the goal that I wanted to go to.”
If you’re looking for more tips on slowly building your dreams by taking a small step every day, Han recommends Think Big, Act Small and Atomic Habits.
It’s Always the Right Time
Han doesn’t confine herself to the label of actor and singer. This year, she expanded her skillset to include creative writing. As an immigrant, she lacked confidence in her speaking and writing skills, so when she saw an advertisement for Cornell University’s creative writing certificate program on Instagram, it felt like the right time to take a leap. She laughed while sharing that the three-month course became a six-month course. “I begged the staff, ‘I just sang at the Oscars, can you please give me another extension?’”
As a creative and storyteller, Han felt a strong pull towards writing, and her ability to clearly identify what she wanted helped her to tackle her fears.
“I have a lot of thoughts in my head that I just haven't been able to materialize or make tangible. And it was slowly just killing me.”
As for where we’ll see Han next? She smiled mysteriously and said that she’s excited to pursue projects that tell Asian American stories and those that feel true to herself. Her goals include making her own short films and eventually a feature film.
She reiterated the importance of taking care of her mental health: “[I’m going to keep] aligning my goals, aligning my direction, and clearing the paths that don't serve me, drain me, or are unhealthy for me.”
One of her recent projects has been collaborating with fellow Oscars pansori singer Halley Kim. They performed a beautiful a capella version of the Hunter’s Mantra as well as the Korean folk song “Arirang.” I’ll leave you with the end of our conversation and Lauren’s closing words:
NOZUKA: I've seen a couple of the videos that you've done. You're both so great.
HAN: Thank you so much! Yeah, we're trying… and we're really using this opportunity to make more, showcase our culture more, or you know, just singing in general for fun.
NOZUKA: Yeah, why not? It's the right time.
HAN: Always, it's always the right time.
Be sure to check out the whole interview here!
Photo courtesy of Lauren Han
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