The Korean-American Voice Behind a Global Anthem
, by Jun Sung Lee, 3 min reading time
The Korean-American Voice Behind a Global Anthem
From K-pop writing rooms to a worldwide animated phenomenon to the World Cup stage — one diaspora artist's path is exactly the story this magazine was built to keep.
From the Writing Room to the World
EJAE, the Korean-American singer-songwriter, voiced the lead character Rumi in Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters and co-wrote its breakout song "Golden" — a track that swept awards season, taking a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and topping charts around the world. For years she had worked inside the K-pop system as a songwriter, the kind of name that shapes hits without standing in front of them. With Rumi and "Golden," she stepped to the front.
A Song for the World Cup
On June 10 she became one of four artists on "DNA," the official anthem of the 2026 World Cup, alongside Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta and Megan Thee Stallion — writing and singing the song's Korean-language lines. She and Bocelli gave it its live debut at the opening ceremony in Mexico City on June 11. EJAE has described writing Korean lyrics for the anthem as deeply personal, recalling the sense of unity she felt in Seoul during the 2002 World Cup — strangers on the street hugging and celebrating together.
Known ForRumi · "Golden"
AwardGolden Globe — "Golden"
World Cup Anthem"DNA" (Jun 10)
HeritageKorean-American
Why the Diaspora Voice Is the Headline
Hers is the arc Korea Gateway exists to document: Korean heritage, a global platform, and a career that no single country's media fully claims. From a K-pop writing room to an Oscar-season hit to the Korean-language lines of a World Cup anthem, the diaspora voice is no longer a footnote to the Korean story. Increasingly, it is the headline — and the record of how it happened is worth keeping while it's being made.
OGAM's thesis runs through this story: AI can generate a song. It cannot carry the identity, the heritage, and the lived path that make a voice mean something. That is exactly what we record.
A global Korean story we should keep?
Founders, artists, athletes, and builders across the diaspora — tell us who belongs in the next edition.
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