Who Is Ejae? 10 Things About the Real-Life Rumi of “KPop Demon Hunters”
She once thought she will never be able to debut.
by Kyla Villena
Published on Oct 10, 2025
KPop Demon Hunters is holding its ground as the top movie on Netflix more than a hundred days since it was released—and not only that! The animated film, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans and produced by Sony Pictures Animation, is also the most-watched title in the history of the streaming service.
Its consistently rocketing success inevitably puts the spotlight on Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, who are respectively the talented women behind Huntrix’s Rumi, Mira, and Zoey’s golden vocal performances. The trio recently graced the American late-night show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and lit up the stage as they shone like they were born to be.
Fans around the world have been delighted to witness the fictional girl group come to life, expressing their interest in getting to know each of them as the artists that they are beyond the movie.
Today, we begin with the one responsible for hitting leader Rumi’s astoundingly wide range.
Who Is Ejae? 10 Things About the Artist Behind Rumi of KPop Demon Hunters
She is a Sagittarius.
Ejae, born Kim Eunjae, is a Korean-American singer, songwriter, and producer. 1991 being her birth year, she will turn 34 years old on December 6.
She trained as a K-pop idol for a decade.
Performing comes naturally for Ejae. In 2003, at only 11 years old, she entered SM Entertainment which is one of the top labels in Korea. It’s the company behind iconic and popular K-pop groups such as Shinee, Girls’ Generation, Exo, Red Velvet, and Aespa.
She pursued her studies in New York.
In 2011, Ejae entered the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she started pivoting towards songwriting.
She was "dropped" by SM Entertainment and didn't think she'd be able to debut.
After her time in college, specifically in 2015, the entertainment company dropped her, which Ejae believes is due to a difference in visions. The internet also speculates that it could have been due to her age. That time, SM Entertainment’s last girl group was Red Velvet, who debuted in 2014. Their projected launch for their next girl group Aespa, a fully Gen Z quartet, was 2020, and Ejae would have been 29 years old by then.
She started teaching herself to produce.
Ejae delved into producing as an attempt to reignite the musical spark within her. She started getting into the underground music scene on SoundCloud. Eventually, she met her mentor Andrew Choi. Fun fact: he is the singing voice behind Rumi’s love interest, Jinu of Saja Boys!
She attended songwriting camps and wrote a hit on her first session.
A full-circle moment, Ejae attended songwriting camps in SM Entertainment back in 2017. On her very first session, she wrote Psycho by Red Velvet. Released in 2019, it became one of the group’s most popular and critically acclaimed songs.
She created a playlist of songs she has worked on.
Having contributed to numerous songs for Aespa, Twice, and Le Sserafim to name a few, you have probably already heard from Ejae (aside from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, of course). She even compiled some of her works through a playlist!
She was initially a writer for KPop Demon Hunters.
Ejae joined the team early in the creative process, working on songs together with composer Daniel Rojas. She recorded most of the demos, and upon hearing them, the directors of the film invited her to be Rumi’s singing voice. Coincidentally, Ejae and Rumi share that same drive to chase towards their dreams, seamlessly making the story more resonant.
She wrote the melody of “Golden” on the way to the dentist.
When creativity hits, you let it. That’s right, the melody of Golden was created by Ejae when she was on a mundane trip to the dentist. Today, it’s one we hear everywhere. Even Filipino artists like Angeline Quinto, Morissette, and Jessica Sanchez have shared their powerful takes on the song!
She is set to release a single very soon.
Through a handwritten note posted on her Instagram, Ejae announced that she will be releasing a song called In Another World on October 24. “Writing this song helped me through a hard time, and I hope that sharing it can help others too,” she wrote. We will be tuning in!
Kyla Villena loves a good lip gloss and a trip to the art gallery. She is Preview's beauty girl, who doubles as a self-proclaimed motivational speaker.