What does "saja" (사자) mean? The Korean words hiding in KPop Demon Hunters

You finish KPop Demon Hunters, and one song is still in your head. So is a question: why is the boy band called the Saja Boys?

The film is an animated movie from Sony Pictures Animation, shown on Netflix from June 20, 2025. It was directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. It is full of small Korean words and details. Here are the ones fans search for most, with light spoilers only.

사자 (saja): one sound, two meanings

사자 (saja) is a fun word, because it has two common meanings.

You hear the "lion" meaning at the zoo. The "messenger" meaning, listed in the Standard Korean Language Dictionary, is a person sent to deliver an order. Korean has many pairs like this. The words sound the same, and only context tells you which one people mean.

The film plays with the second meaning — and a very special kind of messenger.

저승사자 (jeoseung saja): the messenger of the afterlife

저승 (jeoseung) is the afterlife. The National Institute of Korean Language defines it as the world where the spirits of the dead are believed to live. A 저승사자 (jeoseung saja) is the messenger who comes to take a person's spirit there. English often calls it a "grim reaper."

The Korea Times reported that the Saja Boys' costumes were inspired by 저승사자. In a Korea Herald interview, director Maggie Kang described the band as a K-pop group made up of jeoseung saja.

So "Saja Boys" is not "Lion Boys." It is closer to "Grim Reaper Boys."

Fun fact: the number four in Korean is also pronounced 사 (sa), and so is an old word for death. That is why some buildings skip the 4th floor. We tell that story in why there is no 4th floor in Korea.

갓 (gat): the tall black hat

A 갓 (gat) is a broad-brimmed, round hat. The learners' dictionary says adult men wore it in Korea in the past. The tall black kind you see on the Saja Boys has its own name, 흑립 (heungnip, "black hat").

After the film, the gat became a trend item. The Korea Herald reported it as an "it" item, with viral moments around it. In Korean dramas set in the past, you will see many gat, too.

혼문 (honmoon): the soul door

In the film, the singers guard a magic barrier called the Honmoon. This word is not in Korean dictionaries. A Korea Herald writer explains it as two parts: 혼 (hon, "soul") and 문 (mun, "door").

The film spells it "moon" because the vowel ㅜ sounds like the "oo" in "moon." Official romanization would write honmun. If you want to know why Korean words get spelled in different ways, see our romanization guide.

The tiger and the magpie

A goofy tiger and a magpie show up again and again in the film. They are not random.

The Korea Times explains that they come from 민화 (minhwa, Korean folk painting). One classic scene is 호작도 (hojakdo), a painting of a 호랑이 (horangi, "tiger") and a 까치 (kkachi, "magpie"). In many of these paintings, the tiger looks more funny than scary. The film's tiger keeps that silly face.

Gimbap and a famous tower

Small real-life details are everywhere. The Korea Herald noted that the trio eats Korean street food, including 김밥 [김빱] (gimbap, rice rolled in seaweed). Our guide to Korean food names explains what 김 and 밥 mean.

The Saja Boys perform at a place you can visit. Visit Seoul, the city's tourism site, says Namsan Seoul Tower is shown as the site of their big performance.

Why does everyone know this film?

The music helped a lot. The song "Golden" reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August 2025, as The Korea Times reported.

Interest in the language rose in the same period. In February 2026, The Korea Times reported that Korean learners on Duolingo in the US grew 22 percent in one year, and linked the boom to the film's popularity. Not every new learner came from one movie, of course. But many fans clearly want to know what the words mean.

If K-pop is how you found Korean, our list of K-pop fandom words is a good next stop.

In one line: 사자 can be a lion or a messenger, and the Saja Boys are the messengers — of the afterlife.

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