Vatican Lion Boys? Why "Kedeheon" Is Being Mentioned in Connection with Father Kim Dae-geon's Statue

Father Kim Dae-geon's Statue in St. Peter's Basilica Draws Comparisons
to "Lion Boys" from Kedeheon

A statue located in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is drawing attention. This is due to claims that the idol character featured in the popular Netflix series "K-Pop Demon Hunters" (hereafter referred to as Kedeheon) resembles the statue of Father Kim Dae-geon in the Vatican.

The Lion Boys of "K-Pop Demon Hunters." Netflix

On August 26, various online communities saw posts with titles such as "The Vatican Troubled by Kedeheon’s Popularity."

These posts included a photo of the statue of Saint Kim Dae-geon Andrea, the first priest from Joseon, which was erected in St. Peter's Basilica in September 2023. The words "Vatican Saja boys" were written in English above the photo.

The original post also included the lyrics to "Your Idol," a song by the Lion Boys, a five-member male idol group of grim reapers featured in Kedeheon. This post was uploaded the previous day on the US online community Reddit.

The statue of Father Kim Dae-geon is depicted wearing a traditional Korean hat, known as a gat. Because the Lion Boys in Kedeheon, who are inspired by grim reapers, wear similar attire, jokes have emerged suggesting that the statue was modeled after the Lion Boys.

Father Kim Dae-geon's Statue Resembles the Lion Boys

A post uploaded on the 25th (Korean time) on the US online community Reddit is spreading through domestic online communities. Reddit

International netizens reacted by saying, "Even the Pope couldn't resist their influence," and "As a Catholic, seeing the statue of Korea's patron saint Kim Dae-geon Andrea made me smile. It's great that it's become a meme."

Meanwhile, the statue of Saint Kim Dae-geon Andrea is the first statue of an Asian saint to be installed in St. Peter's Basilica. It was installed on September 16, 2023. Last month, the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Holy See, also introduced a new Korean-language audio guide at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Meanwhile, since its release on June 20, Kedeheon has recorded 210.5 million views, making it the second most successful Netflix original film of all time. The original soundtrack (OST) "Golden" also reclaimed the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.