'K-Pop Demon Hunters' Was Not No. 1 Worldwide... The Most Searched Term on Google US Was This

Gemini, Google's AI Model, Tops Global Search Rankings

The Netflix animated film featuring K-pop, "K-Pop Demon Hunters," ranked second in Google's most-searched terms in the United States this year.

A scene from the Netflix series "K-Pop Demon Hunters." Netflix

According to "Year in Search 2025," released by Google on the 5th (local time), "K-Pop Demon Hunters" was the second most-searched term in the United States. It claimed the top spot in both the film and cast categories.

Additionally, the soundtrack songs from "K-Pop Demon Hunters"-"Golden" and "Takedown" by Huntrix-ranked third and tenth, respectively, in the song search category. "Sodapop" by Sajavoice came in seventh.

In the so-called "Hum to search" category, where users can hum a tune and the search engine identifies the song, "Golden" took the number one spot.

In the TV show category, the fifth most-searched term was the Netflix drama "Squid Game."

Globally, including the United States, Google's AI model "Gemini" was the most-searched term. This is interpreted as a result of many users attempting to access the Gemini chatbot site directly from the Google search bar.

Google commented, "2025 was the year an American became Pope, 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' dominated the charts, and new artificial intelligence (AI) captured the public's imagination."

Visitors are taking commemorative photos at the official Seoul pop-up store of the Netflix animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters," which opened on the 4th in Seongsu-dong. Photo by Yonhap News

This year, the most-searched term in the United States was Charlie Kirk, a supporter of President Donald Trump who died in an assassination incident last September. The third most-searched term was "Labubu," a plush toy character created by a Hong Kong designer; fourth was the Apple iPhone; and fifth was "One Big Beautiful Act," a legislative bill outlining tax and policy agendas for President Trump's second administration.

Globally, "Golden" from "K-Pop Demon Hunters" was the most-searched song, while "Sodapop" ranked tenth in the song lyrics category.

Additionally, "Squid Game 3" ranked second in the global TV show search category, and actress Song Jiwoo, a cast member of the series, was fourth in the actor search category.