"Buying All Three K-Pop Demon Hunters Dolls Costs 800,000 Won"... Mattel's Launch Has Parents Worried

Unveiled at the International Toy Fair
Main Character Dolls Priced at $165 Each

K-Pop Demon Hunters character doll released by Mattel. Mattel

Mattel, the manufacturer of Barbie dolls, has produced and released dolls based on the main characters from the Netflix animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters" (hereafter referred to as K-Pop Demon Hunters). However, concerns are growing among parents with children, as purchasing all the dolls-each priced at nearly 300,000 won-would cost around 800,000 won in total.

On January 27 (local time), Mattel announced at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in Germany that it had unveiled a new toy product line inspired by K-Pop Demon Hunters. Previously, in October of last year, Netflix signed a licensing agreement with Mattel and Hasbro for the production of K-Pop Demon Hunters toys.

The company stated that pre-orders are available for the "American Girl K-Pop Demon Hunters" collection, featuring individual dolls of the main characters Lumi, Joi, and Mira, on Mattel’s official sales website, AmericanGirl.com. Each Lumi, Joi, and Mira doll is priced at 165 dollars (approximately 266,500 won), and purchasing all three character dolls would cost 799,500 won.

Mattel explained, "Each doll reflects the character’s on-screen appearance and personality, and features premium materials, intricate accessories, and styling that embody the film’s iconic fashion, music, and attitude."

Nick Karamanos, Senior Vice President at Mattel, stated, "K-Pop Demon Hunters is a true global phenomenon, fueled by a passionate and rapidly growing fandom worldwide. Thanks to our close partnership with Netflix, we were able to move quickly and launch products at an incredible speed to meet fan demand."

Meanwhile, K-Pop Demon Hunters was not nominated at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA). This is because it did not meet BAFTA’s eligibility criteria, which require films to have a commercial release in the UK, or, in exceptional cases, to be screened commercially up to 10 times over at least seven days within the UK. This fact has been known since late last year and has been a subject of controversy.