Photo/Illutration The 23rd volume of the “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” manga series has become the No. 1 best-selling book at a large bookstore in Seoul. Photo was taken May 17 in Seoul. (Takeshi Kamiya)

SEOUL--Japanese animated film “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” has topped 2 million viewers in South Korea by May 18, in a rebuke of political pressure for citizens to avoid Japanese culture due to soured bilateral ties.

Some in South Korea had raised questions about the main character’s earrings, saying that their design resembled the Imperial Japanese Army's Rising Sun flag, forcing changes to the earring's design prior to the film's January release in the country.

But stirring up controversy has done nothing to hurt the popularity of "Demon Slayer" in South Korea.

At Kyobo Book Center in Seoul, a leading large bookstore, sales of the final 23rd volume of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” manga series secured the top spot for the fourth consecutive week in the general category ranking.

South Korea began a boycott campaign of Japanese products around the middle of 2019 after relations worsened between the two countries.

But a 25-year-old college student in Seoul said he'd seen “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” twice.

“Is it OK for us to try to hate or refuse anything about Japan?” he asked. “I'm not a traitor even though I enjoy the culture.”

He said an article he read in the South Korean media about the film made him want to watch it. 

“In its summary of the story, the article said the main character goes on adventures to change his sister who became an 'oni' (demon) into a human being,” he said.

“At first, I didn’t understand what the story was about, but then I watched the movie and enjoyed it and became fascinated by it.”

He had been reading only South Korean manga, but he bought all the volumes of the “Demon Slayer” manga.

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