The global success of Netflix’s animated hit KPop Demon Hunters has transformed EJAE’s music career. It also disrupted her wedding plans. The singer and songwriter married her longtime partner, Samuel “Sam” Kim, in a surprise ceremony in Seoul on October 17, abandoning plans for a November wedding in California.
EJAE, who provides the singing voice of the lead vocalist of HUNTR/X, the fictional K-pop girl group at the center of the Netflix film, has gained international recognition through its soundtrack. The film’s extended promotional tour and awards season left the Brooklyn couple struggling to arrange their wedding. Rather than wait for their original California ceremony, they moved the celebration to South Korea, where EJAE has deep family roots.
The decision brought the couple back to a country closely tied to their musical careers and personal histories. According to Vogue, EJAE and Kim, a music producer and former composer who now works as a computer programmer, settled on Seoul after putting their wedding preparations on hold following their June 2025 engagement. They finalized the revised plans in roughly four months, keeping the October ceremony out of the public eye.
The wedding took place at Stage 28, a garden venue in eastern Seoul that once served as the home of EJAE’s maternal grandfather, Shin Young-kyun, a 99-year-old veteran of South Korean cinema.
The property carries decades of family history. EJAE spent much of her childhood there, walking through the gardens with her grandfather. Her older brother also held his wedding at the venue, which now houses the Shin Young Kyun Arts and Culture Foundation.
Two days before the ceremony, EJAE and Kim attended the foundation’s 16th Beautiful Artist Awards at the same location. The gathering also celebrated her grandfather’s 99th birthday, bringing the couple together with family members ahead of their wedding.
The couple incorporated Korean customs into the celebrations, beginning with a traditional paebaek ceremony at a Korean fusion restaurant in Seoul. The ritual allows newlyweds to honor their elders and receive blessings from their families, reflecting the couple’s decision to preserve their cultural heritage alongside Western wedding traditions.
Their main ceremony took place in Stage 28’s outdoor garden, surrounded by greenery inspired by EJAE’s childhood memories of the property.
EJAE wore a custom tulle wedding gown by New York designer Danielle Frankel, complemented by heirloom jewelry passed down through her family. She later changed into a dress by American designer Zac Posen for the reception and a Milla Nova mini dress for the evening festivities.
Kim wore a custom double breasted tuxedo from New York’s Bhambi’s Custom Tailors before changing into a white tuxedo designed by Posen.
The reception continued inside the venue’s greenhouse, where guests heard speeches in English and Korean. The couple selected the music performed by wedding band After Eight, while outdoor food tents served Korean street food. After the formal celebration, the newlyweds joined a smaller group of friends in Seoul’s Itaewon district.
The marriage comes after nearly a decade together. EJAE and Kim first met during a songwriting session in May 2017, eventually becoming romantic partners while pursuing their careers in New York. They have spent eight years together, building their lives in Brooklyn.
EJAE’s rise to international prominence followed years of work behind the scenes in South Korea’s music industry. A former trainee at SM Entertainment, one of the country’s major K-pop agencies, she established herself as a songwriter for prominent groups, contributing to Red Velvet’s “Psycho” and aespa’s “Drama” and “Armageddon.”
Her breakthrough with KPop Demon Hunters brought that experience to a global audience. Beyond providing the singing voice for HUNTR/X’s lead vocalist, she helped create and perform music for the film’s soundtrack, establishing herself as a prominent performer as well as a songwriter.
After years spent building a career in the music industry and a life with Kim in New York, EJAE returned to the Seoul home where she grew up visiting her grandparents to mark the couple’s next chapter.
