Category Archives: More Connections

KPop Demons

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The Collection of Korean Folk Paintings (Kyonggi University Museum, 2001). Princeton University Library.

A very hearty congratulations to KPop Demon Hunters for winning two Golden Globes this weekend – Best Animated Feature Film, and Best Original Song!

Not to say my daughter and I are bias, but we believe that KPop Demon Hunters is the best animated movie of all time. Not only does it have a next level soundtrack, is it beautifully styled, well written, and moving. It’s also an incredible representation of East Asian culture, both historic and modern. And today we’re celebrating that culture with minhwa, historic Korean folk art traditionally created by anonymous craftsmen and untrained artists. Specifically, we’re looking at kkachi horangi, a genre of minhwa that depicts magpies and tigers.

In KPop Demon Hunters, one of the main characters (Rumi) is repeatedly visited by a supernatural blue tiger (Derpy) and a six-eyed magpie (Sussie). Derpy is a sweet bumbler, Sussie is a tad more watchful and world-weary.

Image from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, 2025

Both hearken back to kkachi horangi paintings in which the tiger represents authority and the magpie represents the common man. The paintings were meant to be satirical images of the feudal hierarchy at the time, so the tiger was often depicted with an intentionally stupid expression, while the magpie was given a more dignified appearance.

Image from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, 2025

Following the suggestions of colleagues Minjie Chen, Cotsen Children’s Library Cataloging Team Leader, and Flora Kim, Metadata Operations Specialist, I tapped the the Princeton University Library catalog to acquire The Collection of Korean Folk Paintings (Kyonggi University Museum, 2001). This three-volume set features an incredible array of art, but it was the tigers and magpies I was seeking. Here are a few more images:

The Collection of Korean Folk Paintings (Kyonggi University Museum, 2001). Princeton University Library.

The Collection of Korean Folk Paintings (Kyonggi University Museum, 2001). Princeton University Library.

For those wishing to see more gorgeous images of tigers and magpies, please visit this exhibit on Korea Minhwa Association’s site. If you’d like to see Derpy and Sussie immortalized at Macy’s 2025 Thanksgiving Day parade, you’ll find them here.

Many thanks to Minjie Chen and Flora Kim for their knowledge and expertise! 

Pop’s Top 10: Literary Gowns

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Remember when this dress premiered on the Eras Tour? We do! The custom Vivienne Westwood gown is filled with the lyrics from Track 10 of Tay’s 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department. It inspired us to seek out more artists and designers who took literary fashion to the next level. So today we present Pop’s Top 10 literary gowns!

#1 GONNA BE GOLDEN

Created by Ryan Jude Novelline, the artist stitched together the colorful illustrations from discarded Little Golden Books, and fashioned a bodice from the spines. If you’d like to read an interview about his amazing creation, please follow this link.

#2 BOOK WITCH

From Reddit

Posted on Reddit, the detailing on this dress is off the charts! Plus, the hat! The HAT.

#3 SUPER SEUSS

Created by Rebecca Humes, the Seuss-specific shredded tutu and bouncy book characters on springs is delightfully whimsical!

#4 DISNEY DANCER

Another dress by Rebecca Humes. But this one was created from Disney books and features a skirt composed of thousands of chain links. WOW!

#5 POTTER PROM

Hailey Skoch rustled her way to her Arkansas senior prom in a dress made from multiple volumes of Harry Potter books! You can read more about her process here.

#6 FANTASTIC FAIRY

Winner of cutest, most adorable wings and folded tutu is this phenomenal book fairy!

#7 VOLUMINOUS VOLUMES

This distinct dress with a colonial flare was created by White Knight Cosplay. And just look at that teacup broach!

#8 FAIRY TALE FASHIONISTA

A stack of unwanted volumes transformed into a fairy tale worthy dress by Helen Hobden, who also entered it in a contest judged by Maisie Williams! Read more about her adventure here.

#9 BOUND TO IMPRESS

French designer Silvie Facon created this flowing masterpiece from old leather spines that had separated from books. It took 250 hours! More more extensive photos, plus more dresses, please follow this link.

#10 SHORT STORY

Silvie Facon also created this sassy little folded dress, again by only using books that were beyond repair. For more details, please see this link.

Feeling inspired but also maybe a tad overwhelmed by the sheer volume of talent? No worries! You can craft this simple origami newsprint dress by following the instructions here.

Pssst! We also made a Cinderella dress out of highly unusual materials! See that here.

Wicked Science

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Bright, swirling smoke in shades of neon pink and electric green forms bold, energetic shapes, creating a striking abstract background with vibrant colors.

Calling all citizens of Oz and abroad! You are cordially invited to enroll in Shiz University’s elite sorcery class to learn the science behind the magic. That’s right…we’re off to see the science!

The Cotsen Children’s Library, Department of Chemistry, and Science Outreach at Princeton University were delighted to present a morning of hands-on activity tables, followed by a 45-minute auditorium show with plenty of glitter and gravitas!

As Ozian’s entered the event floor, they were greeted with tables staffed by graduate and undergraduate students from Science Outreach at Princeton University (who gamely showed up dressed in pink and green!).

Kids wielded static electricity wands, learned about magnetic levitation, unveiled the Grimmerie’s invisible ink, tested Glinda’s bubble travel potion, and examined the pH levels of popular potions.

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There was also a yellow brick road magnet game table, and, just in case you missed it in the slideshow above, a truly magnificent dry ice tabletop tornado, which Katie constructed with the help of this Steve Spangler video.

After the activity tables had been thoroughly perused, Angie Miller from the Department of Chemistry invited students to attend Shiz University’s very own “Potions 101” class, which was held in the Taylor Auditorium on Princeton University campus.

Angie the Amazing lead the class through the tenets of the scientific method with emerald flames, rainbow beakers, conservation of mass, water boiling at room temperature, and more! She also defied gravity with the Meissner Effect (i.e. cooling a superconductor with liquid nitrogen to levitate a magnet). My personal favorite? Candy combustion – a dramatic demonstration of what happens when potassium chlorate meets Skittles:

Of course, it wouldn’t be magic/science without things culminating in fire and explosions, so Angie ramped things up with metal salt flames and firework balloons. Katie and I both managed to get footage of the fun:

The event was absolutely wonderful, and we would like to thank Angie Miller in the Department of Chemistry, Paryn Wallace with the Science Outreach at Princeton University, and all the graduate and undergraduate students who volunteered their time to reach out to community families! We appreciate you so much!

Science Outreach at Princeton University. Back row (from left to right): John Woo, Rishika Porandla, Anushri Mahabir, Harper Vance, Nneka Onyea, Adriana Gaitan, Zaighum Nagra, Davis Hobley. Front row (from left to right): Maya Cabrera, Kelsey Campbell, Meghana Bhupat, Anna Buretta, Adrija Kundu, Tam Nguyen