‘I Feel Made in Korea Will Be a Turning Point in My Career’

The Korean wave has been gathering momentum in India. With South Korea being the ultimate destination for many, actor Priyanka Mohan embarks on a journey of self-discovery in her latest Tamil film, Netflix’s Made in Korea.

She plays Shenba, a small-town girl whose sole ambition is to visit Seoul and experience life in the city of her dreams. But when she finally lives that dream, it is very different from what she had imagined.

Priyanka confesses that she had not followed Korean culture extensively until director Ra Karthik approached her for the film and the role of Shenba. “I had watched a couple of Korean dramas during lockdown, but didn’t follow it up. When this movie came along, I realized that a lot of young women, including some of my friends, were crazy about all tings Korean,” she says. “I revisited a few aspects, but decided to learn and explore once we landed in Seoul for the shoot, so as to experience the country and culture just as my character Shenba does. And that proved so enriching.”

Priyanka shares that she was equally captivated by the story of the Tamil princess Sembavalam, who travelled to Korea nearly two thousand years ago and was named Hero Hwang Ok after marrying a prince of the kingdom. “When Karthik narrated the story to me, I wondered why it hadn’t been told so far, and felt it should be put out there. For a young girl to travel all by herself around 2000 years ago couldn’t have been easy. And then marrying a Korean Prince. Her journey fascinated me as much as it inspired me. Also, the fact that human emotions are universal, irrespective of language and culture.”

Priyanka adds that she was fascinated to learn that nearly 1,200 words in everyday Korean vocabulary are similar to Tamil words.

While Indians love K-Pop, Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots is an all-time favourite there, Priyanka found. “That is one Indian movie that they have watched over and over again, and Aamir Khan is really famous there. So we [the Made in Korea team] introduced them to a lot of Indian songs and movies and they feel Indians are very warm and expressive,” shares the actor.