Korean pop culture is everywhere now, but Priyanka Mohan’s doorway to Seoul was older. It was the story of Tamil princess Sembavalam, who is believed to have travelled from Kanyakumari to Korea nearly 2,000 years ago to marry King Suro, the first king of the Gaya confederacy in ancient Korea. In Netflix’s Made in Korea, Mohan’s character, Shenba, dreams of visiting South Korea because she was fascinated by the story of Sembavalam ever since she played that part in a school play. Mohan, too, finds the story equally fascinating.
“Just imagine a teenage girl who set off to a strange land 1,500 or so years ago. It may not have been easy for her. I was both engrossed and inspired by her story,” Mohan recalls. In the film, she is Shenba, a modern day traveller who arrives in Seoul and navigates language barriers to find her feet in a foreign land with the help of strangers who would become friends and family.
The film, a first-of-its-kind Tamil and Korean collaboration directed by Ra Karthik, attempts to showcase the cross-cultural exchange between the two countries. “There were people around me who would watch Korean shows without subtitles. They were learning the language, listening to Korean music, adopting their skin care regime, and eating their food, and I wanted to capture that,” says Karthik.
Unlike the director’s vision, Mohan’s acting process was simple—to explore and learn about Korea while shooting. “Though I had watched a few odd K-dramas, I decided not to read up or revisit until we landed in Seoul. I wanted to learn and explore it in person to give flavour to the character,” Mohan says.
She says Made In Korea is a career milestone for her. “The film helped me explore myself as an actor, and showcase my potential across two cultures. It was a new learning experience to shoot in a foreign country with foreign actors, meet different people and understand their artistic and creative sensibilities,” Mohan says.
If one thing she cherishes the most of what she has learned from K-dramas, it is that women are written about with depth and agency. “I’m glad we are also heading in that direction. After working in this film, I realised there are no boundaries. Despite the language barrier, we weren’t lost in transition,” she says. “I feel that if you give a canvas to good directors and writers, they can create magic. This was lacking in other films. Now that cinema is growing, and the popularity of streaming platforms ensure language is no longer a deterrent to communication, it has all brought us closer together.”
In Korea, Mohan was surprised to discover how much popular Indian cinema is there. According to her, Aamir Khan is the most loved Indian actor among Koreans because of the enduring popularity of 3 Idiots.
What she would have liked to bring back from Korea? She laughs and says, “Korean co-stars.”
Mohan made her debut in the 2019 Kannada film Ondh Kathe Hella, and has since starred in Telugu films such as Gang Leader, as well as Tamil films such as Doctor and Don. Netflix is currently streaming Made in Korea.