Priyanka Mohan on how filming ‘Made In Korea’ was an experience to cherish
For Shenba, the protagonist in Netflix’s Made In Korea, South Korea is a faraway, fantastical land. She is fascinated by its history, and its K-Pop and K-Dramas of course, and initially believes a train from her town will lead her there. As she grows up, the fascination and yearning to visit this country she declares her favourite, only grows.
In a first-of-its-kind Tamil-Korean collaboration by Netflix, Made In Korea has actor Priyanka Arul Mohan take on the role of earnest, wide-eyed Shenba who finds herself in the Land of Morning Calm, propelled by a mix of family and relationship drama. For the actor who made her debut in 2019 in the Kannada film Ondh Kathe Hella and has since gone onto star in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films, this film marks a milestone; as the first film where she takes the reins as the lead.
Made in Korea. (L to R) Hye-Jin Park as Yeon-Ok , Si-Hun Baek as Jun-Jae Heo, Priyanka Mohan as Shenbagam in Made in Korea
Ahead of the film’s release, Priyanka and director Ra Karthik, during a virtual interview, have much to say about their experiences in Seoul, and filming this cross-cultural project.
“I did not feel like this was a challenge,” says Priyanka, when asked how she approached the role of Shenba. “I have been waiting for stories like this for a long time, and now that it came to me, my thoughts were on how to do justice to the role. I wanted to be more of myself here,” she says.
The proliferation of the K-Wave and the immense popularity of all things K-Culture is something that piqued director Ra Karthik’s curiosity. “It got me wondering about how immersed people are in this world; how they love Lee Min Ho like their superstar. I began to think of how South Korea would be like, to people like this who finally make it there. Once I got this idea, I started scripting the film,” he says.
The romance of a new city aside, Made In Korea does not limit itself to love and grounds Shenba’s story in a journey of self-discovery, something Karthik says was a conscious writing choice. “I was certain I didn’t want the romance people had already seen in several K-Dramas. My target audience is people who love K-Dramas and K-Pop and I wanted to connect with them on a shared aspiration of being able to visit South Korea. I decided to make it about a woman, and explore both the fantasy and the realities of this dream, and have her journey through human values rather than romance,” he explains.
Priyanka Mohan in Made In Korea
Karthik recalls landing in Seoul a week prior to Priyanka and the crew joining him there. “I was alone and had to navigate how to catch a cab from the airport, taking the bus, and a host of other things that feature in the film as well. All of this wasn’t born out of research but my own experiences there. I was learning so much about being in this new country and I realised I wanted Shenba to experience this in the film as well,” he explains.
Priyanka, whose first time it was in Seoul as well, chimes in. “The team also was like Shenba; we were learning so much, and discovering something every single day through our one-and-a-half months of filming there. For me, it was an immersive experience into the culture, people, food, emotions and values of the country.”
While we are initially introduced to Shenba in her picturesque hilly hometown in Tamil Nadu, the film soon moves her to Seoul and her life there becomes populated with a bevy of locals, played by a host of Korean actors including actor Park Hye-jin who was most notably, also seen in Squid Game as Cho Sang-woo’s (played by actor Park Hae-soo) mother. “While the assistant directors on set helped translate for us, I soon began to pick up on their emotional cues and gestures truly helped, of course,” laughs Priyanka.
Made In Korea. (L to R) Priyanka Mohan, Park Hye-Jin in Made In Korea. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026
| Photo Credit:
Sheik Fareeth/Netflix
The actor, who was last seen in the Telugu film They Call Him OG opposite Pawan Kalyan has a fantasy rom-com with actor Kavin in the works, as well as the Kannada film 666 Operation Dream Theatre coming up for release. “We shot Made In Korea last year and I feel like I was transformed, in a way. The film ensured I did not restrict myself and encouraged me to think broader. The experience of working on this film has given me the confidence of working on different stories going forward,” she says.
The work hours might have been rigorous on this project but for Priyanka, the film, she says, was an experience to cherish. “I went to bed at peace everyday, and I feel like I have carried this forward to every film I have worked on since. I am really having fun,” she smiles.
Made In Korea streams on Netflix on March 12
Published – March 11, 2026 10:46 am IST
