The trailer of Ra Karthik’s film Made in Korea, headlined by Priyanka Mohan is all set for a premiere on Netflix this Thursday. Karthik’s fascination for travel is evident from his maiden film, Nitham Oru Vaanam. Now, his sophomore project, Made in Korea, is about a girl from Tamil Nadu travelling to South Korea.
“Nitham Oru Vaanam dealt with familiar landscapes but Made in Korea is completely different. In fact, this is the first Indian film that has been completely filmed in South Korea. We could rightly call Made in Korea, an Indo-Korea film.
It is about a girl from Tamil Nadu who travels to South Korea, facing different situations and going through various emotions,” he says.
Karthik adds that other supporting casts are all Koreans and the dialogues will be in their native language. “I didn’t want to dub it in Tamil and take the natural essence out of it.
We landed a month before shoot to scout for locations and Korean artistes. It was challenging to handle it because there was a Korean-English translator on sets to communicate the dialogues. However, the cues still look natural,” he assures.
Park Hye Jin of Squid Games plays a prominent role in the movie. “I have never watched a K-drama in my life. So when I was told they were part of big series and films I couldn’t relate. I used to watch Korean movies back in the time when we exchanged hard disks among friends. But what I can see is that there is a huge fan following for K-dramas and K-pop here in Tamil Nadu. They can resonate well with the movie apart from the general audience,” adds Karthik.
Monika Shergill adds that Korean culture has quietly and steadily found a special place in Indian hearts. “From K-dramas and films to music, the storytelling has built deeply passionate fandoms here. At the same time, Indian stories, especially from the south, are travelling further than ever before, resonating with audiences across the world,” she says.
According to her, Made in Korea sits beautifully at the crossroads of these two movements. “At its heart, it’s an intimate, slice-of-life story about a young woman from a small town in Tamil Nadu whose love for Korea becomes the compass for her dreams. Bringing together Priyanka Mohan and Park Hye-jin adds a special resonance to this journey.
Choosing to shoot extensively in South Korea, making it the first Tamil production to do so was important to us. It was about respecting the story’s world and honouring the cultural exchange at its core. At Netflix, we believe the most powerful stories are the ones that are deeply local in spirit but universal in emotion. Made in Korea feels like a heartfelt step in that direction.”