 |
| If You Loved Made in Korea, These 12 Travel-Driven Stories Should Be Next on Your Watchlist. (Credits: Netflix) |
Netflix’s Made in Korea places a deeply personal story at its centre: a young woman chasing a dream abroad only to face the reality of loneliness, betrayal and survival in a foreign country. Directed by Ra Karthik, the Tamil-language drama follows Priyanka Mohan’s Shenba, whose passion for Korean culture leads her from rural Tamil Nadu to Seoul, where her hopes quickly collide with the harshness of unfamiliar streets, language barriers and financial struggle.
Yet the premise also taps into a broader cinematic tradition. For decades, filmmakers across India, Hollywood and Europe have explored similar journeys of identity, culture shock and personal reinvention. These films share the same emotional DNA as Made in Korea: characters pushed into unfamiliar worlds who slowly rebuild themselves through unexpected friendships, travel and difficult lessons.
12 Powerful Films Like Made in Korea About Reinvention in a Foreign Land
Below are 12 films that capture the same spirit of transformation..
1. Queen (2013)
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa Haydon
Few modern Indian films capture the emotional arc of independence as sharply as Queen. Kangana Ranaut plays Rani, a shy Delhi woman whose fiancé cancels their wedding days before the ceremony. Instead of retreating home, she travels alone to Paris and Amsterdam on what was meant to be her honeymoon.
What begins as heartbreak turns into liberation. Rani forms friendships with strangers, learns to navigate unfamiliar cities and gradually finds a confidence she never knew she had. Like Shenba in Made in Korea, Rani’s journey shows how foreign environments can strip away old identities and build new ones.
2. English Vinglish (2012)
Cast: Sridevi, Adil Hussain, Mehdi Nebbou
In English Vinglish, Sridevi delivers one of the most heartfelt performances of her career as Shashi Godbole, a homemaker dismissed by her family because she struggles with English. When she travels to New York for a family event, she secretly enrols in an English class.
The film quietly mirrors Shenba’s linguistic struggles in Seoul. Shashi’s experience highlights how language barriers can isolate people abroad, yet also become the gateway to personal confidence and respect.
3. Dhak Dhak (2023)
Cast: Ratna Pathak Shah, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Dia Mirza, Sanjana Sanghi
Tarun Dudeja’s road-trip drama follows four women from different generations who embark on a motorcycle journey across the Himalayas to Khardung La Pass.
The trip becomes far more than an adventure. Each woman confronts social expectations, past regrets and hidden fears along the road. Like Made in Korea, the film explores how stepping outside familiar surroundings can spark unexpected courage.
4. Wild (2014)
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern
Based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, Wild follows a woman trekking more than a thousand miles along the Pacific Crest Trail after personal tragedy derails her life.
Reese Witherspoon’s Cheryl faces exhaustion, grief and isolation throughout the journey. Much like Shenba’s lonely battle in Seoul, the story shows how solitude in unfamiliar territory can force a person to confront themselves.
5. The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson
Set in the American South during the 1960s, the film follows teenager Lily Owens searching for answers about her late mother. She finds refuge with three beekeeping sisters who offer guidance and emotional shelter.
Though the setting differs, the theme is similar to Made in Korea: a young woman navigating emotional uncertainty while strangers unexpectedly become her support system.
6. Eat Pray Love (2010)
Cast: Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem
Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir follows a writer who abandons her comfortable life to travel across Italy, India and Indonesia in search of meaning.
Through food, spirituality and romance, Julia Roberts’ Liz Gilbert slowly rebuilds her life. The film’s global journey reflects Shenba’s search for belonging in an unfamiliar country.
7. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
Cast: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Maggie Smith
A group of British retirees relocate to Jaipur, India, hoping for a peaceful new chapter. Instead they find chaos, humour and surprising friendships.
Directed by John Madden, the film explores cultural adjustment from another angle: older travellers rediscovering purpose in a country that challenges their expectations.
8. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Cast: Diane Lane, Sandra Oh
Following a painful divorce, writer Frances Mayes impulsively buys a crumbling villa in Tuscany. Renovating the house becomes a metaphor for rebuilding her life.
Like Shenba’s Seoul experience, Frances discovers that foreign landscapes can be both intimidating and deeply transformative.
9. Lost in Translation (2003)
Cast: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson
Sofia Coppola’s Tokyo-set drama explores alienation in a foreign city. Two Americans — a fading actor and a young graduate — form an unexpected bond while navigating loneliness in Japan.
The film captures the emotional quietness of culture shock, something Shenba experiences repeatedly in Made in Korea.
10. The Lunchbox (2013)
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur
Although largely set in Mumbai, The Lunchbox reflects the theme of connection across unfamiliar emotional landscapes. A mistaken lunch delivery sparks a correspondence between two strangers.
The story highlights how unexpected relationships can alter life’s direction, echoing the supportive figures Shenba encounters during her difficult stay in Seoul.
11. Nomadland (2020)
Cast: Frances McDormand
This Oscar-winning drama follows a woman who travels across the American West living in a van after economic hardship reshapes her life.
Director Chloé Zhao captures a different kind of journey: one where displacement leads to a new understanding of freedom and community.
12. Brooklyn (2015)
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen
Set in the 1950s, Brooklyn follows an Irish immigrant adjusting to life in New York. Saoirse Ronan’s Eilis must balance homesickness, cultural adaptation and a new romance.
Her experience resonates strongly with Shenba’s struggle to adapt in Seoul while navigating identity far from home.
Online discussions around Made in Korea have quickly turned toward similar films that explore identity through travel. Many viewers have pointed to Queen and English Vinglish as the closest emotional matches, praising how both stories centre on Indian women discovering independence abroad.
Others highlight Wild and Eat Pray Love for their introspective journeys, while international viewers frequently compare Shenba’s loneliness in Seoul to the quiet isolation portrayed in Lost in Translation. Across social platforms, the common thread in these reactions is clear: audiences are drawn to stories where unfamiliar cities become catalysts for personal growth.
The popularity of these comparisons also reflects a wider appetite for global storytelling that crosses cultures and languages, just as Made in Korea does by bridging Indian and Korean perspectives.
Films about travel are rarely just about geography. They are about transformation — the uncomfortable, unpredictable process of becoming someone new when the familiar disappears. Made in Korea stands firmly in that tradition, and these twelve films prove how powerful that narrative can be.
Which of these films best captures the spirit of Shenba’s journey?