Representation of Cultural Elements in the Film Panggil Aku Ayah and the Korean Film Pawn: A Comparative Literature Study

The film Panggil Aku Ayah (2025) is an Indonesian adaptation of the South Korean film Pawn (2020), which goes beyond mere narrative transfer by engaging in a process of transcreation to align the story with the socio-cultural context of Indonesian audiences. Rather than simply reproducing the original plot, the adaptation reinterprets cultural meanings, values, and social relations to ensure cultural relevance and emotional resonance within a different national setting. This research aims to compare the representation of cultural elements in Panggil Aku Ayah and Pawn using a comparative literature approach. The study employs a qualitative descriptive method, drawing on C. Kluckhohn’s theory of seven universal cultural categories as an analytical framework. The findings reveal significant transformations in five key cultural elements: the language system, which adapts dialogue and expressions to local linguistic norms; the livelihood system, which reflects differences in economic activities and social class structures; the religious system, which incorporates local beliefs and practices; the knowledge system, which reshapes moral education and life values; and social organization, which highlights distinct family structures and community relations. The study concludes that cross-cultural film adaptation functions as a creative strategy to embed local cultural identity, enabling global narratives to remain meaningful, accessible, and relevant to Indonesian audiences while preserving the emotional core of the original work.