30 best Korean movies worth watching

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Masterpieces of 21st century Korean cinema: from war dramas to thrillers, crime fighters and melodramas.

1. Mint candy

• South Korea, 1999.
• Drama.
• Duration: 129 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The story is built backwards: the film begins with the suicide of a man named Kim. After that, the plot is turned back, and viewers get acquainted with the difficult life of the protagonist, taking place against the backdrop of significant events in Korean politics.

The second film by the outstanding classic Lee Chang Dong (part-time former Minister of Culture of South Korea, writer and screenwriter, laureate of the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals) tells the story of an absolutely unhappy man. The pessimistic thought about the possibility of finding peace only through death becomes the leitmotif.

2. Island

• South Korea, 2000.
• Drama.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The mysterious and silent caretaker of fishing floating shacks Hwi Jin obediently serves the guests, including with her own body, until a former policeman with a difficult fate settles in one of the houses. A strange attraction arises between the characters, which defies rational explanation.

Director Kim Ki-dook's sadomasochistic arthouse is famous for its shocking scenes of violence. Critics, including the famous Roger Ebert, note Roger Ebert's review at suntimes.com that The Island is one of the most naturalistic and violent films in the history of cinema. Nevertheless, the Korean director cannot be reproached for insensitivity: the story turned out to be so deep and poignant.

3. Joint security zone

• South Korea, 2000.
• Drama, thriller, action.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

This film is about the lives of ordinary soldiers who were divided by the Korean War. A chamber detective story will appeal to even those who are not familiar with the situation in Korea and do not know all the nuances of the conflict.

4. Bad guy

• South Korea, 2001.
• Drama.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

The seventh picture of Kim Ki Dook is about a guy who falls in love at first sight, but is rejected. The young man develops a cunning plan for revenge and kidnaps the girl.

A contrasting, contradictory story about hypertrophied love from a master of silent cinema leaves behind a bitter aftertaste and a desire to get acquainted with the director's work in its entirety.

5. Sympathy for Mr. Revenge

Boksuneun naui geot

• South Korea, 2002.
• Crime drama.
• Duration: 129 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

Ryu, a deaf-and-dumb steel mill worker, needs money to operate his sick sister. He sells the kidney to organ dealers, but the scammers hide with the money. Then Ryu decides, together with his girlfriend, to steal the daughter of the former boss in order to get a ransom.

The first film from Park Chang Wook's Revenge Trilogy. "Sympathy for Mr. Revenge" is not as dynamic as "Oldboy", but the operator chooses such angles that it is impossible to take your eyes off the screen. And on the whole, the picture only benefits the picture.

6. The road home

• South Korea, 2002.
• Drama.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

A moralistic story about a dumb grandmother and her spoiled grandson. An elderly woman humbly accepts all the antics of the boy, brings up and teaches him.

The film is as kind as it is hard for the viewer. Several hours of sobbing and rethinking life after watching are guaranteed. The cinema shows not only childish cruelty, but also senile wisdom, which not everyone can acquire.

7. The story of two sisters

• South Korea, 2003.
• Horror, mystical thriller.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The two sisters return to their father and stepmother's home after an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital. Gradually, the girls begin to notice that strange and inexplicable things are happening everywhere.

The psychological thriller directed by Kim Ji Un has garnered numerous awards in Korea and at film festivals around the world. The film was so fond of the audience that a few years after its release, it was even re-shot in the United States. However, the remake of "The Uninvited" failed to surpass the unique Korean original.

8. Spring, summer, autumn, winter … and spring again

• South Korea, 2003.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The film tells the story of an old monk and his pupil living in a floating hut on a lake far from civilization. The measured pace of their lives is disrupted when a young student meets a girl.

Perhaps the most important film in the filmography of the Korean director Kim Ki-dook. A beautiful philosophical parable about the inexorableness of time, humility and the nature of being.

9. Oldboy

• South Korea, 2003.
• Detective thriller, drama.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

An unremarkable businessman is kidnapped by unknown people and thrown into captivity for many years. After he is released, he goes in search of his offenders, obsessed with a thirst for revenge.

Park Chang Wook's cult film has received many awards and nominations, and critics and viewers have given extremely positive reviews. The picture is part of the "Revenge Trilogy", and if you might not know about the other two works, then "Oldboy" certainly has always been heard.

10. Memories of the murder

• South Korea, 2003.
• Detective thriller, drama.
• Duration: 131 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Several brutal murders take place in the Korean hinterland. The police want to catch the criminal at all costs, but the true motives of the officers are to find and punish the culprit, not to solve the case, so sometimes they go beyond what is permitted.

This painting by Bong Joon Ho talks about how the justice system works. The film convinces the viewer that anyone who gets in her way is a potential enemy.

11. Empty house

• South Korea, 2004.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The meeting between a guy named Te Suk and a girl named Sun-wa was predetermined by fate. For many years, the heroine has suffered from her husband's beatings. When Tae Sook appears on the doorstep, the girl escapes with him and accepts his way of life as an eternal wanderer.

The quintessence of Kim Ki-dook's silent cinema. The director expertly uses visuals and the right angles to tell an amazing love story without words.

12.38th parallel

• South Korea, 2004.
• War drama.
• Duration: 140 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The film tells the story of the tragic fate of two brothers forced to fight in the bloody war between South and North Korea against their will.

A solid budget was allocated for the shooting of the picture, and the authors were able to roam. Luxurious sets, thousands of extras and painstaking work on the details have created an immersive movie worthy of par with the likes of Saving Private Ryan and Brothers in Arms.

13. Bitterness and sweetness

• South Korea, 2005.
• Drama, action.
• Duration: 119 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The main character, Song Woo, works for the mafia boss Mr. Kang, carries out his orders and looks after the restaurant. One day, the owner asks Son Woo to follow her friend, whom he suspects of cheating. The hero finds the girl in the arms of his lover, but does not follow the order and lets them go. Mister Kahn learns of the betrayal and decides to take revenge.

14. Dinosaur Invasion

• South Korea, 2006.
• Fantastic drama.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

Due to the release of toxic substances in the Han River, a terrible monster started up. The family of the owner of a small coastal diner becomes an eyewitness to the monster's attack on people. The creature takes 14-year-old Hyun Seo with it, but the text message received from the girl gives the relatives the hope that she is alive.

In his third film, Oscar winner Bong Joon Ho satirically portrays both the American and South Korean governments. By the way, the prologue is based on real events: in February 2000, the American military stationed in Seoul actually poured formaldehyde into the Korean sewers.

Unfortunately, the Russian distributors called the tape rather ridiculous, and this can mislead the viewer. The original version sounds much simpler and translates as "monster" or "monster".

15. Pursuer

• South Korea, 2008.
• Thriller, thriller.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

Call girls started disappearing in Seoul. The owner of the adult service, Chun Ho, was worried when another worker went to a client and never came back. Remembering the police past, Chun Ho conducts a personal investigation and quickly goes out to the maniac.

Director Na Hong Jin's intense and dynamic debut in feature films breaks the mold that Hollywood has built over the years.

16. The Good, the Bad, the Fucked Up

• South Korea, 2008.
• Comedy western.
• Duration: 135 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

The action takes place in the 30s of the XX century in Manchuria during the Japanese occupation. Bandit Yun Tae Gu robs a train containing a confidant of the Emperor of Japan. Among his trophies is a rare Qing Dynasty treasure map. The problem is that the cold-blooded killer Pak Chang Yi, with whom the archer-virtuoso Pak To Won, has long dreamed of fighting in a duel, is hunting for the valuable item.

Director Kim Ji Woon spent a record-breaking budget in the history of South Korean cinematography and directed a wonderful modern western with a lot of quotes from the work of Sergio Leone. One of the duels is completely copied from the legendary final scene of "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly."

17. Mother

• South Korea, 2009.
• Detective drama, thriller.
• Duration: 129 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

An elderly woman lives in a provincial town with her 28-year-old gouging son who always gets into trouble. When accused of murder, his mother begins her own investigation.

Bong Chung Ho managed to combine in one film both a thriller and a drama of human relations, diluted with satire and farce. As a result, we got a sad tape about sincere maternal love - beautiful and frightening.

18. Robinson on the Moon

• South Korea, 2009.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, a guy named Kim washes up a desert island near the bridge he jumped from. At this time, he is noticed by a reclusive girl who looks out the window for hours.

The ironic picture raises an important social theme - the place we occupy in society. If you associate Korean cinema only with violence and revenge, be sure to watch this touching melodramatic story about two people who came to the same thing in different ways - loneliness.

19. Poetry

• South Korea, 2010.
• Drama.
• Duration: 139 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

An elderly Korean woman enrolls in poetry courses and learns to look for beauty even in ordinary things. However, unexpected events take her by surprise, and reality is revealed from the other side.

The film turned out to be extremely soulful, and the performer of the main role Yoon Jong Hee created the image of a strong person who can withstand any difficulties when love lives in his soul.

20. A man from nowhere

• South Korea, 2010.
• Drama, action.
• Duration: 119 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Cha Tae Sik is a pawnshop owner. His only friend is Seo Mi's little neighbor girl. Her mother works as a dancer in a bar and once, deciding to earn extra money, she steals from a drug courier, and hides the booty in a pawnshop. The drug mafia boss takes the mother and the girl hostage, and directs the thugs to Tae Siku.

21. I saw the devil

• South Korea, 2010.
• Drama, thriller.
• Duration: 142 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

The maniac kills another victim, but does not realize that the girl is the daughter-in-law of special agent Su Hyun. Moreover, the detective is not going to turn the criminal into the hands of the police, but to take revenge on him is long, painful and sophisticated.

Thriller Kim Ji Una extremely brutally plays on the theme of revenge and says in plain text that murderers cannot be re-educated, because even on pain of death they will not change.

22. Always

• South Korea, 2011.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Director Song Il Gong's sincere and kind film tells the story of a former boxer and a blind girl who were brought together by a chance meeting. It debuted at the Busan Film Festival, with all 2,000 outdoor cinema seats sold out in minutes.

23. Right now, not after

• South Korea, 2015.
• Melodrama.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

While he’s short before his next lecture, the successful director Ham Chung Soo meets the young abstract artist Yoon Hee Jong, who introduces him to her paintings. The drunken evening ends with embarrassment, but miraculously, the heroes get the opportunity to break out of the cycle of mistakes.

It is said about director Hong Sang Soo that after seeing one of his films, you can assume that you have seen everything. Perhaps the role of this only film is suitable for a colloquial melodrama that touches on the subject of the fragility of human relations and the uncertainty of fate. Moreover, the tape is built in an extremely unusual way: it consists of two equal parts, in which the same actors play out the same story in a slightly different way.

24. Train to Busan

• South Korea, 2016.
• Action, thriller, horror.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

An epidemic of a virus that can turn people into the living dead has broken out in the country, and a father and daughter are trapped in a train going to Busan.

The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and received positive reviews from critics and audiences. The dynamic action movie set in a zombie apocalypse with social and political overtones turned out to be unpredictable and very realistic in Korean.

25. Network

• South Korea, 2016.
• Drama.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

This film by Kim Ki Duk is dedicated to the feud between South and North Korea. In the story, the humble fisherman Nam Chkhor U is engaged in fishing in the border zone. One day the boat breaks down and is washed ashore on the South Korean coast. Chkhor U ends up in the hands of the special services, which either torture him or seduce him with the delights of life in the South.

26. Maid

• South Korea, 2016.
• Drama, thriller.
• Duration: 144 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Early 20th century, Korea is occupied by Japan. The fraudster Fujiwara plans to charm the rich Japanese woman Hideko, marry, and then declare her crazy and take possession of all the wealth. To make the plan come true, he persuades poor girl Suk Hee to hire Hideko as a maid. However, Fujiwara's plans are not destined to come true.

Very delicate and graceful work from the director of "Oldboy" received high marks and several awards, including the nomination "Palme d'Or".

27. You and yours

• South Korea, 2016.
• Drama.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

The young couple is not getting along well. The guy is unhappy that his girlfriend drinks a lot, the latter denies everything, although the facts suggest otherwise. The heroes decide not to communicate for a while, but the break in the relationship is not good for them.

Director Hong Sang Soo shows what the overwhelming desire to make of another person is driven by. Uncomplicated dialogues, genuine feelings of the characters and very simple camera work - all this clearly characterizes the work of this director.

28. Scream

• South Korea, 2016.
• Mystical thriller.
• Duration: 156 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The remote forest village of Goxon is invaded by a series of brutal murders. Police Officer Jung Goo slowly investigates the case, but is forced to speed up when his daughter is in danger.

Thriller Na Hong Jin ("Pursuer", "Yellow Sea") can be safely called a convoluted puzzle from Korean cinema. In addition, the director managed to create a sticky atmosphere of a real nightmare, and the ending will surely leave a lot of questions for any viewer.

29. Blazing

• South Korea, 2018.
• Drama.
• Duration: 148 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The free adaptation of Haruki Murakami's story "Burn the Barn" tells the story of a beggar provincial Jong Soo, whose girlfriend He Mi has an affair with a wealthy young man. The latter once tells the hero about his secret hobby, and from that moment on, Jung Soo begins to have a bad feeling.

Lee Chang Dong's classic film has become one of the most important film events of 2018. Through the efforts of the director, a simple plot, invented by Murakami, turned into a grandiose canvas for 2.5 hours, where a whole abyss of interpretations is hidden behind the seeming simplicity.

30. Parasites

• South Korea, 2019.
• Thriller, comedy drama.
• Duration: 131 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

The poor Kee family lives very poorly and is interrupted by unstable earnings. One day, the eldest son gets a chance to get a job as an English tutor in the house of a local rich man. His relatives, inspired by such luck, decide by cunning to expel all the servants from their dwelling and take the vacant places themselves. At first, the plan goes smoothly. But one day something happens that no one expected.

Director Bong Joon Ho's bizarre film has exploded not only film festivals around the world, but even the Oscar 2020, taking all the main awards. And this is the first film not in English, which won the award in the category "Best Film".