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Top Korean Movies


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SCMP came out with this list, and sadly I've only seen a few..

I would imagine bro WEB would have seen the lot.. :)

Any other movies that you feel should have made the list?

 

I liked the "The Good, The Bad and The Weird", as well as "Musa" and "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" but I'm not sure if that's considered Korean..

 

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3097911/25-best-korean-movies-21st-century?utm_content=article&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2zUXZE1NQFGN-ahv0uYqdCfrq0XxPn5QVTr8Ac2psw_42VPnosIUxpEMA#Echobox=1597880859

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Seriously, this list is rubbish. It’s compiled by critics who want to show off a few obscure movies to tell you they know more than you. There is a link in the article to a list of Top Japanese Films from 2001, which is utter crap. How can it not have Departures (2008)?

 

I am going to share with you guys a few lists curated by a friend of mine who watches more movies than me, I kid you not and these are superb lists of great Korean movies in different genres. These are the most definitive lists and I stand by his choices. I only added Cold Eyes to his list. Use this as a gateway to great Korean cinema.

 

Best Korean Drama

1- Parasite (Bong Jong Ho, 2019)

2- Peppermint Candy (Lee Chang-dong, 1999)

3- The Way Home (Lee Jeong-hyang, 2002)

4- Taegukgi (Kang Je-kyu, 2004)

5- The Handmaiden (2016, Park Chan-wook)

6- Welcome to Dongmakgol (Park Kwang-hyun, 2005)

7- Miracle in Cell No7 (Lee Hwan-kyung, 2013)

8- Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (Kim Ki-duk, 2003)

9- 3 Iron (Kim Ki-duk, 2004)

10- Oasis (Lee Chang-dong, 2002)

 

Special Mentions:

Sea Fog (Shim Sung-bo, 2014)

Microhabitat (Jeon Go-woon, 2017)

The Isle (Kim Ki-duk, 2000)

The Attorney (Yang Woo-seok, 2013)

Poetry (Lee Chang-dong, 2010)

The World of Us (Lee Chang-dong, 2016)

Masquerade (Choo Chang-min, 2012)

Failan (Song Hae-sung, 2001)

Happy End (Jung Ji-woo, 1999)

Silenced (Hwang Dong-Hyuk, 2011)

Hope (Lee Joon-ik, 2013)

Late Blossom (Choo Chang-min, 2011)

The Housemaid (Kim Ki-young, 1960)

Secret Sunshine (Lee Chang-dong, 2007)

Pieta (Kim Ki-duk, 2012)

Burning (Lee Chang-dong, 2018)

A Taxi Driver (Jang Hun, 2017)

 

Best Korean Comedy/Romance

1- The Classic (Kwak Jae-yong, 2003)

2- A Moment to Remember (John Lee, 2004)

3- My Sassy Girl (Kwak Jae-yong, 2001)

4- Christmas in August (Hur Jin-ho, 1998)

5- Deiji (Andrew Lau, 2006)

6- Il Mare (Lee Hyun-seung, 2000)

7- Sunny (Kang Hyeong-cheol, 2011)

8- Hello Ghost (Kim Tak-young, 2010)

9- Castaway on the Moon (Lee Hae-jun, 2009)

10- Miss Granny (Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2014)

 

Special mentions:

Exit (Sang Geun Lee, 2019)

200 pounds beauty (Kim Yong-hwa, 2006)

Attack the gas station(Kim Sang-Jin, 1999)

Sex is Zero (Youn JK, 2002)

Always (Song Il-gon, 2011)

Scandal Makers (Kang Hyeong-cheol, 2008)

A Werewolf Boy (Jo Sung-hee, 2012)

Midnight Runners (Kim Joo-hwan, 2017)

 

Best Korean Thriller/Horror

1- I Saw the Devil (Kim Jee-woon, 2010)

2- Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)

3- Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)

4- The Wailing (Na Hong-jin, 2016)

5- The Chaser (Na Hong-jin, 2008)

6- Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Park Chan-wook, 2005)

7- Bedeviled (Jang Cheol-soo, 2010)

8- New World (Park Hoon-jung, 2013)

9- No Mercy (Kim Hyeong-joon, 2010)

10- A Dirty Carnival (Yoo Ha, 2006)

 

Special mention:

The Spy Gone North (Yoon Jong-bin, 2018)

Princess Aurora (Pang Eun-Jin, 2005)

The Man from Nowhere (Lee Jeong-beom, 2010)

A Tale of 2 Sisters (Kim Jee-woon,

A Hard Day (Kim Seong-hun, 2014)

Hwa-yi: a monster boy (Jang Joon-hwa, 2013)

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Park Chan-wook, 2002)

Joint Security Area (Park Chan-wook, 2000)

A Bittersweet life (Kim Jee-woon, 2005)

Mother (Bong Joon-ho, 2009)

The Yellow Sea (Na Hong-jin, 2010)

Thirst (Park Chan-wook, 2009)

Train To Busan (Yeon Sang-ho, 2016)

Montage (Jeong Geun-seop, 2013)

Veteran (Ryoo Seung-wan, 2015)

Nameless Gangster (Yoon Jong-bin, 2012)

Assassination (Choi Dong-Hoon, 2015)

Terror Live (Kim Byung-woo, 2013)

Cold Eyes (Jo Ui-seok & Kim Byung-seo, 2013)

 

 

 

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Watched most of the movies mentioned by bros here and agree that they are good. WEB list is a good starter. I think Korean movies owe their success to creative scriptwriters, talented directors, good movie pacing, good (looking) castings, expansive material to write about from historical, political and economy backdrop (China/Jap occupation, North vs South, corrupted govt, powerful chaebol conglomerates, unusual criminal procedures (powerful prosecutors vs police, stature of limitations), etc) and light handed censorship.

 

Talking about talented directors, I'm quite partial to KKD who is quite genre bending and does not always go for commercial movies. His 3iron and Möebius movies are virtually dialogue free. Even his low key movie Poongsan tells an interesting original story.

 

Recently watched Beasts clawing at straws from a debut director. The story could have been a Coen bro movie.

 

After zombies, seems like Korean are now into time travel and parallel universe stories at least in serials. 

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