Korean movie lovers come closer, lend me your ears for a second, i have brought to you the 10 best Korean movies of all time to watch right now. Even if you haven’t set your eyes on any Korean movie, try these ones out and thank me later.
Korean cinema has grown enormously in global popularity over the past two decades. Korean films, driven by super-star directors and unique genres have found themselves as a cultural phenomenon that has fans all over the world.
While the Korean wave has elevated Korean dramas and K-pop music, some of the country’s most outstanding creative work has occurred in movies.
Here are the top Korean movies that demonstrate and capture the contemporary artistry of modern Cinema in Korea.
Some of the Best Korean Movies
1. Oldboy
Park Chan-wook’s revenge thriller Oldboy promoted Korean film onto the global stage when it won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
Based on the Japanese manga of the same name, Oldboy tells the story of a man imprisoned by unknown captors for 15 years before being released.
He then starts looking for answers and revenge but only gets into a complicated conspiracy. Park Chan-wook crafts a violent scene with drama and black humor.
Oldboy demonstrated the originality and technical mastery that would make Korean directors like Park global sensations.
2. The Host and Parasite
Bong Joon-ho established himself as Korea’s film director with productions like The Host and Parasite.
2006 is the year when this movie came out, and it provides a fun version of monster movies to thrill its audience. When a giant mutated creature emerges from the Han River and abducts a young girl, her dysfunctional family springs into action to rescue her.
The Host manages to bring the creature feature antics along with it and clever social satire together as a blend that features comedy, drama, and horror.
3. The Chaser
Director Na Hong-jin put Korean thrillers on the map with The Chaser, a hit at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
It is about a crooked ex-cop turned hooker hunting killer that leaves his employees as blood bodies. Overall, this thriller keeps its viewers in suspense by constantly changing and posing dangers.
The Chaser announced Na as an emerging master of intensely crafted genre films. Since then, he has solidified his reputation with the critically lauded thrillers The Yellow Sea and The Wailing.
4. A Taxi Driver
Korean war films achieved critical success by humanizing geopolitical conflicts through intimate, character-driven storylines.
One standout is 2017’s A Taxi Driver from director Jang Hoon. Based on true events, it talks about the story of a taxi driver transporting a German journalist to the site of the Gwangju Uprising against a violent military regime in 1980.
Parasite’s lead role is played by Song Kang-ho, who impressively plays the character of a working driver trapped in disturbing political chaos.
5. On Your Wedding Day
Though action and suspense are common themes in Korean movies, directors have also been successful with romantic dramas.
One Korean film romantic drama is On Your Wedding Day in 2018 directed by Lee Seok-geun.
One thing about this movie is that it depicts a college-class friendship that ended up being romantic after ten years. Just imagine!
Consequently, subtle direction and performances that influence everyone capture the joyfulness of a youthful state and bitter moments as well.
On Your Wedding Day has the potential that Korean filmmakers can transform ordinary human emotions into a brilliant story.
6. Poetry
Studies about Korean rural dramas are based on the history and nature of Korea’s unique culture and landscapes. More or less people were engrossed worldwide for these types of drama.
This Poetry movie drop in 2010, directed by Lee Chang-dong is a poetic character study presenting veteran actress Yoon Jeonghee as an older woman who dreams of finding beauty and significance in life through poetry though her family’sPair is painful It will fall apart soon.
Do you know that “Lee Chang-dong” brings out a masterful performance from Yoon? That was done while crafting a deeply humane portrait of aging and awakening. That is why poetry shows “Korean cinema’s sympathetic lens” on ordinary people facing life’s adversities.
7. Be With You
For those in search of an enchanting tragedy, the romantic drama Be with You directed by Lee Jang-hoon offers much comfort.
2018 It is a story about a mother returning to her husband and son one year after death in which she had no memories.
8. Train to Busan
This 2016 zombie thriller from director Yeon Sang-ho became an international smash hit thanks to its frenetic action sequences and emotional core.
It analyzes how a father and daughter were trapped inside a train, and this took place during the zombie virus outbreak in Korea if you can remember. Train to Busan uses the confined setting to generate suspense-filled thrills while developing empathetic characters.
9. The Admiral: Roaring Currents
Korea’s biggest domestic box office hit ever, this 2014 historical war epic dramatizes Korean naval hero Yi Sun-shin’s against-all-odds naval victory at the Battle of Myeongnyang in 1597.
Directed by Kim Han-min, it delivers massive, sweeping naval warfare through state-of-the-art CGI and effects.
10. Alive
Released in 2020, this South Korean zombie thriller, directed by Cho Il-hyung, offers a fresh take on the worn-out genre.
It really gives it attention to a young man; this person in question is locked alone in his apartment. And that took place during an abrupt zombie apocalypse. He has been recognized as a suspenseful character. This is because he struggles to survive all alone in “isolation”.
Alive helped reinvigorate Korean zombie films with their originality.
Conclusion
When you look at the “Korean cinema”, it is indeed growing very popular globally. All thanks to “Netflix”, they have really evolved to become a platform that brings people from far and wide to be exposed to a lot of movies. There are a lot of Korean films with English subtitles you can now access. For anyone interested in getting a foothold into the dynamic movie industry of Korea, Netflix is indeed the perfect gateway.
