A Beginner's Guide to Korean Cinema
The finest selections of Korean cinema.
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49 titles
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.10/10
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsLee Yoo-miHa Jung-wooLee Hee-joonWhen the attempt to kill a professor goes wrong, a series of violent events are triggered which force a taxi driver to run for his life.9/10
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsNam-mi KangJeong-nam ChoiHye-Sook GoAfter being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.9/10
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoShin Ha-kyunBae DoonaA recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.9/10
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.9/10
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsKim Hye-jaWon BinJin GooA mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.9/10
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.9/10
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsJun KunimuraHwang Jung-minKwak Do-wonSoon after a stranger arrives in a little village, a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman, drawn into the incident, is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.9/10
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsSol Kyung-guKim Yeo-jinMoon So-riFollowing a man's suicide, time traverses back to reveal six chapters of his life on why he committed suicide.9/10
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLee Yeong-aeLee Byung-hunSong Kang-hoAfter a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.9/10
- DirectorJung Doo HongJee-woon KimStarsLee Byung-hunShin Min-aKim Yeong-cheolThings go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't follow his boss's orders.9/10
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoKim Ok-binChoi Hee-jinThrough a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.9/10
- DirectorKang Je-kyuStarsJang Dong-gunWon BinEun-ju LeeWhen two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.9/10
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsYun Jeong-hieLee Da-witKim Hee-raA sixty-something woman, faced with the discovery of a heinous family crime and in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class.9/10
- DirectorIm Sang-sooStarsJeon Do-yeonLee Jung-jaeYoun Yuh-jungA man's affair with his family's housemaid leads to dark consequences.9/10
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.8/10
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsKim Yoon-seokHa Jung-wooSeo Yeong-hieA disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.8/10
- DirectorLee Jeong-beomStarsWon BinKim Sae-ronKim Tae-hoonA quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.8/10
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsLee Seung-yunJae HeeHyuk-ho KwonA transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days.8/10
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoByun Hee-BongPark Hae-ilA monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.8/10
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.8/10
- DirectorDong-hoon ChoiStarsKim Yoon-seokLee Jung-jaeKim Hye-suAfter a heist in South Korea, a gang of 5+1 fly to Hong Kong to look into a heist, in a Macau casino, of a $30M diamond, planned by someone unreliable. He brings in HK thieves as well. Can anyone be trusted?8/10
- DirectorPark Hoon-jungStarsLee Jung-jaeChoi Min-sikHwang Jung-minAn undercover cop finds it difficult to play both a cop and a goon.8/10
- DirectorMin-ho WooStarsLee Byung-hunCho Seung-wooBaek Yun-shikA former political henchman seeks out revenge for being dropped by a ruthless politician while a determined investigator tries to find proof of a connection between the two of them.8/10
- DirectorHa YooStarsZo In-sungChun Ho-jinMin Nam-koongA small time thug collecting debts for the local triad is torn between his criminal aspirations and his devotion to family.8/10
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsHa Jung-wooPark Ji-yeonBaek Gwang-DooTo save her relationship, a woman puts herself through extensive plastic surgery.8/10
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsKim Min-heeHa Jung-wooCho Jin-woongA woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.8/10
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsSong Kang-hoLee Byung-hunJung Woo-sungThe story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.8/10
- DirectorChang-min ChooStarsLee Byung-hunRyu Seung-ryongHan Hyo-jooA look-alike commoner is secretly hired to take the place of a poisoned king to save his country from falling into chaos.8/10
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsGong YooJung Yu-miMa Dong-seokWhile a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.8/10
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsRyu Seung-ryongShim Eun-kyungLee JoonSeveral groups of people try to survive a zombie pandemic that unleashes itself in downtown Seoul.8/10
- DirectorSung-bo ShimStarsKim Yoon-seokPark Yoo-chunHan YeriA fishing-boat crew takes on a dangerous commission to smuggle a group of illegal immigrants from China to Korea.8/10
- DirectorCheol-soo JangStarsSeo Yeong-hieJi Seong-wonMin-ho HwangA woman subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out.8/10
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsYang Ik-joonOh Jung-seKim Hye-naJong-suk and Kyung-min meet up to talk about their high school past, it's been 15 years since they last talked. It brings up all kinds of memories.8/10
- DirectorSu-won ShinStarsLee Da-witSung JunJo Sung-haPluto is a story of the extremes elite high school seniors are prepared to go to guarantee entry into prestigious universities, and asks what could possibly turn an innocent boy into a monster. June, a transfer student into an elite school, is driven to despair by the year's first examination results. One day he discovers that a mysterious clique of fellow students are sharing secret notebooks, which contain important exam information. In order to get his hands on the notebooks he begs the members of the secret circle to include him. They task him with a series of missions to earn them, turning June into a monster in the process.8/10
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsJeon Do-yeonSong Kang-hoLee Dong-yongA woman moves to the town where her dead husband was born. As she tries to fit in, another tragic event overturns her life.8/10
- DirectorYang Ik-joonStarsKim KkobbiHwan LeeYang Ik-joonA bitter loan shark strikes a friendship with a troubled schoolgirl as he faces his own troubled past with his abusive father.8/10
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsJeong Jae-yeongKim Min-heeYoun Yuh-jungA married film director falls for a young painter - twice.8/10
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsCho Jae-hyunWon SeoKim Yun-taeAn unfeeling gangster seeks to ruin the life of a young girl who rejected him. He forces her into prostitution and spies on her regularly, then he soon begins to fall for her.8/10
- DirectorKyung-taek KwakStarsYu Oh-seongJang Dong-gunSeo Tae-hwaFour childhood friends go their separate ways, two go off to college while the others become rival gangsters.8/10
- DirectorDong-hoon ChoiStarsJun Ji-hyunLee Jung-jaeHa Jung-wooWhile Korea is occupied by the Japanese Army in 1933, the resistance plans to kill the Japanese Commander. But their plan is threatened by a traitor within their group and also the enemies' forces are hunting them down.8/10
- DirectorRyu Seung-wanStarsHwang Jung-minYoo Ah-inYoo Hae-jinA honest cop seeks justice for a common man against all odds. A rich boy seeks revenge on the cop.8/10
- DirectorJae-young KwakStarsCha Tae-hyunJun Ji-hyunIn-mun KimA young man sees a drunk, cute woman standing too close to the tracks at a metro station in Seoul and pulls her back. She ends up getting him into trouble repeatedly after that, starting on the train.8/10
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsJo Min-sooLee Jung-JinWoo Ki-hongA loan shark is forced to reconsider his violent lifestyle after the arrival of a mysterious woman claiming to be his long-lost mother.8/10
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsRyô KaseMoon So-riSeo Young-hwaKwon returns to Seoul from the mountains and is given a packet of letters from Mori back from Japan to propose to her. Kwon drops and scatters the undated letters. She reads them and has to make sense of the chronology - and so must we?8/10
- DirectorYoon SunghyunStarsLee JehoonPark Jeong-minSeo Jun-yeongThree best friends, Ki-tae, Dong-yoon, and Hee-june; they thought their friendship would last forever. A few tiny cracks of distrust start to develop among these best friends. Ki-tae and Hee-june are suddenly filled with misunderstanding and hated, and Ki-tae starts to use violence against Hee-june. When Dong-yoon finds out about Ki-tae's behavior toward Hee-june, he tries to stop Ki-tae but fails. Instead, what started out as little doubts, push these three boys into the point of no return.8/10
- DirectorYunsung KangStarsMa Dong-seokYoon KyesangJo Jae-yoonBased on real events, this crime action film depicts a Seoul detective's attempts to keep peace while two Chinese-Korean gangs battle over turf in the neighborhood.8/10
- DirectorKang Je-kyuStarsHan Suk-kyuChoi Min-sikYunjin KimSouth Korean agents Ryu and Lee are tracking a female assassin from North Korea who has mysteriously disappeared. With new killings and the theft of a deadly bomb, time is running out to catch her.7/10
- DirectorSang-Jin KimStarsLee Sung-jaeYu Oh-seongKang Seong-jinFour disaffected youths rob a gas station but find their plans complicated and sidetracked before the night is through.7/10