"Essential" South Korean Films

[SkyAntoine]

My wife's cousin's family has an exchange student from South Korea for this school year. We will be around him a lot this year and he will be over to our house occasionally. I would like to get a couple of movies considered to be essential viewing from South Korea to have something to discuss.

The only South Korean movie I have in my collection is Old Boy.

Any suggestions?
I'm more interested in critically acclaimed and popular titles. I.e. The South Korean [Star Wars/Citizen Kane/Godfather/Insert your own title].

[JBishop]

I Saw the Devil

[SkyAntoine]

In looking at the IMDb today it seems like Korean filmmakers have shored up the thriller/revenge/serial killer/bloody, gory market.

[TheDoug]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

In looking at the IMDb today it seems like Korean filmmakers have shored up the thriller/revenge/serial killer/bloody, gory market.

I would beg to differ but here is IMDB's extensive list. I would reccomend WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL. I assume you'll be renting most of these when your friend visits from South Korea. Netflix would be a good option if you have this service.

http://www.imdb.com/search/title?lan...moviemeter,asc

[jimidini]

My must-haves are:

지구를 지켜라! / Save the green planet
엽기적인 그녀 / My Sassy Girl (try to get the Director's Cut at all costs, it's one of the best comedies ever)
싸이보그지만 괜찮아 / I'm a Cyborg but that's ok
시월애 / Il-Mare
공동경비구역JSA / Joint Security Area
살인의 추억 / Memories Of Murder
친절한 금자씨 / Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
복수는 나의 것 / Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
미녀는 괴로워 / 200 pounds beauty
봄날은 간다 / One Fine Spring Day
데이지 / Daisy
내 여자친구를 소개합니다 / Windstruck

All sorts of Kim Ki-Duk movies:
빈집 / Bin-Jip / "Empty Houses" / 3-Iron (US title)
나쁜 남자 / Bad Guy
활 / The Bow
사마리아 / Samaria / Samaritan Girl
시간 / Time
봄 여름 가을 겨울 그리고 봄 / Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
해안선 / Coast Guard
실제 상황 / Real Fiction
섬 / The Isle (although this one is either censored or really ****ed up)

[WinterLand]

The Chaser

[A Tortured Duckling]

I'm just gonna leave this here.

Top of my head, in no particular order...

A Bittersweet Life
Thirst
New World
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance
Lady Vengeance
The Yellow Sea
The Man From Nowhere
Welcome To Dongmakgol
Castaway On The Moon
I Saw The Devil

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by Autumn Shroud

I'm just gonna leave this here.

Top of my head, in no particular order...

A Bittersweet Life
Thirst
New World
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance
Lady Vengeance
The Yellow Sea
The Man From Nowhere
Welcome To Dongmakgol
Castaway On The Moon
I Saw The Devil

Thanks for the link. I actually did try to find a good thread that covered this before posing the question. Guess I didn't look hard enough.

[kpkelley]

Ones that I haven't seen mentioned:

Secret Sunshine
Mother
Poetry
The Host

[Ultra_Violence]

Anything by Chan-wook Park, Joon-ho Bong, Ki-duk Kim or Jee-woon Kim.

Also see: Castaway on the Moon, The Yellow Sea, The Chaser, Hwayi: A Monster Boy, R-Point.

My ultimate favourite from South Korea is Memories of Murder by Joon-ho Bong. An absolute masterpiece.

[Thomas Irwin]

Although more of a collaboration, this is my personal favorite:

Late Autumn (2010)

[toddly6666]

Shiri

[wesslan]

Originally Posted by toddly6666

Shiri

That needs a good blu-ray!!

[schan1269]

The Wayward Cloud (yes, I know full well, Taiwan. But Taiwan and Korean cinema are intermingled)

That movie will provide stuff to talk about...for days.

[shadedpain4]

Aside from the revenge stuff:

The films of Lee Chang-Dong, notably Secret Sunshine, Oasis, Peppermint Candy, and Poetry.

Maybe the films of Hur Jin-Ho? His are more melodramas, but I think they're pretty good movies. This set is a great place to start.


Aside from that maybe try My Sassy Girl (weird romantic comedy), Castaway On The Moon (Quirky), or The Theives (Maybe like the Ocean 11 movies, though I've never seen those).

[kpkelley]

I believe that Korea is similar to Japan in that Television outranks Movies in terms of popularity. Korean dramas are widely popular. You can find some on Amazon Instant Video and streaming services like Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Soompi. Netflix probably has some as well, though I don't use that service.

[SkyAntoine]

I watched Oldboy last night. Holy Mother... I don't know what I was expecting, but that wasn't it. I thought maybe it was a thriller in the vein of Taken...wrong!

I'm going to watch I Saw the Devil and then I may have to back off the twisted thrillers for a bit.

Our family's exchange student is coming to the house tomorrow for a birthday party. I'll let him look at my blu-ray collection and see what type of films he prefers. I'll try not to stereotype him on the one Korean film I have seen.

[Fabs]

I have to go ahead and mention The Housemaid by Kim Ki-young. Also, The Aimless Bullet by Yu Hyun-mok and The Evil Stairs by Lee Man-hee

[berto_]

Does Snowpiercer count?

[Dunemoon]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0353014/

Mind seeing this one in Haeundae. The score was quite good.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370402/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Caught this one in Nampo Dong.