Korean Cinema
Dubbed the 'new Hong Kong', Korean cinema has taken the international film world by storm with its brutal and confrontational style and original political perspectives. Encompassing both the North and South Korean industries it is the films from the south that have become worldwide hits. From border security thriller, 'JSA' to the haunting 'Oasis' to the mesmerising madness of 'Old Boy', Korean cinema is bold, diverse and here to stay.
Pictured: Horror-chiller already slated for an American remake, 'A Tale of Two Sisters'.
Attack the Gas Station (1999)
7.1/10
Director: Sang-Jin Kim
Starring: Sung-jae Lee, Oh-seong Yu, Seong-jin Kang, Ji-tae Yu, Yeong-gyu Park, Jun Jeong,...
An imaginative and stylish Korean comedy, satirising the prolific Asian crime genre and South Korea's social turmoil. Four bored youths decide to rob... Read more
Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)
7.1/10
Director: Boon Joon-ho
Starring: Bae Doo-na, Sung-jae Lee
The first film from Korean director Boon Joon-ho ('Memories of Murder', 'The Host') is a dark comedy about a man who has decided dogs are not his best... Read more
Bedevilled (2010)
7.3/10
Director: Cheol-soo Jang
Starring: Sung-won Ji, Young-hee Seo
Beautiful Hae-won needs to get away from it all and finds herself drawn to Moo Island, a place where she once spent an idyllic childhood holiday. On a... Read more
Bichunmoo (2000)
Director: Young-jun Kim
Starring: Hyeon-jun Shin, Hee-seon Kim, Jin-young Jeong, Dong-jik Jang
The most expensive film ever made in Korea, "Bichunmoo" is a sweeping epic set in 14th century China where the warrior Jin-ha and concubine Sullie hav... Read more
Birthday Boy (2004)
6.6/10
Director: Sejong Park
Sejong Park's Oscar-nominated short from Australia, telling the story of a young boy in the Korean war and the arrival of an unexpected package on his... Read more
Blood and Bones (2004)
7.1/10
Director: Yoichi Sai
Starring: Takeshi Kitano, Hirofumi Arai, Tomoko Tabata, Jo Odagiri, Kyoka Suzuki
Japanese icon Takeshi Kitano plays Shunpei Kim, a Korean immigrant who comes to Osaka as a teenager in1920. Working at a fish factory, Kim claws his w... Read more
Broker (2022)
7.2/10
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Doona Bae, Ji-Eun Lim
When a young mother reconsiders abandoning her baby, she discovers a scheme selling foundlings for adoption. Read more
Brotherhood of War (2004)
8.1/10
Director: Je-Gyu Kang
Starring: Dong-kun Jang, Bin Won, Eun-joo Lee
Korea's leading filmmaker, Kang Je-gyu, wrote and directed this epic-scale drama focussed on two brothers forced into the war that tore their nation a... Read more
Burning (2018)
7.6/10
Director: Chang-dong Lee
Starring: Steven Yeun
Jong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, who asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When back, sh... Read more
Chihwaseon ( aka Painted Fire ) (2002)
Director: Im Kwon Taek
Starring: Sung-kee Ahn, Min-sik Choi
AKA 'Painted Fire'. In a time of political and social unrest in 19th century Korea, an uncouth, self-taught painter explores his natural talent amidst... Read more