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'.
Natural City (2003)
5.8/10
Director: Byung-chun Min
Starring: Ji-tae Yu, Jae-un Lee, Rin Seo, Chan Yoon
Post-apocalypse 2080. Cyborgs with artificial intelligence, great strength and emotion exist but they live just a few short years. Cue star-crossed... Read more
JSA: Joint Security Area (2000)
Director: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Jeong Seong-San, Kim Hyeon-Seok, Lee Mu-Yeong
This harrowing political thriller from South Korea rides on the trend of phenomenally popular action blockbusters from East Asia. In the extremely sen... Read more
3-Iron (2004)
8.1/10
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Starring: Lee Seung-yeon, Jae Hee, Kwon Hyuk-ho
Breaking into mansions while the homeowners are away, an enigmatic drifter repays his hosts' unwitting hospitality by performing small chores in the r... Read more
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Kim Jee-Woon
Starring: Su-jeong Lim, Geun-yeong Mun, Jung-ah Yum, Kap-su Kim
The Asian pop culture crossover continues with this eerie South Korean horror, with more than a shiver of recognition from the modern Japanese classic... Read more
Thirst (2009)
7.2/10
Director: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Hae-sook Kim, Ok-vin Kim, Young-chang Song, Kang-ho Song
Top Korean star Kang-ho Song plays a devout, kind priest whose life (after-life?) is forever changed by a transfusion of vampire blood that unleashes... 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
3 Extremes (2004)
6.3/10
Director: Takashi Miike, Chan-wook Park, Fruit Chan
Starring: Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe, Byung-hun Lee, Won-hee Lim, Hye-jeong Kang, Jung-...
Three of Asia's hottest directors join forces for this horror triple. Hong Kong's Fruit Chan, Korea's Park Chan-wook and Japan's Takashi Miike each co... Read more
Minari (2020)
7.5/10
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Will Patton
Yearning to own a small patch of land and be more than a chicken sexer, the ambitious paterfamilias, Jacob Yi, relocates his Korean-American family: s... Read more
The Isle (2001)
7/10
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Starring: Jung Suh, Kim Yoo-Seok, Park Sung-Hee
'The Isle' tells the tale of a beautiful woman living on an eerie, remote lake selling food to fisherman by day, and her body by night. When the woman... Read more
Silmido (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Kang Woo-Suk
Starring: Sung-kee Ahn, Kyung-gu Sol, Jun-ho Heo, Jae-yeong Joeng, Seong-jin Kang
In 1968, a group of North Korean commandos crossed the border in a failed attempt to assassinate South-Korean president Park Chung-hee. Outraged, Sou... Read more