The 25 best Korean movies of the 21st century
Here are our 25 picks, listed below in chronological order:
1. My Sassy Girl (directed by Kwak Jae-yong, 2001)
A monster hit across Asia, Kwak’s romantic comedy gleefully subverts traditional gender roles as a timid college student (Cha Tae-hyun) becomes entangled with an aggressive, hard-drinking young woman. It launched the career of Jun Ji-hyun, while inserting the phrase “Wanna die?” into the romantic lexicon.2. Waikiki Brothers (dir. Yim Soon-rye, 2001)
A four-piece lounge band hit difficult times, struggle to find work, and reflect on the youthful dreams of fame and success that have eluded them. Balancing a touching tale of lost innocence and unravelling friendships with a barbed critique of South Korea’s economic woes, director Yim hits all the right notes.
3. Save the Green Planet (dir. Jang Joon-hwan, 2003)
One of the most fiercely original films of the Korean Wave, Jang’s genre-bending masterpiece casts Shin Ha-kyun as a deranged outsider, who takes hostage the CEO (Baek Joon-sik) of his former employer, convinced he is an alien plotting an invasion of Earth.
4. Oldboy (dir. Park Chan-wook, 2003)
Before Parasite, no single film advanced Korean cinema further on the world stage than Park’s stylish revenge thriller. Essentially The Count of Monte Cristo meets Death Wish, Choi Min-sik’s wrongfully imprisoned salaryman carves Seoul apart looking for answers, as Park builds to one of cinema’s most devastating plot twists.
5. 3-Iron (dir. Kim Ki-duk, 2004)
Before falling from grace, Kim’s was one of the most controversial and exciting voices in Korean cinema, not least for this gorgeous 2004 romantic drama, in which a young drifter (Jae Hee) breaks into empty houses and begins an almost fantastical relationship with an abused housewife (Lee Seung-yun).6. A Moment to Remember (dir. John H. Lee, 2004)
Nobody does melodrama like the Koreans, and rarely are they as simultaneously gorgeous and tragic as Lee’s emotional roller coaster. The idyllic affair between a radiant Son Ye-jin and an impossibly handsome Jung Woo-sung hits the skids after she is diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer’s, and starts to forget everything.7. The President’s Last Bang (dir. Im Sang-soo, 2005)
South Korea has experienced more shady political chicanery than most countries, not least when, in 1979, incumbent president Park Chung-hee was assassinated at his official residence by his own security chief. The events of that night are brought vividly to life in Im’s controversial and darkly comic satire.
8. Crying Fist (dir. Ryoo Seung-wan, 2005)
Not only this writer’s favourite in Ryoo’s robust filmography, but one of cinema’s most visceral and impactful sports dramas, Crying Fist follows two very different boxers – Choi Min-sik’s washed-up former champ and Ryoo Seung-bum’s incarcerated delinquent – as they mount rival campaigns to win the same tournament.
9. A Bittersweet Life (dir. Kim Jee-woon, 2005)
If Korean cinema does anything better than melodrama, it’s pretty-boy action, and there is no better example than Kim’s impeccable revenge thriller. Lee Byung-hun plays the mob enforcer, whose one moment of defiance leads to all-out war against his former boss. The results are electric.
10. Welcome to Dongmakgol (dir. Park Kwang-hyun, 2005)
Adapted from a long-running stage play, Park’s film topped the domestic box office when first released. Set during the Korean war, this unique drama sees soldiers from the North and South marooned in a remote village cut off from the rest of society, where the inhabitants know nothing of the conflict.
11. Secret Sunshine (dir. Lee Chang-dong, 2007)
Jeon Do-yeon was named best actress at Cannes for her powerhouse performance as a grieving widow who turns to religion for support after her young son is abducted. At a time when Christian groups are wielding alarming influence in Korea, Lee’s deeply affecting drama has lost none of its punch.
12. Breathless (dir. Yang Ik-june, 2008)
Writer-director Yang also stars as a small-time loan shark, shaped by a lifetime of brutality, who forges an unlikely friendship with a bullheaded young schoolgirl. A blistering indictment of the cycle of perpetual violence, Breathless offers unflinching commentary on a society in which unchecked misogyny and machismo continue to run rampant.
13. Castaway on the Moon (dir. Lee Hae- jun, 2009)
Lee’s criminally underrated comedy stars Jung Jae-young as a distraught salaryman who is marooned on a small island in the Han river following a failed suicide attempt. His efforts to survive catch the attention of Jung Ryeo-won’s reclusive shut-in, who begins to document his increasingly bizarre behaviour.
14. The Man from Nowhere (dir. Lee Jeong-beom, 2010)
In this relentlessly stylish riff on Leon: The Professional, a criminally good-looking Won Bin plays a former special forces agent turned mild-mannered pawnshop proprietor, who must revert to his old, ultra-violent ways after the little girl next door (Kim Sae-won) is abducted by ruthless gangsters.
15. Bedevilled (dir. Jang Cheol-soo, 2010)
In this rare female-centric revenge drama, Seo Young-hee plays a young woman whose desperate efforts to escape the remote island where she has suffered years of physical and mental abuse end in a maelstrom of bloody vengeance. Hwang Geum-hee also stars as the childhood friend drawn into the melee.
16. Han Gong-ju (dir. Lee Su-jin, 2013)
Lee’s devastating portrait of teenage life follows Chun Woo-hee’s eponymous schoolgirl as she arrives in a new community under a cloak of mystery. Slowly drip-feeding the horrific truth of her ordeal, the film exposes systemic flaws in a society that favours privilege over those in genuine need.
17. A Girl at My Door (dir. July Jung, 2014)
A prominent face of the Korean Wave, Bae Doona gives one of her best performances as the unwelcome new police chief of a remote seaside community. When she takes in an abused young girl (Kim Sae-won) she becomes the target of small-town outrage, exposing difficult truths about her own life.
18. Right Now, Wrong Then (dir. Hong Sang-soo, 2015)
This writer has never clicked with art-house darling Hong’s particular brand of self-congratulatory narcissism, but as a concession to his fans, this 2015 offering is perhaps the least grating of his recent works, as controversial muse Kim Min-hee is swept off her feet by Jung Jae-young’s charismatic film director.
19. The World of Us (dir. Yoon Ga-eun, 2016)
Adorable and heartbreaking in equal measure, Yoon’s tale of preteen outcasts is a dazzling showcase of naturalistic child performances. Choi Soo-in is incredible as the ostracised Sun, whose new holiday playmate (Seol Hey-in) then has her own loyalties tested when school reconvenes for a new term.
20. The Wailing (dir. Na Hong-jin, 2016)
Na followed The Chaser and The Yellow Sea with this deeply unsettling horror movie about a small country town ravaged by a mysterious illness. Kwak Do-won plays a local cop out of his depth amid a paranoid, xenophobic community convinced that foreigners and supernatural forces are to blame.
21. Train to Busan (dir. Yeon Sang-ho, 2016)
Yeon’s box office juggernaut remains the most successful Asian movie ever in Hong Kong, blending social criticism with all-out zombie action to blistering effect, as a cross-section of Korean society, including Gong Yoo and Ma Dong-seok, is trapped on board a speeding train with a rabble of ravenous undead.22. The Truth Beneath (dir. Lee Kyoung-mi, 2016)
When presidential candidate Kim Joo-hyuk’s daughter is kidnapped, he opts to keep campaigning, bury the incident, and leave his wife (Son Ye-jin) to track down those responsible. Balancing political satire with noir-infused tension, and an abundance of shocking twists, Lee’s second feature remains criminally under seen.
23. A Taxi Driver (dir. Jang Hoon, 2017)
The tumultuous events of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980 are vividly recreated in this stirring real-life drama. Indomitable everyman Song Kang-ho plays a Seoul cabbie, hired to chauffeur Thomas Kretschmann across the country, unaware his fare is a German reporter tasked with exposing the student massacre to the world.
24. House of Hummingbird (dir. Kim Bora, 2018)
Kim’s extraordinary debut follows a lonely 14-year-old middle-schooler (Park Ji-hoo), as she deals with an emotionally rocky home life, uncertain sexual identity, and tragic national disasters. Kim Sae-byuk is the teacher who offers her a glimmer of hope, but Kim’s film offers no simple solutions.
25. Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho, 2019)
Bong is responsible for many of the best Korean films of the past 20 years, but his visually inventive, scabrously satirical tale of an underclass family infiltrating the palatial home of their affluent employers accommodates all his favourite themes under one roof perfectly. As one character memorably declares, “It’s so metaphorical”. It’s also fantastic.
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