10 Must Watch Korean Movies For You If You Like 'Parasite' | Eager Lad
When Parasite took home the Academy Award for the Best Film in 2020 it was a watershed moment in the world of cinema, for it was the first non-English-language film to take Hollywood's top prize! This led to a path-breaking interest amongst cinephiles around the globe in a totally different (sometimes quite dark!) but very raw and cinematic movie industry that is the Korean cinema! To cater to this newly developed demand amongst movie lovers we have decided to compile a list of ten Korean movies you just cannot miss out on!
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| Image Via Academy Awards |
1.Burning(2018)
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| Image Via Pine House Films |
Burning's amazing visuals and exhilarating cinematography are reasons enough to watch this Lee Chang-dong flick if truth be told!
2.Oldboy(2003)
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| Image Via Egg Films |
This dark and visceral vengeance film from Park Chan-wook — one of Korea's most highly acclaimed directors — follows a man who sets out on a revenge mission after being imprisoned for 15 years for no apparent reason. Oldboy went on to become one of the most popular Korean films ever even inspiring many adaptations including the Bollywood flick Zinda!
3.I Saw The Devil(2010)
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| Image Via Softbank Ventures |
You can't fully appreciate Korean cinema unless you've seen their truly fantastic horror films, especially this highly adrenaline-inducing and shockingly violent horror-thriller from 2010, which follows a secret agent who sets out to find a psychopathic serial killer after his wife is brutally murdered. You won't want to watch this late at night!
4.Memories Of Murder(2003)
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| Image Via CJ Entertainment |
Another cult classic, this film sees Detective Park (played by Parasite's Song Kang-ho) and Detective Seo attempt to track down the rapist and murderer of multiple women by an unknown perpetrator in a small Korean province in 1986. This gripping, frustrating, and at times satirical film blends the crime genre with desperation and dark comedy.
5.The Wailing(2016)
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| Image Via Everett/Rex/Shutterstock |
The Wailing, a Korean horror film that will not disappoint, follows the outbreak of a mysterious infection following the arrival of a foreigner in Gokseong, a small village in the South Korean mountains. As a series of strange illnesses and murders unfold, a police officer becomes involved in the investigation in a desperate attempt to save his daughter from a similar fate.
Unsettling and entertaining in equal measure, this one is one of our personal favourites!
6.Memoir of a Murderer(2017)
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| Image Via CJ Entertainment |
Byung Soo, a former serial killer, is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The doctor tells him it's because of the effects of a traffic accident 17 years ago, the same accident that stopped him from killing and allowed him to live a normal life with his beloved daughter. So, when a series of murders occur near his hometown, Byung Soo wonders if the killings are the result of his memory lapses!
The landscaping in Memoir of a Murderer is another feather in the cap of the talented Korean cinematographers who definitely know how to hold a camera!
7.The Chaser(2008)
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| Image Via Big House |
After one of his girls goes missing, a disgraced police detective-turned-pimp becomes involved in a breathless race against time to catch a psychopathic serial killer. He has only twelve hours to find evidence against the murderer before the bureaucratic Seoul police department forces him to be released to continue his reign of terror.
8.The Handmaiden(2016)
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| Image Via CJ Entertainment |
This erotic psychological thriller film inspired by Sarah Waters' 2002 novel Fingersmith is another masterwork from director Park Chan-wook. The film is set in 1930s colonial Korea and Japan and follows the fascinating story of a Japanese heiress and her Korean handmaiden — who is actually involved in an elaborate plot with a con-man to seduce the wealthy woman from her inheritance.
9.Mother(2009)
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| Image Via CJ Entertainment |
Mother is a fascinating and riveting thriller film about a mother who, after her intellectually disabled son is accused of murder, attempts to track down the real killer in order to clear her son's name.
10.Minari(2020)
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| Image Via Plan B |
Based on Lee Isaac Chung's childhood, the movie tells the story of a Korean-American family who moves to an Arkansas farm in search of the elusive American dream. With the arrival of their, at times vulgar, Grandmother Soon-ja, things take a turn for the worse, but can she help the Yi family find their feet in the world?
Moving away from the clichéd thriller genre of the above-mentioned films, Minari is a breath of fresh air. It thoughtfully and delicately delves into the importance of resilience, heritage and family bonds.
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