Have You Missed the Best Korean Films of the Last Decade?
If you've never seen a Korean feature, our Top 5 Korean Movies are the perfect place to start.
good.film
a month ago
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Okay, time out on the matcha latte. It's Hangeul Day this week, a national holiday in South Korea that traditionally gets celebrated with a whole bunch of festivals and cultural events - including our favourite, going to the movies! (don't forget the Tteokbokki: spicy rice cakes are a Korean movie theatre staple).
It got us pondering about the truly incredible Korean films that have been embraced by Western culture over the last few years, so we put together a little taster menu of Unforgettable Korean Films that Broke Through (and one upcoming one that we think will, too). If you've never seen a Korean feature, it's not too late to change that - and the movies below are the perfect place to start. Add a few to your watchlist today and Jeulgida (enjoy) on your next movie night!
Parasite
Where else could we begin? Bong Joon Ho's thrilling 2019 social satire is an absolute banger. Seemingly a study of rich vs. poor at first glance, the film unpacks like a glorious puzzle over a tight two hours in ways that are both immensely satisfying and completely unexpected. Packed with delicious performances, every single angle and beat of Parasite is damn near perfect - and it's totally a parable for our socially-climbing times. No wonder it became the first film in more than 6 decades to win the coveted Palme d'Or AND the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Loved it? Check out 'Memories of Murder' - Bong Joon Ho's 2003 crime thriller that's still raved as one of the director's very best.
Minari
Okay, we're slightly cheating here, but look past the film's American midwest setting - this is a deeply personal story to writer & director Lee Isaac Chung. The son of Korean immigrants, Chung was raised on a farm in rural Arkansas in the 1980s by parents chasing 'the American dream', and that's exactly the story he tells here. This beautiful, gentle and layered film explores the strangeness of this foreign land through the eyes of seven year old son David, who puzzles out the new emotions and new behaviours (ahem, racism) he encounters as a new American. Minari is tender, funny and achingly personal, and simply oozes quality; Steven Yeun became the first Asian-American to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar as the father figure, Jacob.
Did you know? For writing and directing Minari, Lee Isaac Chung was nominated for over 90 international awards, including a DGA, two BAFTAS and two Academy Awards.
Burning
Another Steven Yeun starrer, this gorgeous romance-mystery from director Lee Chang-dong is definitely a slow burn, excuse the pun. Centred on a boy-boy-girl trio, what starts as tactile and emotional embers soon starts roaring into a layered thriller when one character goes missing. The most common review? 'You won't be able to get it out of your head'. Earning wall-to-wall critical acclaim (including a Top 3 of the year spot from Sight & Sound mag), Burning became the first Korean film ever to make the Best International film Oscar shortlist - paving the way, you could say, for the Academy's loving embrace of Parasite the following year.
Director Lee Chang-dong's #1 fan might just be 'Anora' filmmaker Sean Baker - the 4-time Oscar winner is a huge fan of Lee's work, referring to him as a 'modern master'.
Past Lives
Our second American-Korean hybrid, but we simply had to include Celine Song's achingly beautiful love story because it's TOTALLY ABOUT the confusing identity soup of being Korean, and American, and neither, and both. The crux of the story is Nora (wonderfully played by Greta Lee) whose past life crashes into her present - along with a ferris wheel of emotions - when her first love visits her for the first time in decades... and meets her American husband. As we wrote in our guide to the film, "Past Lives is the kind of subtle romantic drama that speaks volumes without anyone exchanging a word - just a long, loaded glance will do. It’s also absolutely dripping with yearning in a way that 21st century movies rarely make time for anymore."
No Other Choice
We're buzzing for this. Releasing next month in Australia, the new drama from Park Chan-wook (arguably Korea's master of cinema) certainly sounds like it's at the sharp, dark edge of social commentary right now. Squid Game's Lee Byung-hun stars as a white collar manager who spirals after losing his job, then bombing out at a string of interviews in a ruthless and ageist job market. Until he decides to claw back a bit of dignity and take matters into his own hands. Juicy! Could No Other Choice be the spiritual sequel to Parasite? We'll know soon.
Can't wait for this one? Check out the rest of Park Chan-wook's catalogue in the meantime - you can't go wrong with his revered 2016 romantic thriller 'The Handmaiden', his acclaimed 2022 film 'Decision to Leave', or his groundbreaking revenge tale from way back in 2003, 'Oldboy'.
