Favorite South Korean Films
by sitenoise | created - 09 Apr 2011 | updated - 07 Jul 2018 | PublicJust faves here. For a list of ALL the South Korean films I've seen and rated:
[link]http://sitenoise.com/film/korean/[/link]
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1. M (I) (2007)
110 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A young writer can't write a word for his next novel, he also doesn't feel right with his fiancée; because he falls in love with a woman, but he can't remember who she is and can't figure out if she's real or just a dream.
Director: Lee Myung-se | Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Yeon-hee, Kong Hyo-jin, Jeong In-gi
Votes: 500
An audio/visual tour de force. And it's a simple story: A man in search of his muse. This would be my #1 here if it had a poster. It got a poster!
2. The Isle (2000)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Thriller
Working at a fishing resort in an idyllic location, but surrounded by various facets of human unpleasantness, a young mute woman falls in love with a man on the run from the law for committing murder.
Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Jung Suh, Kim Yu-seok, Cho Jae-hyun, Jang Hang-seon
Votes: 14,714 | Gross: $0.02M
Gorgeous and painful
3. One Fine Spring Day (2001)
106 min | Drama, Romance
A sound engineer falls in love with a radio show host after they work together on a project capturing natural sounds.
Director: Hur Jin-ho | Stars: Lee Yeong-ae, Yoo Ji-tae, Sang-hui Baek, Park In-hwan
Votes: 1,839
Never seen a film explore the inexplicable and random ways a relationship can fall apart better than this one. It's painful.
4. Cafe Noir (2009)
197 min | Drama, Romance
The story begins with a man left by his girlfriend on Christmas Eve and unfolds across the city of Seoul.
Director: Sung-il Jung | Stars: Shin Ha-kyun, Jung In-sun, Moon Jeong-Hee, Yu-Mi Jung
Votes: 238
Cafe Noir is pretentious. Cafe Noir is gorgeous. It’s a linear quilt of set pieces and cinematic indulgences. It’s grandiose and overwhelming. It’s punishingly thick and multi-layered. It’s over three hours long and languidly paced. Characters in the film don’t talk to one another the way normal people do, they deliver lines. Cafe Noir is the most amazing film experience I’ve had in years.
5. Kwihyang (2009)
122 min | Drama, Fantasy
Thirty-year old Australian adoptee Seong-chan returns to Korea in search of his biological mother.
Directors: Sun-Kyeong Ahn, Sun-Kyong An | Stars: Zia ., Wu-jae Jang, Park Ji-ah, Park Ji-yeon
Votes: 77
I wish more people would get the chance to see this film but it's probably not going to happen.
6. Yeoja, Jeong-hye (2004)
99 min | Drama
This film is a restrained, yet thoroughly engaging, study of a female post office worker's emotional life.
Director: Yoon-ki Lee | Stars: Kim Ji-Soo, Hwang Jung-min, Kim Kkobbi, Kim Mi-seong
Votes: 601
One of the best character studies I've ever seen.
7. More Than Blue (2009)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Romance
"K" loves Cream but has terminal cancer so he keeps his love for her secret and tries to find a mate for her before he dies so she will not be alone after he dies.
Director: Won Tae-yeon | Stars: Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Bo-young, Lee Beom-su, Jeong Ae-yeon
Votes: 2,800
A weeper extraordinaire.
8. Joint Security Area (2000)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
After a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Lee Yeong-ae, Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho, Kim Tae-woo
Votes: 34,191
Great idea, great script, great direction; 10 for being a good film about male bonding; 10 more for the political content, and for the boundaries and taboos it broke with regards to historical Korean film; 10 more for the way the story is told. It unfolds like a classic who-dunnit. I paced around after seeing this film wondering how it could be so good. My favorite Park film, hands down.
9. Mother (2009)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Yun Je-mun
Votes: 71,619 | Gross: $0.55M
Proves BONG Joon-ho is a master.
10. Oasis (2002)
133 min | Drama, Romance
An irresponsible and childish ex-con befriends a girl with cerebral palsy and develops a progressively stronger bond with her.
Director: Lee Chang-dong | Stars: Sol Kyung-gu, Moon So-ri, Ahn Nae-sang, Ryu Seung-wan
Votes: 10,394
An almost unbelievable film. One of the more peculiar love stories I've ever seen.
11. Secret Sunshine (2007)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama
A woman moves to the town where her dead husband was born. As she tries to fit in, another tragic event overturns her life.
Director: Lee Chang-dong | Stars: Jeon Do-yeon, Song Kang-ho, Lee Dong-yong, Lee Hee-joon
Votes: 9,568
The scene where Do-yeon Jeon goes to the prison to forgive the man who committed the most heinous of crimes against her is one of the strongest and smartest statements on religious belief I've seen. One of the best explorations of faith and the religious experience put to film.
12. Love Phobia (2006)
117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A boy falls for a mysterious girl who keeps disappearing.
Director: Ji-eun Kang | Stars: Cho Seung-woo, Kang Hye-jeong, Ju-yeon Byeon, Jung Jin-young
Votes: 907
Cried buckets at the end.
13. Samaritan Girl (2004)
R | 97 min | Drama
Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money and making sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young... See full summary »
Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Lee Eol, Kwak Ji-min, Han Yeo-reum, Hyun-min Kwon
Votes: 14,076
About a girl whose father discovers she is prostituting herself ... OR ... about a guy who discovers his daughter is prostituting herself. Either way, might not sound interesting. However, this is a very touching film ... from one of my favorite directors. The road trip and the whole car thing. "Learning to drive", "Spinning your wheels", Come on! Incredible! And to those who feel the film starts out like an after-school special, yep, that's the point. The scene where the daughter is learning to drive is brilliant.
14. A Moment to Remember (2004)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama, Romance
A young couple's enduring love is tested when 27-year-old Su-jin is diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.
Directors: Park Kyung-Jin, John H. Lee, Kim Tae-Won | Stars: Jung Woo-sung, Son Ye-jin, Jong-hak Baek, Lee Seon-jin
Votes: 25,558
The gold standard for Korean melodramas.
15. Season of Good Rain (2009)
100 min | Drama, Romance
A traveling architect meets an old friend from his student years; the pair realize their connection has always been a romantic one.
Director: Hur Jin-ho | Stars: Jung Woo-sung, Yuanyuan Gao, Shaohua Ma, Kim Sang-ho
Votes: 857
Eye candy and heart wrenching. HUR Jin-ho is such a good film maker.
16. Memento Mori (1999)
R | 97 min | Horror, Romance, Drama
In this second installment of the Whispering Corridors series, a young girl finds a strange diary, capable of arousing hallucinations, kept by two of her senior fellow-students who seem to have an unusually close bond.
Directors: Kyu-dong Min, Kim Tae-yong | Stars: Kim Gyu-ri, Park Yejin, Lee Yeong-jin, Jong-hak Baek
Votes: 3,607
My favorite of the Whispering Corridors series.
17. The World of Silence (2006)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Jung-Ho a famous photographer who has a special ability to read people's minds, has just returned to Korea from abroad. Jung-Ho still can't get rid of traumatic memories of his late ... See full summary »
Director: Ui-seok Jo | Stars: Kim Sang-kyung, Park Yong-woo, Han Bo-bae, Song Boo-gun
Votes: 646
A masterfully done film.
18. Spider Forest (2004)
R | 112 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A recently widowed TV producer is drawn to an isolated cabin in a mysterious woods.
Director: Song Il-gon | Stars: Kam Woo-seong, Jung Suh, Kang Kyung-hun, Jang Hyun-sung
Votes: 2,257
One of the more complicated Horror-ish films out there, but totally worth it.
19. Architecture 101 (2012)
G | 118 min | Drama, Romance
A 20-year-old architecture student, falls in love with a music student. However, he fails to confess his feelings to her, and they grow apart. 15 years later, she reappears before him and asks him to design her house.
Director: Lee Yong-ju | Stars: Uhm Tae-woong, Han Ga-in, Lee Jehoon, Bae Suzy
Votes: 4,101
20. Memories of Murder (2003)
Not Rated | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roe-ha, Song Jae-ho
Votes: 216,202 | Gross: $0.01M
21. The Chaser (2008)
Not Rated | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
Director: Na Hong-jin | Stars: Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Yeong-hie, Kim Yoo-jung
Votes: 72,745
So Korean
22. I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006)
Not Rated | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A girl who thinks she is a combat cyborg checks into a mental hospital, where she encounters other psychotics. Eventually, she falls for a man who thinks he can steal people's souls.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Lim Soo-jung, Rain, Park Byeong-eun, Kim Byeong-Ok
Votes: 25,889
2nd favorite Park film.
23. Re-encounter (2010)
108 min | Drama
A coming of age story about two young people who fall in love but lose contact when the girl becomes pregnant and the boy leaves her to go to Canada.
Director: Yong-geun Min | Stars: Yoo Da-in, Yoo Yeon-Seok, Kil Hae-yeon, Park Hyuk-kwon
Votes: 116
24. Possessed (2009)
106 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
After Hee-jin's younger sister So-jin, who is possessed by a spirit,disappears,the neighbors die one by one and a secret underlying their deaths is revealed.
Director: Lee Yong-ju | Stars: Kim Bo-yeon, Sin Eun-jeong, Shim Eun-kyung, Shin Eun-kyung
Votes: 1,091
Asian Horror version 2.0
25. Wanee & Junah (2001)
115 min | Drama, Romance
Wanee, a young animator, and Junah, a scriptwriter, are lovers leading a peaceful life together. And one day, an old friend of Wanee's pays her a visit and unearths Wanee's hidden memories of her first love, her stepbrother.
Director: Yong-gyun Kim | Stars: Kim Hee-seon, Ju Jin-mo, Cho Seung-woo, Choi Kang-hee
Votes: 437
Delicate and edgy.
26. A Petal (1996)
101 min | Drama, History
A young girl is caught up in the 1980 Gwangju massacre, where Korean soldiers killed hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters who opposed the country's takeover by the military the year ... See full summary »
Director: Jang Sun-woo | Stars: Lee Jung-hyun, Moon Sung-Keun, Yeong-ran Lee, Choo Sang-mi
Votes: 481
Oh man.
27. Sil jong (2009)
99 min | Thriller
(Korean with English subtitles) Inspired by the real story of a Korean serial killer, Missing is one woman's intense journey into the dark den of depravity. Hyeon-jeong ventures to a small ... See full summary »
Director: Sung-Hong Kim | Stars: Heo Gi-ho, Min-hee Ha, Eun-jeong Hwang, Chu Ja-hyeon
Votes: 948
"... all the ingredients of a Friday the 13th ..."
Cine-Asia used a blurb from my review (slightly out of context) on their DVD release of this film. My brush with fame.
[link]http://tinyurl.com/cfsaefz[/link] link to Amazon showing the cover.
28. Closer to Heaven (2009)
121 min | Drama, Romance
A funeral director meets a man who has been battling Lou Gehrig's disease since he was young. The two fall in love and hope for a cure that can keep him alive.
Director: Park Jin-Pyo | Stars: Ha Ji-Won, Kim Myung-min, Nam Neung-mi, Ha-ryong Lim
Votes: 408
Quite the touching melodrama with just the right amount of restraint given the nature of the story. Ha Ji-won is as lovely as ever but Kim Myeong-min hits one out of the park as a guy suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. Amazing performance.
29. Misseu Hongdangmu (2008)
101 min | Comedy
An awkward and unpopular high school teacher tries to stop two of her colleagues from falling in love.
Director: Lee Kyoung-mi | Stars: Kong Hyo-jin, Pang Eun-jin, Choi Hee-jin, Lee Jong-hyuk
Votes: 645
Very smart, very funny.
30. Address Unknown (2001)
R | 117 min | Drama, War
Romances end in blood and the frail hopes of individuals are torn apart in a vile karmic continuity of colonialism, civil war and occupation. After surviving Japanese colonization, Korea ... See full summary »
Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Yang Dong-kun, Min-jung Ban, Kim Young-min, Pang Eun-jin
Votes: 3,882
Pain. From every angle.
31. 3-Iron (2004)
R | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days.
Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Lee Seung-yun, Jae Hee, Hyuk-ho Kwon, Joo Jin-mo
Votes: 58,253 | Gross: $0.24M
32. A Good Lawyer's Wife (2003)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama, Romance
Bored, horny, and frustrated, a woman begins an affair with a teenage boy.
Director: Im Sang-soo | Stars: Moon So-ri, Hwang Jung-min, Youn Yuh-jung, In-mun Kim
Votes: 1,826
33. Come Rain, Come Shine (2011)
105 min | Drama
On a rainy day a woman and her husband are at home. The woman is packing to leave the man. She is unable to go due to the weather. They stay together in a quiet tension as a storm rages outside.
Director: Yoon-ki Lee | Stars: Hyun Bin, Lim Soo-jung, Kim Ji-Soo, Kim Jung-ki
Votes: 663
One of very few 2011 films I've liked.
34. Happiness (2007)
124 min | Drama, Romance
A love story about two people who meet while battling serious illnesses.
Director: Hur Jin-ho | Stars: Kong Hyo-jin, Park In-hwan, Hwang Jung-min, Kim Ki-chun
Votes: 688
I really only liked this because Lim Su-jeong is adorable beyond belief.
35. Happy End (1999)
Not Rated | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
When a wife becomes the breadwinner of her family after her husband loses his job, adultery becomes part of her life.
Director: Jung Ji-woo | Stars: Choi Min-sik, Jeon Do-yeon, Ju Jin-mo, Mi-seon Hwang
Votes: 2,118
Great gender reversal sexy sad film. Jeon Do-yeon fans, don't miss this one.
36. Ddeu-geo-woon-geot-e-jo-a (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy
A screenwriter dreams of success and has a boyfriend who is a member of an unsuccessful rock band. Her sister, an interior designer, meets an actor she falls for. Her niece is trying to ... See full summary »
Director: Chil-in Kwon | Stars: Lee Mi-sook, Kim Min-hee, Sohee, Jo Eun-ji
Votes: 272
A surprisingly funny and intelligent "chick-flick". Kim Min-hie plays drunk way better than that Sassy Girl.
37. La Belle (2000)
93 min | Drama
On one gloomy rainy night, a writer encounters an unexpected visit paid by a woman of his past. Seeking solitude from her ex-lover, she finds solace in this gentleman; and from that day on,... See full summary »
Director: Kyun-dong Yeo | Stars: Oh Ji-ho, Lee Ji-hyun
Votes: 441
Very sexy arthouse softcore ... because it's not a happy film.
38. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-kyun, Bae Doona, Lim Ji-eun
Votes: 75,119 | Gross: $0.05M
My favorite of the Trilogy.
39. Viewfinder (2009)
95 min | Drama
This film captures people looking for something in various frames; a woman searching for her missing sister, a wandering animator, and people at a highway stop. That is not the only ... See full summary »
Director: Jeong Kim | Stars: Hui-jin Choe, Yang Eun-yong, Choi Hee-jin, Tae-hun Kim
Votes: 74
A fairly odd film, but just the right amount of pathos to engage.
40. Woman on the Beach (2006)
R | 127 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A movie director entices his young friend to come to the beach on the pretext of writing a script. He then starts an affair with the friend's girlfriend.
Director: Hong Sang-soo | Stars: Kim Seung-woo, Go Hyun-jung, Song Seon-mi, Kim Tae-woo
Votes: 1,413 | Gross: $0.01M
The only HONG Sang-soo film I like.
41. Midnight FM (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Sun-young, a popular radio host, decides to quit her job to take care of her ill-daughter. But, the last day of her job turns nightmarish when a murderer takes her family hostage.
Director: Sang Man Kim | Stars: Soo Ae, Yoo Ji-tae, Ma Dong-seok, Joon-Ha Lee
Votes: 2,902
Nice ride.
42. Sunny (2011)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama
Seven girls become good friends in high school, then events pull them apart for 25 years. When one of the friends lies dying in a hospital, she wishes to see each of them one last time.
Director: Kang Hyeong-cheol | Stars: Yoo Ho-jeong, Shim Eun-kyung, Jin Hee-kyung, Kim Min-yeong
Votes: 6,554
43. Elbowroom (2010)
Stories takes place in disable people. The story starts when one of the disable persons starts an affair. She end up pregnant as a result of the affair. It portrays how the disable girl ... See full summary »
Director: Kyoung-Rock Ham | Stars: Lee Ho-Cheol, Seok-yeon Hong, Ji-Won Park, Yeon-Sook Shin
Votes: 31
44. Ahobsal insaeng (2004)
105 min | Drama
A life of nine year old... It ain't an easy life! Yeo-min is a matured and thoughtful 9 year old boy who lives in a small mountain village. Even at his young age, he has too many things to ... See full summary »
Director: In-ho Yun | Stars: Seok Kim, Lee Se-yeong, Myeong-jae Kim, Ah-hyeon Na
Votes: 439
45. The Man from Nowhere (2010)
R | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.
Director: Lee Jeong-beom | Stars: Won Bin, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Tae-hoon, Kim Hee-won
Votes: 74,830 | Gross: $0.01M
46. An Ethics Lesson (2013)
110 min | Drama, Thriller
A bad guy, a cruel guy, a lame guy, a cowardly guy and the meanest woman gets involved in a beautiful university student's murder case.
Director: Myung-rang Park | Stars: Kwak Do-won, Kim Jae-yeong, Lee Jehoon, Cho Jin-woong
Votes: 237
47. Thread of Lies (2014)
117 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Cheon-ji's unexpected suicide causes her mother Hyeon-sook and older sister Man-ji to be moved into another apartment. Tracking down clues from school, Man-ji discovers that Cheon-ji's best friend Hwa-yeon is behind everything.
Director: Lee Han | Stars: Kim Hee-ae, Ko Ah-sung, Kim Hyang-gi, Kim Yoo-jung
Votes: 873
48. My Ordinary Love Story (2014)
Not Rated | 93 min | Mystery, Romance
Eun Jin has been unlucky in her six relationships. With her seventh man she is determined to make it work, even if he is a bit awkward and unromantic. But is he hiding something?
Director: Kwon Lee | Stars: Hyun Jun Kim, Jo Kyeong-sook, Greena Park, Song Sae-byeok
Votes: 158
49. Revivre (2014)
89 min | Drama
A middle-aged man who has recently lost his wife to cancer indulges in fantasies about a young woman at his work.
Director: Im Kwon-taek | Stars: Kim Gyu-ri, Kim Ho-jung, Park Jeong-sik, Ahn Sung-ki
Votes: 212
50. The Yellow Sea (2010)
R | 136 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When the attempt to kill a professor goes wrong, a series of violent events are triggered which force a taxi driver to run for his life.
Director: Na Hong-jin | Stars: Lee Yoo-mi, Ha Jung-woo, Lee Hee-joon, Kim Yoon-seok
Votes: 22,953
51. Loveholic (2009)
110 min | Drama
Film examines the matters of labor and love. A couple stuck in a boring marriage both fall into affairs with the wife's girlfriend and the husband's colleague.
Director: Chil-in Kwon | Stars: Chu Ja-hyeon, Han Soo-yeon, Chan Jung, Kim Heung-soo
Votes: 97
52. Late Autumn (2010)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama, Romance
An adulterous wife, in prison for killing her husband, learns her mother has passed away in Seattle. Officials grant her a 3-day furlough to attend her funeral, when on the bus she meets a man who doesn't have enough money to for his fare.
Director: Kim Tae-yong | Stars: Tang Wei, Hyun Bin, James C. Burns, Jun Kim
Votes: 2,195
53. A Quiet Dream (2016)
101 min | Drama, Family
This is a story about a girl which three insignificant men care deeply about. The men look up to the girl considering her to be an idol of their own. But one day, a new guy appears in her life.
Director: Lu Zhang | Stars: Han Yeri, Yang Ik-joon, Park Jung-bum, Yoon Jong-bin
Votes: 298
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