South Korean Classics
This list originates from the website 'Taste of Cinema'.
List activity
278 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
25 titles
- DirectorYoung Nam KoStarsYeong-su LeeYun-suk JoShin-jae KimCountry boy Suk-ie learns the meaning of love and loss when he meets city girl Yeon-ie.
- DirectorLee Doo-yongStarsLee Mi-sookDae-kun LeeMu-jeong LeeSam-po is a gambler living without concern for how his wife will manage their houselhold without his earning money. In order to get food and provisions, his wife An-hyeob, sleeps with various merchants in the village. One of the few men she does not sleep with, a lustful servant named Sam-dol, decides to reveal her activities to her husband for revenge.
- DirectorKim Soo-yongStarsJeong-hie YuShin Seong-ilIl-woong LeeA couple who work together live in secrecy that they are planning to marry. Pak is more of a traditionalist and so Lee wanders the streets in frustration, until she looses everything. On the day scheduled for the wedding they take the train to Pak's hometown. Will her experiences on the street keep Lee in line, or will she shun a future with such a dull husband?
- DirectorKim Soo-yongStarsYun Jeong-hieDae-kun LeeYeong-ha LeeThis film captures the nightmarish anxieties of life as a modern woman, where not even social stature can stave off festering hostility or fear of reprisal, and "civilized society" is but an illusion.
- DirectorKim Ki-youngStarsHwa-shi LeeJeong-cheol KimYun-seok ChoiAn investor planning on developing a tourist resort begins an investigation into the legends of the mysterious Io Island in the hope of exploiting its unspoiled beauty.
- DirectorLee Jang-hoStarsKim Myung-gonLee Bo-heeSok-Yang ChooA young man travels to various regions of South Korea to scatter the ashes of his dead wife.
- DirectorWon-se LeeStarsYeong-ja JeonAhn Sung-kiChu-ryeon KimA dwarf and his poor, but loving, family who are forced out of their house by a real estate agent.
- DirectorKim Ki-youngStarsJeon Moo-songYeong-hie NaJi-mee KimThis is a remake of the classic "The Housemaid" (aka Hayo). This time it takes place on a chicken farm run by the wife. This gives a new animal horror to add to Kim's trademark rats (see The Insect Woman). Kim also gives the philandering husband a clock fetish. Before he has sex with the maid for the first time, he winds up a wall of clocks. These chime the hour in a cacophonous crescendo that matches the pace of their sexual passion. As in the first movie, most of the characters are murdered or commit suicide, including the children.
- DirectorIm Kwon-taekStarsPark Sang-minShin Hyeon-junIl-jae LeeThe first chapter of the the General's Son trilogy follows Kim Du-Han's childhood, from the loss of his mother at age 8, to his rise as a gang leader who protects local vendors from expanding Yakuza forces in Japanese occupied Korea.
- DirectorPark Kwang-suStarsBae Jong-okPark Joong-hoonKang Shin-ilA painter quits his job and looks to an old acquaintance for work and a place to stay.
- DirectorIm Kwon-taekStarsKim Myung-gonJung-hae OhKim Kyu-chulDespite its falling popularity, a father teaches his two children the Korean musical tradition of Pansori (one singer accompanied by one drummer).
- DirectorHa Gil-jongStarsJi-hie ChoiWon NamkungA wealthy businessman brings his handsome male secretary/secret lover to his home, who leads the family into a maelstrom of jealousy and desire.
- DirectorKim Ki-youngStarsKim Jin-kyuJeung-nyeo JuEun-shim LeeA composer and his wife are thrown into turmoil when a housemaid becomes more than they bargained for.
- DirectorYu Hyun-mokStarsMu-ryong ChoiKim Jin-kyuJeong-suk MoonA pressured accountant, his war veteran brother and their dysfunctional family struggle with integrating into post-War Korean society.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn 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.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsSol Kyung-guKim Yeo-jinMoon So-riFollowing a man's suicide, time traverses back to reveal six chapters of his life on why he committed suicide.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsLee Seung-yunJae HeeHyuk-ho KwonA transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days.
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsJeong Jae-yeongKim Min-heeYoun Yuh-jungA married film director falls for a young painter - twice.
- DirectorLee Joon-ikStarsLee ReSol Kyung-guUhm Ji-wonStory of an 8-year-old girl who faces a horrible rape that damages her internally and affects her emotionally, trying to overcome all the obstacles following the incident with the good support of those around her.
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsJong-hak BaekOh Yun-hongKim Yu-seokHelmed by one of Korea's leading directors, Hong Sang-soo, Jisook joins two of her girlfriends for a holiday in Korea's Kangwon Province. But in an eerie twist of fate, her former lover, Sangkwon, plans a getaway for the same destination, where tragedy brings them together once again.
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsEun-ju LeeMoon Sung-KeunJeong Bo-seokRelationship filled with pitfalls between a pleasant female video producer and a gallery owner as they become embroiled in their self-spun web of illusions. Bitter-sweet serenade to modern courtship.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsSol Kyung-guMoon So-riAhn Nae-sangAn irresponsible and childish ex-con befriends a girl with cerebral palsy and develops a progressively stronger bond with her.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoLee Sun-kyunCho Yeo-jeongGreed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsYoo Ah-inSteven YeunJeon Jong-seoJong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, who asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met there, who confesses his secret hobby.