I give a lot of unnecessary advice to people in the form of movie recommendations. Such was the case with the movie ‘Parasite’. My advice was rebuffed, and no amount of poking made them sit and watch this movie ( Thanks to the people who did ). When it finally won the Oscars, the same people who once ignored my recommendation, jumped on the hype train. ‘Parasite‘ was the first non-English film that won the Best Picture at 92nd Academy Awards. An international audience is now set, and I’m confident about the quality that will be delivered by Korean films in the future. Although, the Korean wave started long before this. In 1999, a South Korean film named ‘Shiri‘ broke the box office record of ‘Titanic’ in terms of the number of people who watched it in cinemas. An even crazy story is about a South Korean director named Shin Sang-Ok ( far from OK if you read the story ) who was abducted and taken to North Korea to make movies that glorify their country and their dictator. Also, Kpop and Kdramas have been doing really well and have managed to acquire fans all over the world.

Now that it’s established that I have recommended movies that later win Oscars and whatnot, let me recommend some more. These movies are of the genre that I like and I’m yet to explore more. If you guys have seen any solid Korean movies, feel free to drop them in the comment section below.

• The Call ( 2020 )

2020 has been a year of work from home, and we all have been acting genuine, caring, not sleepy on calls and meetings since. Nothing comes close to the Acting done in this call. One phone call connects two people who are living 20 years apart. The cast is superb and the plot is so intricate that you may want to read the explanations later. You can watch this on Netflix.
IMDb: 7.1/10

• Forgotten

This movie goes places that you would never even imagine. It feels like a completely different movie once the plot opens up. It has a lot of scenes that may feel unnecessary once you have watched the whole movie but the cinematography is so good that I ended up wanting more of them. It’s a story about a 20 something guy who tries to solve the mystery behind his brother’s abduction. Do not FORGET to watch this one. You can watch this on Netflix.
IMDb: 7.4/10

• The Wailing

I have never been to South Korea and I am certainly hesitant to after watching this film. It is not a typical horror movie. No jump-scares, just an intense atmosphere with a good plot. It’s a long movie but it’s a must-watch, especially for horror fans. The plot follows a quirky local policeman of a little village who gets drawn into the mystery of murders and myths. You can watch this on Amazon Prime Video.
IMDb: 7.5/10

• OldBoy

This is an old movie from 2003. It was originally a Japanese manga ( check out my blog about the manga industry ) which was officially made into this South-Korean Neo-noir film. There was an unofficial remake in Bollywood called “Zinda” ( why o why ) and also an American remake of the same name. This movie is dark and violent so it may not be for everybody. The plot twist in this movie is one of the best out there. The story follows a man who was captured and kept in confinement for 15 years. Once released, he tries to find his captor. This movie is also famous for its no-cut long fighting sequence.
IMDb: 8.4/10

• Minari

This is different from all the above-mentioned movies. The reason I put this at the end is that I wanted you guys to remember and watch this one at least. This is the most beautiful film of this year and it deserves every nomination it has got. It is a story about South Korean immigrants who try to settle and run a farm in native America. Steven Yeun is the first Asian-American who got nominated for the best actor category at the Oscars for his role in Minari. This is even more of a big deal because of the racism that Asian-Americans face in the US. This movie has already exploded in popularity and hopefully, you guys can watch and appreciate it before the hype that follows the Oscars.

Needless to say all of these flicks deserve any kind of hype that they are given. Go ahead and watch it.

Bonus:
If you have watched these then here are some bonus movies that are equally good
1. Memories of Murder
2. Tales of Two Sister
3. Peppermint Candy
4. The Handmaiden

Image Sources:

https://www.hancinema.net/photo-launch-poster-released-for-the-upcoming-korean-movie-call-138182.html?utm_source=sendpulse&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=12472274&pshmky=1

https://hellhorror.com/movies/poster/Forgotten-poster-4986.html

https://hellhorror.com/movies/poster/The-Wailing-poster-1475.html

Oldboy (2003) [7201028] by Matthew Woodson via Pinterest

https://a24films.com/films/minari