Featuring now-famous action sequences, a controversial octopi scene and plot twists that will inevitably mess with your head, Oldboy is a quintessential Korean movie. The neo-noir action thriller follows main character Oh Dae-su on his revenge mission as he attempts to uncover his detainer's identity, faced with the looming threat that his new love interest will be killed if he does not successfully find his captor within five days. After years of confinement he is abruptly released, with his captor offering no explanation for his imprisonment, nor his subsequent freedom. Based on a Japanese manga of the same title, Oldboy follows the story of a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned in a windowless hotel room for fifteen years. When it comes to Korean movies, Park Chan-wook's Oldboy is an essential watch, being deemed a modern classic by many.
With that in mind, read ELLE's take on some of the best Korean movies. With Western awards shows finally beginning to showcase more international works, Korean movies are increasingly receiving their due recognition on a global stage.Īs Bong Joon-ho said at the 2020 Golden Globes, ‘Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.’
BEST SOUTH KOREAN MOVIES PLUS
In 2021, Korean-American film Minari (2020) has already won awards at the Sundance Film Festival, Golden Globes and BAFTAs, plus its six Oscar nominations ahead of this year’s ceremony.
BEST SOUTH KOREAN MOVIES MOVIE
The movie was the first non-English language film to ever win the award for Best Picture at the Oscars, with these successes marking a major shift in the representation of foreign language films at Western awards shows. Director Joon-ho made history with the film, winning prizes first at the Cannes Film Festival and Golden Globes before receiving awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. Prompting the Western world to wake up to what the Korean film industry has to offer, the movie introduced audiences to film beyond the limits of Hollywood. Then came comedy thriller Parasite in 2019, when Korean cinema received critical acclaim on an international scale never seen before. In 2012, Kim Ki-duk became the first Korean to win the Venice Film Festival for Pietà, while 2018 saw Lee Chang-dong’s Burning win at the Cannes Film Festival. But it was during Korea’s boom period, the Korean New Wave of the 2000s, that directors like Lee Chang-dong and Park Chan-wook began winning major Western awards, with Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy (2003) taking the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It wasn't long until the renaissance drew recognition from abroad, with Kang Soo-yeon winning Best Actress at the 1987 Venice Film festival for The Surrogate Mother.
The Motion Picture Law that had previously limited the number of films permitted to be produced in the region was revised, allowing independent films to be created and making way for a new generation of filmmakers. With Korean filmmakers having been stifled by years of censorship under colonisers and dictatorships, it was only following the Gwangju Uprising in the 1980s that the industry was truly allowed to flourish into the powerhouse that it is today. While the latter may have served as a gateway for international audiences to the wonderfully varied catalogue of South Korean films, Korean cinema has been around for years, having produced countless critically acclaimed films that range from revenge thrillers to poignant dramas. Korean movies have a rich and intricate history, spanning from their inception with The Righteous Revenge (1919) through to 100 years later with the awards season dominating Parasite(2019).