Korean

  • Chan-wook Park – Saminjo AKA Threesome (1997)

    Chan-wook Park1991-2000ComedyCrimeSouth Korea
    Saminjo (1997)
    Saminjo (1997)

    Ahn is a suicidal saxophonist, Mun is a violent simpleton with an I.Q. of 80, and Maria is a single mother with dreams of becoming a nun. Ahn has tried numerous times to kill himself but nothing has ever worked. When he witnesses his wife’s infidelity, it is the last straw. He gets a call from Mun, and both decide to take things into their own hands by robbing a café at gunpoint. They run into Maria, who is determined to find her baby who has been taken from her. Maria decides to use the two men to get her baby back and joins the team.Read More »

  • Chan-wook Park – Boksuneun naui geot AKA Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)

    2001-2010Chan-wook ParkCrimeDramaSouth Korea
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)

    Quote:
    As anyone who’s watched “The Way of the Gun” knows, the furthest distance between two points is always between a kidnapper and his money. In “Sympathy for Mr Vengeance”, though, getting the money is easy. It’s staying alive long enough to spend it that’s the problem.

    Taking its cue from the Pang brothers’ similarly excellent “Bangkok Dangerous”, “Sympathy for Mr Vengeance” stars Shin Ha-kyun as Ryu, a deaf and dumb steelworker who kidnaps his boss’ daughter in order to pay for a kidney operation for his beloved sister. Nothing goes according to plan, and what ought to have been easy money soon turns into blood money.Read More »

  • Seon-ho Wu – Si-che-ga Dol-a-wass-da AKA Over My Dead Body (2012)

    2011-2020ComedyCrimeSeon-ho WuSouth Korea
    Si che ga Dol a wass da (2012)
    Si che ga Dol a wass da (2012)

    Science researcher Hyeon-cheol demonstrates with co-workers against the company president, who stole an important semiconductor chip and is attempting to flee to the United States. Meanwhile, the company president makes his escape from the protesters in an ambulance. During his escape, the executive cuts a wound in his arm and implants the chip there. While, Hyeon-cheol and co-worker Han Jin-soo head for home, Han Jin-Soo is hit by a speeding car. Hyeon-cheol thinks it isn’t an accident. He contacts Han Jin-Soo’s daughter Dong-Hwa and they meet at the police station. After visiting her father at the hospital, Dong-Hwa becomes worried about how to pay for her father’s hospital bills. On a TV at the hospital, they learn that the company president died from a heart attack. Hyeon-cheol and Dong-Hwa then come up with the idea to steal the body of the company president for ransom. Their plan goes somewhat according to plan, but Hyeon-cheol and Dong-Hwa soon realize that they didn’t steal a corpse, but an actual live person Jin-oh!
    —Stanislav S, Sochi, RussiaRead More »

  • Kwon-taek Im – Jagko AKA Pursuit of Death (1980)

    Kwon-taek Im1971-1980DramaSouth KoreaWar
    Jagko (1980)
    Jagko (1980)

    Quote:
    Two old adversaries meet by chance in a rehab center and realize that the conflict which has dominated their lives since the Korean War has run out of road. Both men are in ruins. One is a former cop, the other a former communist guerrilla; the flashbacks to their sad backstories show Im’s skill in anchoring the currents of modern Korean history in wrenching emotional drama.Read More »

  • Kim In-Shik – Sesangggeutui Sarang AKA Love at the End of the World (2015)

    2011-2020DramaKim In-ShikRomanceSouth Korea
    Sesangggeutui Sarang (2015)
    Sesangggeutui Sarang (2015)

    Tragedy and temptation become tangled in this tale of complicated love. Three years ago, Ja-young tragically lost her beloved husband, leaving Ja to raise a daughter, Yoo-jin. When handsome suitor Dong-ha enters the picture, Ja finds her passions reignited – only to have temptation twisted yet again.
    — IMDbRead More »

  • Myung-se Lee – Gagman (1989)

    Myung-se Lee1981-1990AsianComedySouth Korea
    Gagman (1989)
    Gagman (1989)

    Lee Jong-se is a third-rate comedian who believes himself to be a creative genius. He desires nothing more than to be a movie director. When he befriends barber, Mun Do-seok who has hopes to become an actor, it seems like a match made in heaven and the two set off to make a film.Read More »

  • Yoon Yong-Gyu – Ma-eum-ui gohyang AKA A Hometown in Heart (1949)

    1941-1950DramaSouth KoreaYoon Yong-Gyu
    Ma eum ui gohyang (1949)
    Ma eum ui gohyang (1949)

    “A film that has garnered recognition for its cinematography and direction by eliminating sentimentality and unaffectedly capturing the quiet life of a mountain temple. A Hometown in Heart demonstrates the camera technique and directorial skill of movies that appeared after the liberation of Korea.”
    A Hometown in Heart, adapted from playwright Ham Se-deok’s A Little Monk (Dong-seung), was hailed upon its release as “a masterpiece that marked a new pinnacle in Korean moviemaking after the liberation.” Eschewing new-school sentimentality to quietly express a boy’s longing for maternal love, the film unfolds the everyday lives of three generationsthe head monk, a young monk, and a little child monkagainst the backdrop of a quiet temple in the mountains. Read More »

  • Seok-hoon Lee – Himalaya AKA The Himalayas (2015)

    2011-2020AdventureDramaSeok-hoon LeeSouth Korea
    Himalaya (2015)
    Himalaya (2015)

    Based on true events, renowned mountaineer UM Hong-gil sets out on a mission to Everest to retrieve his late junior climber’s body and faces the greatest challenge of his life.Read More »

  • Man-hui Lee – Sampoganeun kil AKA The Road to Sampo (1975)

    1971-1980ClassicsDramaMan-hui LeeSouth Korea
    Sampoganeun kil (1975)
    Sampoganeun kil (1975)

    Going through a jail and a site of construction, a young laborer Young-Dal meets middle aged Mr. Jeong on his way to his hometown Sampo after ten years’ absence. They become to know a waitress Baek-Hwa who runs away from a restaurant and then, they travel together. Arriving at the destination Kangcheon Station, Mr. Jeong is disappointed at the changes of the old village by building a hotel. Young-Dal and Mr. Jeong stay at Sampo not as the hometown but as the site of living. Baek-Hwa leaves Sampo with a ticket Young-Dal buys her with his last money.Read More »

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