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Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions. Love Squid Game and Parasite? If you were lucky enough to grow up pre-Y2K, you would have likely known little about Korea beyond the conflict in the back pages of your school history book.
But that all changed when, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, the country doubled down on funding exportable pop culture in an attempt to rebrand the country on the world stage. The gambit, part designed to attract big business and tourism, was a wild success β and now we have K-Pop, K-dramas and kimchi pouring out of our ears. And for good reason: South Korea is a goldmine of original ideas and storytelling talents who show no signs of taking their feet off the gas as the industry thrives.
So why not huff on the metaphorical fumes? Our list of the best Korean movies of all time billows below. Been there, done that? Think again, my friend. Director : Kim Ki-young. The housemaid, played with a mix of coolness and heat by Lee Eun-shim, is the agent of chaos in his take on the tale: an intoxicating watch that tackles class, sexual allure and family dynamics in a way that will be very familiar to Parasite fans. Director: Na Hong-jin A masterpiece of atmospheric horror, The Wailing is long, intense and ambitious, but it never feels like a slog.
It also borrows elements from across the landscape of horror - from zombies to demons to creepy kids - but never turns into a messy patchwork. The story, centering on a police officer racing to save a village from a mysterious virus before it can claim his daughter, unfolds gradually enough that it all seems natural, allowing the sense of dread to envelop you like a fog. Director : Bong Joon-ho. A landmark in world cinema, Parasite is the highest-grossing Korean movie in several countries, the first non-English production to win a Best Picture Oscar and universally regarded as one of the best films of the 21st century.
