Korean Cinema: The New Masters

The most vital film culture on earth, right now

South Korean cinema has spent thirty years building a body of work that rivals any national cinema in history. These are the films that established the new masters.

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Created: March 6, 2026

The Collection

Oldboy

Oldboy

2003
1
Oldboy
2003
1
Oldboy
IMDb 8.3 / 10
Director Park Chan-wook
Cast Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong
Box Office $2,458,200
Why Park Chan-wook films a fifteen-year prison, then reveals the revenge was already in progress. The f…
Parasite

Parasite

2019
2
Parasite
2019
2
Parasite
IMDb 8.5 / 10
Director Bong Joon Ho
Cast Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong
Box Office $53,847,897
Why Bong Joon-ho films two Seoul families on different floors of the same betrayal. The film is the era…
I Saw the Devil

I Saw the Devil

2010
3
I Saw the Devil
2010
3
I Saw the Devil
IMDb 7.8 / 10
Director Kim Jee-woon
Cast Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan
Box Office $129,210
Why Kim Jee-woon films a South Korean secret agent hunting his fiancée's killer. The film is the genre'…
Memories of Murder

Memories of Murder

2003
4
Memories of Murder
2003
4
Memories of Murder
IMDb 8.1 / 10
Director Bong Joon Ho
Cast Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roe-ha
Box Office $15,357
Why Bong Joon-ho films the South Korean Hwaseong case as the genre's most patient procedural. The film …
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

2002
5
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
2002
5
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
IMDb 7.5 / 10
Director Park Chan-wook
Cast Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-kyun, Bae Doona
Box Office $45,289
Why Park's first Vengeance trilogy film: a deaf factory worker tries to save his sister's kidney. The f…
The Host

The Host

2006
6
The Host
2006
6
The Host
IMDb 7.1 / 10
Director Bong Joon Ho
Cast Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il
Box Office $2,201,923
Why Bong Joon-ho films a monster movie set on Seoul's Han River. The film is the genre's most populist;…
A Tale of Two Sisters

A Tale of Two Sisters

2003
7
A Tale of Two Sisters
2003
7
A Tale of Two Sisters
IMDb 7.1 / 10
Director Kim Jee-woon
Cast Lim Soo-jung, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-su
Box Office $72,541
Why Kim Jee-woon films a girl returning from a mental institution. The film is the genre's most success…
Burning

Burning

2018
8
Burning
2018
8
Burning
IMDb 7.4 / 10
Director Lee Chang-dong
Cast Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jeon Jong-seo
Box Office $718,991
Why Lee Chang-dong films Murakami's adaptation: a frustrated writer, a woman, and a wealthy man. The fi…
The Handmaiden

The Handmaiden

2016
9
The Handmaiden
2016
9
The Handmaiden
IMDb 8.1 / 10
Director Park Chan-wook
Cast Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong
Box Office $2,006,788
Why Park Chan-wook films Sarah Waters' Fingersmith relocated to colonial Korea. The film is the genre's…
Lady Bird

Lady Bird

2017
10
Lady Bird
2017
10
Lady Bird
IMDb 7.4 / 10
Director Greta Gerwig
Cast Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts
Box Office $48,958,273
Why Listed here as comparative coming-of-age — Greta Gerwig's American debut shares the new Korean mast…
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

2003
11
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
2003
11
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
IMDb 8.0 / 10
Director Kim Ki-duk
Cast Kim Ki-duk, Oh Yeong-su, Jong-ho Kim
Box Office $2,380,788
Why Kim Ki-duk films a Buddhist monastery on a North Korean lake across the seasons. The film is the ge…
Poetry

Poetry

2010
12
Poetry
2010
12
Poetry
IMDb 7.8 / 10
Director Lee Chang-dong
Cast Yoon Jeong-hee, David Lee, Kim Hee-ra
Box Office $356,149
Why Lee Chang-dong films a grandmother diagnosed with Alzheimer's enrolling in a poetry class. The film…

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