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20 Highly Recommended Korean Film Thrillers

Korean Cinema is known for producing high quality action thrillers. In fact , when it comes to crime thrillers its pretty difficult to beat the quality that comes out of Korea. They just have a gift for producing masterpiece after masterpiece.

Given the volume of thrillers produced by the industry, it can be difficult for those just getting into Korean cinema to find the right where to start.

Below are our picks of what we consider to be the very best Korean thrillers. This list is a great starter for those new to Korean cinema or those who may be unfamiliar with some of the movies on this list.


1. Oldboy (Park Chan Wook, 2003)

Although “” has revenge as its central theme, Park directs a movie with the actual goal of presenting another dimension, one that leads to repentance. The humiliation and ensuing catharsis are the primary concepts, and revenge, which creates chain reactions of growing hatred, is solely an element of the set, with the focus being on vengeance not as an act, but the reasons that lead to it and its consequences. The aspect regarding the consequences is the most obvious. Dae-su ends up utterly destroyed on all levels, because he wanted to exact revenge from the man who imprisoned him, with the fact that he was tricked into having sex with his daughter being likely the worst. This element brings the film closer to an ancient Greek tragedy, through a distinctly Oedipal concept. The case of Lee Woo-jin, on the other hand, shows the futility of revenge as an action for a man that could do so much with what he had, but instead decided to devote all of his powers to exacting revenge from a man who was, nonetheless, already destroyed. (Panos Kotzathanasis)

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2. (Bong Joon Ho, 2003)

Bong Joon-ho directed sublimely, mostly focusing on portraying the facts as accurately as possible. Equally excellent is the depiction of the antithesis between the local simpletons and the “intellectual” from Seoul, which is presented with intense humor, but without depriving the film of its seriousness. Additionally, the rendering of this particularly troublesome era in Korean history is also utterly competent. Through these aspects, Bong makes a comment about the concept of forgiveness, and the ability of people to let go. The fact that Tae Yoon does not seem able to forget the case is what destroys him in the end, as is eloquently depicted in one of the final scenes, years after the incident.

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3. (Na Hong Jin, 2008)

Na Hong-jin gave a clear sample of his quality as a filmmaker with his debut film, artfully directing and writing this utterly agonizing thriller, which is based on an actual case of a serial killer. He directs in a way, presenting just as many indications of what is about to come as is needed to keep the spectator tense in all of the title's duration. He accomplishes that by making clear from the beginning what the protagonists should do in order to solve the case, though presenting very convincing reasons why they do not.He has also done a wonderful job in the character's outline, whose antithesis is depicted on the axis of conscience. There is a total lack of it from the murderer's part and a gradual disclosure of it on the hunter's side. As usually in similar Korean productions, the film entails many violent episodes, that, at times, may even be shocking to mainstream audience, despite the elaborateness of their depiction. Lastly, the finale is probably the film's best scene and one of the most shattering ever to appear in the genre.

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4. J.S.A.: Joint Security Area (Park Chan Wook, 2000)

In the DMZ separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier. But the 11 bullets found in the bodies, together with the 5 remaining bullets in the assassin's magazine clip, amount to 16 bullets for a gun that should normally hold 15 bullets. The investigating Swiss/Swedish team from the neutral countries overseeing the DMZ suspects that another, unknown party was involved – all of which points to some sort of cover up. The truth is much simpler and much more tragic.

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5. The Man from Nowhere (Lee Jeong Beom, 2010)

Director Lee Jeong-beom as done a great job here. Using ideas from previously successful movies and fusing them together can be a difficult job , but he's really pulled it off. The sum of all parts is greater than their originals. Fans of any of the aforementioned movies will really enjoy ‘', Won Bin fans will be shocked (in a good way) at his ability to take on a more hardcore role. And movie fans in general will come away from this film thoroughly enjoyed! (Tiger33)

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The Man from Nowhere [Blu-ray]

6. I Saw the Devil (Kim Jee-woon, 2010)

Kim Jee-woon presents another grotesque masterpiece, where revenge is the driving force for almost everything occurring on screen. Initially, the film looks like a battle between good and evil, but as the revenge procedure extends, the borders between the two stop being visible, thus resulting in the spectator doubting who the evil one actually is. Furthermore, as Soo-hyun initially seems justified in his actions, he manages to make acceptable a number of actions that would regularly be considered as utterly appalling. Just in the beginning, though. (Panos Kotzathanasis)

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I Saw the Devil [Blu-ray] [2011] [US Import] [Region A]

7. Mother (Bong Joon-ho, 2009)

Bong Joon-ho directs a crime thriller that moves on a very different direction that the norms of the genre suggest and in that fashion, did a great job on both the script and the direction, as he focuses on the of the accused. The film thrives n terms of characters' analysis and plot development, while, at times, through Bong's use of humor, it appears a balck comedy. Kim Hye-ja (born  September 14, 1941)is spectacular in a very demanding role as “Mother”, proving in her 70s that talent and competence know no age.

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8. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Park Chan Wook, 2002)

Park Chan-wook presented the extremes an individual can reach when they find themselves in desperate situations. Revenge, the central theme of the film, results from the aforementioned situations and is presented in four axes. Ryu wants to exact revenge from those who tricked him. Yeong-mi wants to exact revenge from the “Capital.” Dong-jin wants to exact revenge from those who kidnapped his daughter. Yeong-min's fellow terrorists want to exact revenge for their comrade. In this fashion, Park wanted to present the futility of revenge, as all of the aforementioned succeed in their purpose but gain nothing from it. Quite the contrary, actually.

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9. (, 2005)

Park Chan-wook focused on a female character this time, and created a unique amalgam of black humor, blasphemous irony, extreme violence, which at times, is turned on children, and liberating humanism, chiefly depicted in the final sequence of collective revenge. The fact that ordinary people can turn to sadistic murderers presents Park's message regarding revenge: sometimes, vengeance through violence is the only way to true catharsis. In order to justify this philosophy, he paints the evil character with the most gruesome colors, to a point that any action against him is deemed worthy, and even just.

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10. New World (Park Hoon Jung, 2013)

Park Hoon-jung directs an agonizing crime thriller, which contains the usual violence, anti-heroes, impressive action sequences, and stylish gangsters in their suits, along with the much-loved plot twists. However, the film's main point of excellence is its characters, with the thin balance that dominates their relationships constantly shifting, in a game of death where nothing is improbable, as it is most eloquently stressed in the film's finale.

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New World [Blu-ray] [2013] [US Import]

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About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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