If you’re anything like me, you’re probably a little frustrated in searching for korean movies available for streaming on netflix. The site doesn’t list all of the titles under “korean language” or even under the “korea” category. weird that they aren’t easily accessible. anyway, I thought I’d post my favorites here just in case anyone else is searching for some korean movies to watch. as always, streaming content is pretty fluid so what’s available today may not be next week so check ‘em out while you can!
1 – A Tale of Two Sisters – Terrified sisters try to exorcise their home of two dark forces — their evil stepmother and a vengeful entity — in this ghostly tale. Hospitalized after their mother’s death, young Su-mi (Im Su-jeong) and Su-yeon (Mun Geun-yeong) return home to find a nasty new stepmother (Yeom Jeong-ah). The girls suffer terrifying events, but their father doesn’t care, even though evil lurks around every corner. Can the girls free their home from its demons?
2 – Mother – A murder rocks a South Korean town and suspicion quickly falls on a reclusive, mentally challenged — and alibi-free — young man (Bin Won). When an inept public defender botches the boy’s case, his mother (Hye-ja Kim) sets out to prove her son’s innocence. Acclaimed director Joon-ho Bong (Memories of Murder) explores the lengths a mother will go to protect her child in this atmospheric crime thriller.
3 – Thirst – When the smoke clears from a failed experiment to find a cure for a fatal disease, a devout priest finds himself forever changed. Specifically, he’s a vampire — but that isn’t the only thing that’s different. Now he’s also willing to commit adultery with the wife of his childhood friend, a sin he never would have considered before. Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin and Ok-bin Kim co-star in this horror offering from Korean director Chan-wook Park.
4 – The Good The Bad, The Weird – On a train crossing the Manchurian desert, an unlikely trio — good bounty hunter Park Do-won (Woo-sung Jung), bad gangster Park Chang-yi (Byung-hun Lee) and weird train robber Yoon Tae-goo (Kang-ho Song) — unite to find a treasure map’s promised loot. Racing through the unforgiving landscape, they stay one step ahead of rivals and the Japanese army. Ji-woon Kim directs this Sergio Leone-inspired adventure.
5 – The Host - In Seoul’s River Han, a giant mutant creature has developed as a result of toxic chemical dumping. When the squidlike monster scoops up the teenage granddaughter of humble snack-bar owner Hie-bong (Hie-bong Byeon), he races to track down the murderous beast. With no help from the authorities, who are convinced the girl is already dead, Hie-bong and his family will have to band together to save her — and possibly the entire city.
6 – Chunhyang - Mongryong (Seung-woo Cho) is the privileged son of a governor who falls for Chunhyang (Hyo-jeong Lee), the beautiful daughter of a former courtesan. The couple marries in secret, but when Mongryong is ordered to complete his education, a new governor (Jung-hun Lee) desires his wife. If she chooses to reject him and stay true to her husband, lifelong imprisonment — or death — awaits her. The film nabbed a nomination at the Cannes Film Festival.
7 – Untold Scandal – Set in 18th century Korea, this retelling of Dangerous Liaisons follows morality-deficient cousins Lady Cho (Lee Mi-Suk) and Cho-won (Bae Yong-Jun) as they scheme to ruin the lives of innocents. When Lady Cho asks Cho-won to bed her husband’s lover-to-be (Lee So-yeong), Cho-won ups the ante and goes after an even more virtuous female. If he succeeds, Lady Cho must sleep with her cousin. But Cho-won begins to fall in love with his intended target.
8 – Barking Dogs Never Bite – Driven to distraction by a dog yapping endlessly in a nearby apartment, Yun-ju (Sung-jae Lee) — a college lecturer who’s already stressed by his pregnant wife’s (Ho-jung Kim) nagging and his slim chances of landing a professorship — takes action to silence the animal. Soon other dogs in the apartment complex fall strangely quiet, and the landlord’s bookkeeper (Doona Bae) sets out to find out why. Joon-ho Bong directs this dark comedy.
9 – Tidal Wave - Authorities ignore a scientist’s warning of an impending tsunami at the popular South Korean beach spot Haeundae four years after a similar tragedy befell the region — but when his prediction comes true, residents must scramble to survive. Now both vacationers and locals like sushi-seller Man-sik, who lost a friend in the last tsunami, find themselves in a fight for their lives in this action-packed disaster movie from South Korea.
10 – The Chaser - When his escorts start disappearing without settling their debts, cash-strapped pimp — and former police detective — Joong-ho (Yun-seok Kim) draws upon the skills of his old job to track down the recently missing Mi-Jin (Yeong-hie Seo). Cynical Joong-ho assumes a rival pimp has been siphoning off his labor pool, but it isn’t long before our hero closes in on the real and deadly truth in this gritty and gripping South Korean thriller.
by the way, I love the movie “Old Boy” but for some odd reason, Netflix chose to streaming the english dub version. It’s pretty much unlistenable. I can’t recommend this particular version. Get the original korean language version if you want to watch it.
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