Top 3 Korean Thriller Movies You Never Want To Miss

The number one Korean thriller movie you never want to miss is "Old Boy" directed by Park Chan Wook and released in 2003. The director of the film is famous as well as renowned over the world for filming series of "revenge" movie. In other words, he has been mainly focusing on the process and reason of human revenge. He is often compared to Quentin Tarantino, another film maker who has directed numerous "revenge" films. Actually, this film won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival where Quentin Tarantino was one of the jury.

The plot is simple. The main character of the film, acted by Choi Min Sik, is kidnapped and locked in a hotel for 15 years and finally being freed by an "unknown kidnapper". Of course, the rest of the story shows the procedure of seeking and figuring out "why" and "who" kidnapped and locked him up for 15 years. At the end of the film, he finally "realizes" as well as "understands" all of the reasons why he had to be kidnapped and locked in a hotel.

The most important reason I select this film as the number one Korea thriller film is that it has the most well-developed plot compared to other Korean thriller films (and compared to other thriller films from all over the world). The beginning scene of the film intelligently causes us to wonder "why" and "who" kidnaps and locks the main character of film,Oh Dae Su, in a hotel. As the movie unfolds, Mr. Oh solves all the puzzles required to find out the reason why he was kidnapped.

Enjoy the most well-developed plot ever created in Korean thriller movies. However, you should be careful before watching the film since the level of violence of the film is somewhat high. Click the poster above to be directed to Old Boy's IMDB site.

The second Korean thriller movie you never want to miss is "Memories of Murder" directed by Bong Jun Ho and also released in 2003. The director of the film is famous as well as renowned in Korea for filming with great "details". In other words, he always cares about as well as considers all the "details" that should be included in a film to help audience perfectly "understand" a plot . He is often compared to Park Chan Wook because they are close friends; however, they have a totally different style in making a film. The movie won the "top 10 must-see film" title and actually brought more than ten billion audiences in Korea.

The film mainly focuses on two detectives who eagerly attempt to arrest a serial killer. Three continuous murders occur in Hwasung and two detectives start to follow a serial killer in order to stop another bloody murder. However, numerous suspects they have arrested have a "perfect" alibi and another tragedic muder occurs again while still struggling to arrest a real serial killer. In terms of the way of unfolding the plot, it has the close similarity with the well-known American film, "Zodiac." Both films, Zodiac and Memories of Murder, have two more aspects in common; they are based on a true story and a "real" murderer(s) has not been caught yet.

The most important reason I select this film as the second Korean thriller movie is that it realistically "mirrors" the real life-image of Korea in 1980s as well as the true reason why the police force fails to arrest the "real" serial killer. The film directly describes the "poor" condition of Korean police force in 1980s in detail. In other words, it reflects the reality of incompetent Korean police force in 1980s without any addition or substraction. Also, one of famous actors in Korea, Song Gang Ho, shows the most impressive performance in the film.

If you want to enjoy a serious Korean "detective movie", then this is the film you should not miss. Click the poster above to be directed to Memories of Murder's IMDB site.

The third Korean thriller movie you never want to miss is "The Host" directed by Bong Jun Ho (the same director of "Memories of Murder") and released in 2006. He also demonstrates his great ability and strong point in this film; directing a film with "details" as he does in "Memories of Murder". The film also won the "top 10 must-see film" title and actually brought more than seven billion audiences in Korea. "The Host" is the most well-known Korean film in the United States based on a survey carried out in 2009.

The movie mainly deals with a monster "created" by irresponsible behaviors of human being (especially, by Korean and American) in the Han river. The monster starts to kill and eat "human being" at random and finally kidnaps a middle-school-girl in his den. The family that loses their daughter endeavors to recue her by themselves due to incompetence of Korean government. The struggling story of a family that decides to rescue their daughter by themslves is shown in the rest of the film..

The most important reason I select this film as the thrid Korean thriller movie is that it describes the recent Korean emotion as well as family-oriented culture without any kind of adjustments. In other words, the way the family deals with the situations occured while attempting to rescue the daughter exactly reveals how Korean thinks of family and what Korean's most important value is. Also, the film highly criticizes the incompetence of Korean goverment in terms of dealing with a national crisis as well as people. Lastly, one of famous actors in Korea, Song Gang Ho, shows an impressive performance in the film as he does in "Memories of Murder."

If you want to enjoy a Korean version of "King Kong", then this is the film you should not miss. Click the poster above to be directed to Memories of Murder's IMDB site.