10 Classic Korean Films to Stream for Free

I've been a watching and writing about South Korean cinema for well over a decade. So while I rejoiced to see Parasite win those four well-deserved Oscars, I was also aware that Bong Joon-ho's latest masterpiece is no anomaly. South Korea's been making great movies since the beginning of the 20th century! Below is proof: 10 movies that are at least 50 years old and are currently streaming for free via YouTube's Korean Film Archives — akin to a Turner Classic Movies outpost for the international set. (Please note: My blog is more a record of what I watch than a traditional review site. Because of that, spoilers abound in the linked reviews.)

1. Stray Bullet (1960): The Koreans have a rep for making kick-ass gangster films but Yu Hyun-mok's thrilling neo-realist tragedy shows that they've been masters of other forms for a long time too. (Read review) (Watch movie)

2. A Flower in Hell (1958): Forgive me for putting two bleak pics back-to-back at the top but once you've seen Shin Sang-ok's ultimate bad girl pic, you'll understand why I'm such a Choi Eun-hie fanatic. (Read review) (Watch movie)

3. Transgression (1974): Though best known for The Housemaid and its psychosexual offspring, director Kim Ki-young's equally nutso tale of three initiates in the running to helm a monastery remains my all-time favorite by this offbeat auteur. (Read review) (Watch movie)

4. Hometown in Heart (1949): Who doesn't relish a coming-of-age story with a talented young actor (Min Yu) as the lead? If you like The 400 Blows and Lady Bird then this is the one for you. (Read review) (Watch movie)

5. Yangsan Province (1955): As styles go, "folk" is probably the hardest to manifest on the silver screen but Kim Ki-young's first flick manages to shun naturalism while telling timeless truths. (Read review) (Watch movie)

6. Madame White Snake (1960): As a gay man, I feel obliged to put something unapologetically camp on this list. This fantasy involving a seductress who's also a snake who's also a witch should suffice. (Read review) (Watch movie)

7. The Sea Knows (1961): Sections of this war pic are sadistic. Other parts are preposterous. But the ending blew me away, proving that a great end can justify the label "necessary viewing." (Read review) (Watch movie)

8. The Widow (1955): The first Korean film directed by a woman was stiffed by distributors. Let's remedy that: Park Nam-ok's drama prominently featuring male eye candy deserves a bigger audience despite some missing footage! (Read review) (Watch movie)

9. Empty Dream (1965): In a way, you could say this is what would happen if you crossed the original Little Shop of Horrors with L'Age d'Or. I know that doesn't make sense. Neither does the movie but oh my... (Read review) (Watch movie)

10. The Night Before Independence Day (1948): Early Korean cinema was known for its byeonsas, narrators employed by the theater to act out the story. This seedy portrait of society's underbelly is a fascinating example. Admittedly not for everyone but definitely for me. (Read review) (Watch movie)

Top Ten Korean Movies of 2019 (Sort of)

Thanks to the Korean Film Archive on YouTube, this past year was very much devoted to movies of yesteryear, especially those starring Choi Eun-hie or directed by Kim Ki-young. So while a few movies on this list are fairly recent, most date back at least 50 years. And as much as I consider myself a fan of Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, and Kim Ki-duk, I would now count A Flower in Hell and Transgressions as among my favorite Korean films of all time.

1. A Flower in Hell (1958): Choi Eun-hie's turn as an amoral woman in this war melodrama is so good and so atypical that it's almost hard to believe it's her.

2. Empty Dream (1965): This dreamscape set in a dentist's office rates as one of the most surreal flicks I've ever seen. And yes, I'm including Un Chien Andalou and Meshes of the Afternoon.

3. A Hometown in Heart (1949): If coming-of-age films like Okja and The 400 Blows are your thing then have I got a movie (with a young Choi Eun-hie) for you.

4. Columbus (2017): This visually impressive American indie has chunks of dialogue in Korean and a terrific lead performance by Korean-American matinee idol John Cho.

5. Dark Figure of Crime (2018): You can't have a top ten Korean movies list without at least one featuring a serial killer. Hence, this engaging flick by director Kim Tae-gyun.

6. Night Before Independence Day (1948): Basically a silent movie with a narrator, this arthouse relic about urban lowlifes is absolutely fascinating to watch.

7. Parasite (2019): One of the most buzzed-about films of 2019 is really just the latest masterpiece from Bong Joon-ho, a director who has plenty of wonders to his credit.

8. Transgression (1974): From the psychosexual Kim Ki-young comes this mind-bender about three men under consideration to helm the monastery after the old monk dies.

9. The Widow (1955): The first Korean movie directed by a woman should be required viewing given how it was short-shrifted when it was released.

10. Yangsan Province (1955): Kim Ki-young's first film is a gorgeous folk tale that gains power from performances and music very much rooted in the past.

Kim Ki-Young's Top 10 Movies

The films of Kim Ki-young reflect a different South Korea than the one I learned about in the movies of Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, and Hong Sang-soo. I suppose you'll hear echoes most clearly in Kim Ki-duk's filmography which is similarly focused on disturbed psychodynamics but even so, I was not prepared for the zaniness that is Kim Ki-young. Best known for The Housemaid which more or less set a template for many of the movies that would follow, he also made some fine films atypical of that landmark flick, and ones which I happen to prefer. It's hard to believe Yangsan Province has been so summarily dismissed because I find it magical.

10. Woman of Fire: Proof that a director's quintessential film may not be the best of the bunch. (Which isn't to say it's not good.)

9. Iodo: This strange murder-mystery is set on an island run by women who go to extremes when competing for men.

8. Insect Woman: Arguably, the best of Kim's reworking of The Housemaid.

7. Killer Butterfly: This may be the weirdest in Kim's filmography with talking skeletons and 2,000-year-old urine both memorably featured.

6. Promise of the Flesh: A woman on her way to prison has the train ride of her life.

5. The Housemaid: This classic Korean psychosexual melodrama features many plot elements that Kim would revisit again and again.

4. Woman of Water: The ill-treated, silent female lead is a trope of cinema. Kim's take gives her voice though and the final message is a powerful one.

3. The Sea Knows: Set in Japan, this military flick finds a Korean soldier struggling to survive with some help from his Japanese girlfriend.

2. Yangsan Province: A love triangle ends in disaster for government official's son, a poor widow's son, and the woman they both love.

1. Transgression: This one takes Kim's extremist tendencies into a monastery where three monks are battling it out for the top spot.

Also by Kim Ki-young: Beasts of Prey

Transgression: Head Monk in Training

The old monk is dying. Don't believe me? Then explain that blood he's just spat on the temple floor. But before he transitions to the next phase — nirvana seems a bit doubtful — he needs to pass on his mantle to a successor. There are a few men in the running: a power-hungry insider, an inspired academic, and a wise fool. But before we get to their final challenges (answering cryptic questions, fasting, and potentially jumping off a cliff), we get a glimpse into the lives of the latter two especially since they're best friends.

The bookish one mans the drum that calls monks to their daily beatings of bamboo, cures schizophrenia with a well-placed acupuncture needle, and has a tortured, largely platonic affair with a flirtatious female monk from a neighboring temple; his troublemaking buddy steals sacks of flour for money, farts in formal settings, and eats whenever he gets the chance. One is respected; one is loved. There's a lesson to be learned here now what might that be... Maybe lead with the heart, not the brain?

After watching Insect Woman and The Housemaid, I was expecting Transgression to veer into camp but Kim Ki-young chooses not to take the melodramatic route with this one. To the contrary, despite the theatrics — which are often quite striking and deliberate in a way that feels more arthouse than grindhouse — this film is grounded in a reality that mirrors our world with minimum grotesquerie. The extended opening shot of a giant rock may strike you as an example of bad moviemaking but when Kim returns to that seemingly bland visual at the end, it's suddenly laden with meaning that is nothing short of humbling. You might say, "Buddhism rocks."