Attack the Gas Station: It's a Gas Alright

I haven't had much luck with Korean comedies. So imagine how thoroughly tickled I was by Attack the Gas Station. It's not just that I laughed out loud a few times; it's that for the last half hour I couldn't stop smiling—maybe in part because that culturally freaky, ultraviolent slapstick was over. Attribute my unstoppable grin to Park Jeong-woo's screenplay, a script which understands exactly what makes a teen comedy great (even if the characters are a little older): The story has to begin by representing the rebellious spirit then end by presenting the less exuberant rewards of growing up. These four buddies—an artist, a rocker, an athlete, and a moron—are never meant to be realistic portrayals of disaffected youth on a criminal lark. They're comically instructive ones whose haircuts shorthand for character development and whose ability to change lives simply by being themselves borders on the magical. Director Kim Sang-jin (who also did Ghost House, another guilty pleasure) brings a nice sense of visual flair to the proceedings by opening a few scenes upside down or occasionally shooting from a corny POV. I don't fault him. Deep-seeded irreverence is Attack the Gas Station's greatest charm.

Samaritan Girl: Daddy's Sweetheart Is Doing It

When Samaritan Girl starts off, the plot is perfectly sordid. Two pretty young things are earning money to go to Europe by pimping the dumber one out as a prostitute. The sex is all in good fun though. For the never-met-a-guy-I-didn't-like-doing girl, whoring is a harmless way to meet new people and learn about their jobs. (He's nice. He's a musician!) But for the other, it's an increasing source of jealousy that must be assuaged with a lesbian spongebath. They're about ten customers shy of Paris (I assume) when the happy hooker leaps out the window to land on her numbskull head. Anything but prison! Subsequently, you'd think that her best friend forever was the one who'd had her brains rattled as she proceeds to contact all the former johns and get nasty (in a sweet way) then refunds their money. Cause and effect is not this movie's strong point. When the live girl's father—who happens to work in the Vice Squad—discovers his baby is peddling her booty, he can't find a way to talk to her about it probably because teens are so...difficult. So he stalks the customers. Director Kim Ki-duk won a Silver Bear for Samaritan Girl. I'm guessing this says reams about parent-child relationships in Germany.

301/302: What Really Counts for Women

It's hard not to imagine that scenarist Lee Suh-goon's 301/302 was inspired by a found box of papers by a now-dead radical feminist from the 1970s. The central thesis plays out between two single women who reside across the hall from each other and who conveniently represent diametrically opposed aspects of stifled personhood. In apartment 301 lives a divorcee (Bang Eun-jin) who loves to cook, eat, screw, scream, and be complimented. You'd say she was a carefree spirit if she hadn't cooked the family dog then fed it to her husband in a flashback. In apartment 302 lives an anorexic intellectual (Hwang Sin-hye) who hates sausage, was molested by her stepdad the butcher, and could probably resolve all that inner turmoil if her editor let her write in the first person for goodness sake. I kid you not. Eventually, the two become one as the food-fetishist makes a stew out of the grim-faced bulimic. I kept waiting for someone to say, "Eat me." No such luck. A little lesbianism would have gone a long way amid the psycho-symbolism. The closest we get is having the surviving tenant steal the starving tenant's smart bob of a hairstyle posthumously. Women can be so vindictive! Down with the patriarchy.

Phone: Dial "M" for Misbehavior

Adultery. Incest. Murder. There's a decent number of heinous crimes committed in Phone but the worst is not returning calls or text messages from loved ones. In Ahn Byeong-ki's technophobic ghost story, a spurned succubus exacts revenge on anyone unlucky enough to be assigned her cellphone number by delivering "calls for their death." What final utterance she relates into the ear piece is never made clear but it must be pretty terrible since a car crash, a ruined manicure, and an eye-gouging result. Eventually, she has the decency to concentrate her anger on those who actually led to her untimely demise but not before she's driven a sex-crimes reporter (Ha Ji-won) to the brink. Ha, a scream queen in Asia, is certainly believable as the next slated victim who doesn't change her number because she wants to get to the root of the story and demystify her hallucinogenic visions, yet Phone's real star is Eun Seo-woo as the little girl possessed by the avenging spirit. Eun is one of those creepy little kids who can look downright evil one second then sweet and charming the next. You're never sure whether you should feel bad for her or whether someone should hit her over the head with a brick. It's your call.

The Brotherhood of War: Boy's Life

I never considered that the love that dares not speak its name could be that between two brothers but such is the supposition of The Brotherhood of War, Kang Je-gyu's wacky war pic about two siblings drafted into service (and a weird battle of wills) during the Korean War. The opening sequence has the two young men feeding each other, sharing a popsicle, and fetishizing shoes. What with the string section in the background, you almost expect to see a class-usurping gay romance unfold before your disbelieving eyes. Instead, amid the prettily photographed explosions and hand-to-hand combat, what transpires is the making of a warrior—and a ruthless, bloodthirsty, wild-eyed one at that. Naturally, the younger, prettier sibling (Won Bin) is the conscience of the movie and the hunkier older one (Jang Dong-kun) is the fearless fighter. But the baby brother cries so much and seems so unappreciative of the butch one's self-sacrifices, perverse and self-aggrandizing as they might end up being, that you feel disappointed that the moralizer's head isn't blown off in some artful fashion with snow coming down from above and grenade-propelled dirt rising up from below. Can't blame communism for that.

Champion: The Man Who Wears Gloves

If you've ever seen a championship boxing match, then you know that while the lightweights certainly can't beat the heavyweights, they're nevertheless a hell of a lot scrappier, tougher, even scarier since they haven't got an ounce of fat to cushion any of the furiously thrown blows. Champion, Kwak Kyung-taek's biopic on South Korea's world-class contender Kim Deuk-gu, doesn't tell one fighter's rags to riches story, or traffic in his poetic inarticulacies of rage, though it could have done either given its subject matter. Instead, the flick relates the ascent of a fairly likable, none-too-bright pugilist who seems motivated by cultural imperatives and grounded by the respect that accompanies accomplishments which garner you a big fat wreath and a bloody nose. It's hard to tell whether actor Yu Oh-seong is doing a bad job or a solid one as he represents a man with little depth, not much smarts, and a boy's undeveloped philosophies. There's a lot of blank stares and looks of incomprehension. That might be the brutal truth. Ultimately, he's easy on the eyes and his tightie whities are always spotless. While the actual matches could've gone on much longer, his flashbacks are kept to a minimum. Kindly so.

The Ghost: Ring-a-ding-ding

What's the most influential horror movie ever? Psycho? Halloween? Frankenstein? In recent history, at least in Asia, the answer would definitely be The Ring. And for The Ghost, writer-director Kim Tae-kyeong trots out his own facsimile of that landmark movie's creepy dead girl. Why is the image of a silent young woman with straight, dirty black hair hanging in front of her face so unsettling? Even now, after having seen various incarnations of this demon-spawn in a half-dozen flicks, she's still got a certain undeniable power. Maybe it's the idea of a battered woman or an abused child who refuses to be beaten coming back from the dead to right wrongs. (The catch is she's got so much justifiable anger that she's a little out of control.) Woman as victim becomes woman as vengeance. Having the spirit inhabit different bodies, as Kim does here, just makes her transformation that much more universal. Like any decent fright flick, The Ghost also throws out a number of existential questions like if our memories were erased would we become someone else or who is responsible for an accidental death? I think I like amnesiacs! They're so open.

Shiri: She-bang She-bang

Shiri, Kang Je-gyu's enjoyable political thriller, has a riveting opener: With barely a word of dialogue, an extended montage of shooting, stabbing, screaming, running in the rain, and eating slop introduces us to the dehumanization undergone by a North Korean rebel military outfit. Yet the star pupil of this factional force isn't Pyongyang's answer to Sylvester Stallone; it's Kim Yunjin, the same lovely actress who made a splash stateside with her role in the cult series Lost. To call her character in this film a femme fatale strikes me as missing the point. Such an assertion just cheapens her antiauthoritarian convictions...or the effectiveness of the brainwashing. (That's your call.) But as she kill, kill, kills, she's destined to break as many hearts as she shoots because she can't shed her convictions as easily as her disguising wig. Though this flick has some slow sections before the big shoot-em-up in the stadium, it's also got some unexpected treats like a makeout scene in an aquarium and an excerpt from a Korean production of Guys and Dolls. The light military protection of a newly discovered, scent-free liquid bomb is an improbable plot point but from the looks of the resultant explosions perhaps that material was overhyped.

A Tale of Two Sisters: Lights! Camera! Inaction!

As far as symbolist family sagas involving ghostly multiple personalities go, I suppose A Tale of Two Sisters is one of the less hermetic ones. By the end of this atmospheric mystery (which is another way of saying that it's not that suspenseful), everything except for the creepy critters has pretty much been explained. Frankly, I would have preferred a bit more head scratching. I like the lizard creatures, the child crawling out of the woman's crotch, and the big bloody bag. Who cares what's in it? That's scary! But most of the time Kim Ji-woon's film has you watching anticipatory tableaus cheapened by the nagging question is this happening in the stepmom's head, the daughter's head, or the little sister's head. Why none of the characters chose to bash in the father's head may be the greatest mystery of all. Though he's somewhat peripheral to the action, his very coolness is so inappropriate that I kept hoping he'd turn out to be a modern version of Ted Bundy or Dr. Frankenstein. No such luck. Lots of nice haircuts shot so the face is somewhat obscured like in The Ring. But not nearly as riveting.

Three... Extremes: A Cut Above

It recently dawned on me that Korea is the Ireland of Asia. As major influences go, it's got China and Japan to Ireland's U.S. and England. Plus, it's got a similar North-South, politically polarized split with the Southern part being the more celebratory half. (Are Protestants the Communists of Europe?) It wasn't politics that triggered this realization however. It was art. For just as the Emerald Isle, despite its diminutive size, smaller population, weaker role in the world, troubled history, etc., can go head-to-head with either America or Britain in terms of literature (Shaw, Wilde, Joyce, Swift), Korea can do the same with its big brothers in terms of film. Take a look at the movie Three... Extremes, a trilogy of horror flicks from Hong Kong ("Dumplings"), Korea ("Cut"), and Japan ("Box"). This triptych could easily serve as an argument for Korean moviemaking supremacy. Admittedly, Fruit Chan and Takashi Mike aren't their respective countries Wong Kar-wai or Kurosawa (whereas Park Chan-wook is his country's Park Chan-wook). But even so, when it comes to working within the horror genre, neither Hong Kong nor Tokyo comes close to Seoul's succubus of a film. In comparison to Park's Shavian tale of a film-extra hell-bent on leveling the playing field for heaven, Chan's Swiftian parable about a woman willing to eat fetuses to regain youth and Mike's not-too-wild dream of a Siamese twin look plain silly. Throw in a fantastic performance from Lim Won-hie as the crazy who can dance as well as he wields an axe, and you've got the makings of thriller that's not only visually stunning but highly entertaining as well.

Memories of Murder: Postcards From the Dead

What makes Memories of Murder such an unusually gripping detective film isn't some requisite, titillating peeling of layers that ends up revealing the twisted logic of a sick-but-brilliant serial killer's mind. Instead, director Bong Joon-ho slowly draws you into the frustrated psyches of his two policemen as they find themselves increasingly frustrated in their attempts to crack the code. It's a momentum headed towards the void, not hell. The country mouse / city mouse conflict between the two investigators is initially played for chuckles but eventually the contrast in techniques (primitive vs. sophisticated) remains just that. A contrast. Bong never ends up celebrating one over the other or even equating them as yin and yang. Justice, it turns out, takes her own sweet time if she even arrives at all. I'm always psyched to see Song Kang-ho in a movie (The Host, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Joint Security Area); he's somehow likable even when he's playing what should be a fairly unsympathetic cop. Here, as a self-aggrandizing doofus who must come to grips with his own inadequacies, he brings his usual love-me-even-though-I'm-stupid persona that personally I find impossible to resist.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance: Prime Park

Let's face it. Park Chan-wook rocks. I just saw Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, the first part of his visually lush vengeance trilogy, and that man has such a gorgeously deranged understanding of human psychology. He's definitely got a thing for the anti-hero that leaves you wondering who to root for. The deaf-dumb child-killer who's just trying to get a kidney for his dying sister? or the cold-hearted businessman who finds his world turned upside down by a kidnapping? The narrative tying these two guys together is outlandish even as it slips inside reality. It's just this side of the possible. There could be a world where people got gypped doing black market organ donations; where grief-stricken artists buried their siblings under a pile of thoughtfully arranged river stones; where a makeshift band of terrorists exacted revenge on behalf of their ludicrous pamphleteer. What I love about Chan-wook's films is how these narrative twists are surprising and inevitable. Life can be like that, the slippery slope. You look up, everything is rushing by in a flash of bruised beauty. The world is a mercilessly violent place.

Korean Film: In Search of My Seoul

I love Korean film. Not all Korean films, mind you. Romances like The Classic are a little too sappy, and aside from The Host, most of the comedy in their movies would bore me if it were in English. But when it comes to noir, this country's cinema can compete with the best of Hollywood. (When it comes to horror, they more than hold their own, too.) Looking back over the last few years, I know it was Save the Green Planet that first excited me about Korean film. An homage to Fellini and The Wizard of Oz, Jang Jun-hwan's serial killer thriller struck me as a one-up on Tarantino, the work of an utterly original mind that made me reconsider the importance of man's survival in the universe. (Don't worry! I still think we should live.) After that, Park Chan-wook's Oldboy turned me into a bonafide fanatic. Now I'll watch anything out of Korea. I even rented the abysmal Painted Fire which won the Golden Palm at Cannes perhaps because it reiterated that old truism that art is boring. Some people say that Korea is in the midst of a Golden Age for filmmaking. I think you should listen to those people. I think it's true. This blog's sole intention is to win new converts to Korean cinema and perhaps to figure out for myself what makes Korean movies so damned good.

Documentaries About Korea

2015 Dream Concert (2015)
Across Land, Across Sea (2011)*
Aim High in Creation (2013)*
Arirang (2010)
Black Gospel (2013)
Blackpink: Light Up the Sky (2020)
Camp 14 (2012)*
Celeb Five: Behind the Curtain (2022)
Crossing the Line (2006)*
Dear Pyongyang (2002)*
Defector: Escape From North Korea (2012)*
The Drop Box (2015)
Fading Away (2013)
Factory Complex (2015)
I AM.: SMTOWN (2012)
I Am Sun Mu (2015)*
Intangible Asset Number 82 (2008)
The Juchee Idea (2008)*
Kim Jong-Un: The Unauthorized Biography (2015)*
Kimjongilia (2009)*
Korean Kickboxing (2008)
The Lovers & the Despot (2016)*
Making Noise in Silence (2011)
Modern Warfare: The Korean War (2003)
My Love, Don't Cross That River (2014)
National Geographic Explorer: Inside North Korea (2007)*
North Korea: A Day in the Life (2004)*
Old Partner (2008)
Planet of Snail (2011)
The Propaganda Game (2015)*
Reach for the SKY (2015)
The Red Chapel (2009)
Rise of the Miniskirt: Nora Noh (2013)
Shadow Flowers (2019)*
Silence Broken: Korean Comfort Women (2010)
Songs From the North (2014)*
South Korea: Success at All Costs (2016)
Spirits and Syncretism (2015)
State of Play (2013)
This Is Korea! (1951)
Tiger Spirit: The Korean Peninsular at the Crossroads (2008)*
Turn It Up to 11 (2009)
Twinsters (2015)
Two Churches in Seoul, Korea (2014)
Under the Sun (2015)*
Vista Point - SEOUL - South Korea (2009)
Wedding Through Camera Eyes (2002)
Zen Buddhism: In Search of Self (2007)

*movies about North Korea

Movie Index: Chronological

1920s
News of Seoul

1934
Crossroads of Youth

1936
Sweet Dream

1938
Military Train

1939
Fisherman's Fire

1940
Tuition

1941
Spring in the Korean Peninsula
Volunteer

1943
Straits of Chosun

1946
Hurrah! for Freedom

1948
Night Before Independence Day
A Public Prosecutor and
a Teacher

1949
A Hometown in Heart

1951
A Bouquet of Thirty
Million People

1954
The Hand of Destiny

1955
Dream
Piagol
The Widow
Yangsan Province

1956
Holiday in Seoul
Madame Freedom
The Wedding Day

1958
The Bell Tower: Missing
Another Dawn
Confessions of a College Student
Father and Sons
A Flower in Hell
Forever With You
The Love Marriage
The Money

1959
Dongshimcho
Even the Clouds Are Drifting
It's Not Her Sin
Sister's Garden
Three O'Clock on
a Rainy Afternoon

1960
The Housemaid
Madame White Snake
Romance Papa
Stray Bullet

1961
The Coachman
Evergreen Tree
Five Marines
My Mother and Her Guest
My Sister Is a Hussy
The Sea Knows
Seong Chun-hyang

1962
Bound by Chastity Rules
Farewell to the Dunam River
The Happy Day
of Maeng Jin-sa
What Happens in an Alley

1963
Bloodline
The Classroom of Youth
The Daughters of
Kim's Pharmacy
The Marines Who Never Returned
A Reluctant Prince
Rice
Romance Gray

1964
Deaf Sam-ryong
The Devil's Stairway
Red Scarf

1965
A Devilish Murder
Empty Dream
Seashore Village

1966
An Early Rain
Horse-Year Bride
Yeraishyang

1967
Homebound
Mist
A Public Cemetery
of Wol-ha
Space Monster Wangmagwi
Starting Point
A Story of Hong Gil-Dong
Traces
The Water Mill
Yongary, Monster From
the Deep

1968
A Day Off
Descendants of Cain
The General's Mustache

1969
Assassin
School Excursion
A Thousand Year-Old Fox
When the Buckwheat Blooms
Women of the Yi Dynasty
A Young Zelkova

1971
Woman of Fire

1972
The Flower Girl*
Insect Woman
The Midnight Sun

1974
Battle of the 38th Parallel
Jaws of the Dragon
The Korean Connection
Manchurian Tiger
Return Single-Legged Man
Transgression

1975
The March of Fools
Promise of the Flesh
The Road to Sampo
A Triangular Trap
Yeong-ja's Heydays

1976
Deadly Kick
The Golden Belt

1977
Enter the Invincible Dragon
Iodo
Night Journey

1978
Brawl Busters
Centre Forward*
Dragon Lee Vs. the Five Brothers
The Deadly Silver Ninja
Killer Butterfly
Kongjul & Patchui

1979
Bruce Lee's Ways of Kung Fu
The Dragon's Snake Fist
Mission for the Dragon
Rainy Days
The Shower
Woman of Water

1980
Champ Against Champ
The Clones of Bruce Lee
The Dragon's Infernal Showdown
The Magnificent Wonderman
of Shaolin
Pursuit of Death
The Tale of Chun Hyang*

1981
The Hut
Kung Fu Fever
Mandala

1982
Ban Gyeumryeon
A Forest Is Swaying*
Secret Ninja, Roaring Dragon
Wolmi Island*

1983
Declaration of Fools
Lighthouse*
Martial Monks of Shaolin
Temple
Village in the Mist

1984
Between the Knees

1985
Beasts of Prey
City Ninja
Pulgasari*
War of the God Monsters

1986
Gilsotteum
Hong Kil Dong*
Let Us Go to Mt. Kumgang*
Mulberry
Order No. 027*
A Traffic Controller
on Crossroads*

1987
A Broad Bellflower*

1988
Ask Yourself*

1989
The Favourite Young Man*
Why Has Bodhi Dharma Left
for the East

1990
From 5 p.m. to 5 a.m.*
General's Son

1991
Son of a General II

1992
Our Twisted Hero
The Story of a Blooming Flower
White Badge

1993
Sopyonje
They Met on the Taedong
River

1994
Rosy Life

1995
301/302
Bitter and Sweet
O Youth*

1996
Born to Kill
Crocodile
The Day a Pig Fell into the Well
Festival
Piano Man
Two Families in Haeun-dong*

1997
The Green Fish
Lament
Motel Cactus
My Look in the Distant Future*
No. 3
Repechage

1998
A Basketball Family Team*
Christmas in August
The Power of Kangwon Province
The Quiet Family
The Soul Guardians
Whispering Corridors

1999
Attack the Gas Station
Dance, Dance
A Great Chinese Restaurant
Happy End
Judgement
Lies
Memento Mori
Nowhere to Hide
Peppermint Candy
Phantom: The Submarine
The Ring Virus
Shiri
Tell Me Something
White Valentine

2000
The Anarchists
Barking Dogs Never Bite
Chunhyang
Ditto
Il Mare
The Isle
JSA Joint Security Area
Just Do It!
Kilimanjaro
Killing Machine
Libera Me
Nightmare
Real Fiction
Terror Taxi
Vanishing Twin

2001
Address Unknown
Bad Guy
Dream of a Warrior
Failan
Friend
Flower Island
Guns & Talks
Hera Purple: Devil
Goddess
Hi! Dharma!
The Humanist
Musa: The Warriors
My Boss, My Hero
My Sassy Girl
Paradise Villa
Running 7 Dogs
Sorum
Take Care of My Cat
This Is Law
Volcano High

2002
4 Toes
2009 Lost Memories
Addicted
A.F.R.I.K.A.
Champion
The Coast Guard
Conduct Zero
Desire
H
Jail Breakers
Jungle Juice
Lovers' Concerto
Marriage Is a Crazy
Thing
Marrying the Mafia
My Beautiful Days
My Beautiful Girl, Mari
No Blood, No Tears
Oasis
Over the Rainbow
Phone
Popee
Public Enemy
Saulabi
Saving My Hubby
Sex Is Zero
Steal It If You Can
Sympathy for Mr.
Vengeance
Three Extremes 2
Too Young to Die
Unborn but Forgotten
The Way Home
Wedding Through Camera Eyes
Yesterday
YMCA Baseball Team

2003
Acacia
Doggy Poo
Garden of Heaven
A Good Lawyer's Wife
Memories of Murder
Mutt Boy
My Tutor Friend
Natural City
Oldboy
Please Teach Me English
Romantic Warriors
Run 2 U
Save the Green Planet
The Scarlet Letter
A Smile
Spring Bears Love
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...
and Spring
Sweet Sex and Love
A Tale of Two Sisters
Tube
The Uninvited
Untold Scandal
Wishing Stairs

2004
100 Days With Mr. Arrogant
3-Iron
Arahan: Urban Martial Arts Action
The Brotherhood of War
The Doll Master
Face
Fighter in the Wind
The Ghost
The Hypnotized
Love So Divine
My Little Bride
R-Point
S Diary
Samaritan Girl
Spider Forest
The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do
Spygirl
Three... Extremes
To Catch a Virgin Ghost
Two Guys
When I Turned Nine
Windstruck
Witchboard
Woman Is the Future
of Man

2005
Another Public Enemy
Anatarctic Journal
A Bittersweet Life
Blood Rain
Blossom Again
The Bow
Cello
Crying Fist
Daddy Long Legs
Geochilmaru
Green Chair
Innocent Steps
Jenny, Juno
The King and the Clown
Lady Vengeance
The Legend of the
Shadowless Sword
Marathon
Marrying the Mafia II
Mr. Housewife
Murder, Take One
The President's Last Bang
Princess Aurora
The Red Shoes
Redeye
Sad Movie
She's on Duty
Typhoon
Voice (2005)
Wet Dreams 2
The Wig
Wolf Daddy
You Are My Sunshine

2006
200 Pounds of Beauty
Aachi & Ssipak
Arang
Bewitching Attraction
A Bloody Aria
Bloody Reunion
Bloody Tie
Boys of Tomorrow
Cinderella
The City of Violence
The Curse of February 29th
Daisy
Dark Forest of Death
Dasepo Naughty Girls
A Dirty Carnival
Forbidden Quest
Holy Daddy
The Host
I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay
In Between Days
Les Formidables
Like a Virgin
Lump of Sugar
Marrying the Mafia III
Monopoly
My Bloody Roommates
My Friend and His Wife
No Mercy for the Rude
No Regret
The Old Garden
Puzzle
Pyongyang Nalpharam*
The Restless
Righteous Ties
Running Wild
Seducing Mr. Perfect
See You After School
Sunflower
Tazza: The High Rollers
Time
Woman on the Beach
The World of Silence

2007
Attack on the Pin-up Boys
Black House
Breath
The Butcher
Dragon Wars: D-War
Epitaph
The Evil Twin
Going by the Book
Hansel & Gretel
Le Grand Chef
The Happy Life
M
Mapado 2: Back to the Island
Meet Mr. Daddy
Muoi: The Legend of the Portrait
My Father
My Friend Bernard
My Tutor Friend 2
Paradise Murdered
The Perfect Couple
Punch Lady
Rainbow Eyes
The Schoolgirl's Diary*
Secret Sunshine
Seven Days
Sex Is Zero 2
Shadows in the Palace
The Show Must Go On
Soo
Temptation of Eve: A Good Wife
Texture of Skin
Voices
Wide Awake
With the Girl of Black Soil
Zen Buddhism: In Search of Self

2008
24 Hours to Die
Antique Bakery
Baby and Me
Beastie Boys
The Chaser
Daytime Drinking
Death Bell
The Divine Weapon
Do You See Seoul?
Eye for an Eye
A Frozen Flower
Girl Scout
The Good, the Bad, the Weird
Hello, Schoolgirl
The Juchee Idea*
The Kites Flying in the Sky*
Korean Kickboxing
Land of Scarecrows
Loner
Lovers of 6 Years
Make Yourself at Home
My Dear Enemy
My Mighty Princess
Night and Day
Old Partner
Once Upon a Time in Seoul
Open City
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Pot
Rough Cut
Spare
Speedy Scandal
A Tale of Legendary Libido
Tiger Spirit
Treeless Mountain
Viva! Love

2009
Actresses
After the Banquet
Animal Town
Asian Queer Shorts
Be My Guest
Be With Me
A Blood Pledge
A Brand New Life
Cadaver
Cafe Seoul
The Case of Itaewon Homicide
Chawz
The Executioner
Five Senses of Eros
A Good Rain Knows
Handphone
Insadong Scandal
Into the White Night
Jeon Woochi: Taoist
Wizard
Lifting King Kong
Like You Know It All
A Little Pond
Living Death
Loveholic
Marine Boy
May Story
Missing
Missing Person
Mother
My Girlfriend Is an Agent
My Heart Beats
Paju
Postman to Heaven
Private Eye
The Red Chapel*
Relation of Face, Mind and Love
The Righteous Thief
Running Turtle
Searching for the Elephant
The Story of Mr. Sorry
Thirst
Tidal Wave
Turn It Up to 11
Visitors
Yoga Hakwon

2010
Ashamed
Attack the Gas Station! 2
A Barefoot Dream
Bedevilled
A Better Tomorrow
Blades of Blood
Bloody Innocent
Cyrano Agency
Death Bell 2:
Bloody Camp
Enemy at the Dead End
Finding Mr. Destiny
Grand Prix
Hahaha
Haunters
Hearty Paws 2
The Housemaid
The Indecent Family
IRIS: The Movie
The Man From Nowhere
Midnight FM
Miss Staff Sergeant
My Dear Desperado
Oki's Movie
The Outlaw
Parallel Life
Poetry
The Quiz Show Scandal
The Recipe
Runaway From Home
Secret Love
The Secret Reunion
Silence Broken: Korean Comfort
Women
Twilight Gangsters
The Unjust
Venus in Furs
The Yellow Sea

2011
Across Land, Across Sea *
Arirang
The Beast
Blind
Bloody Fight in Iron-Rock Valley
The Cat
The Client
Countdown
Couples
The Day He Arrives
Flower in Snow*
The Front Line
Ghost
Glove
Hanji
Head
I Saw the Devil
Invasion of Alien Bikini
The Kick
Leafie
Little Black Dress
Making Noise in Silence
Moby Dick
Mr. Idol
My Way
Night Fishing
On the Green Carpet*
Penny Pinchers
Planet of Snail
Punch
Quick
Scars
Sector 7
Shotgun Love
The Showdown
Silenced
Song of Retrospection*
Sorry, Thanks
Stateless Things
Sunny
Unbowed
War of the Arrows
White: The Melody of the Curse

2012
26 Years
Azooma
The Beat Goes On
The Berlin File
Camp 14
A Company Man
The Concubine
Confession of Murder
Deranged
Dino King
Doctor
Don't Cry, Mommy
Doomsday Book
E.D. 571
Eungyo
Fatal
Gabi: Russian Coffee
The Grand Heist
Helpless
House With a Nice View
Howling
I AM.: SMTOWN
In Another Country
Let Me Out
Love 911
Masquerade
Melo
Nameless Gangster
National Security
Natural Burials
The Other Side of the Mountain*
Pieta
Role Play
The Scent
The Taste of Money
The Thieves
The Tower
Traffickers
Two Weddings and a Funeral
White Night

2013
Aim High in Creation*
The Attorney
Black Gospel
Blood and Ties
Born to Sing
Commitment
Fading Away
Fists of Legend
Flu
Friend 2: The Legacy
Hide and Seek
Hope
Hwayi: A Monster Boy
Intruders
Killer Toon
Love Lessons
Miracle in Cell No. 7
Moebius
Montage
My Paparotti
New World
Queen of the Night
Red Family
Rise of the Miniskirt: Nora Noh
Samaritan
Snowpiercer
State of Play
Stoker
The Suspect
The Terror Live
Where Are to Go

2014
The Abductress
The Admiral: Roaring
Currents
Alive
The Carnivores
Compassion
Crack
Disappearance
The Divine Move
Entangled
For the Emperor
Gifted
A Hard Day
The Huntresses
Kundo: Age of the
Rampant
Made in China
Man on High Heels
Manhole
Milkshake
Monster
My Love, Don't Cross That River
Obsessed
Pirates
Play Girl
Red Carpet
Revivre
The Royal Tailor
Songs from the North*
The Target
Tazza: The Hidden Card
No Tears for the Dead
A Touch of Unseen
Two Churches in Seoul, Korea
Venus Talk
Whistle Blower

2015
2015 Dream Concert
Assassination
The Beauty Inside
The Chosen: Forbidden Cave
The Chronicles of Evil
The Black Hand
The Classified File
Coin Locker Girl
Dennis Rodman'
Big Bang in PyongYang*
The Drop Box
Exchange
The Exclusive
Factory Complex
Fatal Intution
Home Sweet Home
I Am Sun Mu*
Inside Men
Kim Jong-Un: The Unauthorized
Biography*
The Lost Choices
The Loyalist
Madonna
Miss Granny
Nineteen
Northern Limit Line
The Piper
The Propaganda Game*
Reach for the SKY
Right Now, Wrong Then
Seoul Station
Shoot Me in the Heart
The Silenced
Svaha: The Sixth Finger
The Tiger
Twinsters
Under the Sun
Veteran
Wonderful Nightmare

2016
The Age of Shadows
Asura: The City of Madness
Derailed
The Handmaiden
Insane
Last Day on Earth
The Last Princess
The Lovers & the Despot*
Luck-Key
The Net
Pandora
Sea Fog
South Korea: Success at All Costs
Split
The Tayo the Little Bus Movie:
Mission Ace
Train to Busan
The Truth Beneath
Tunnel
The Wailing
Will You Be There?

2017
Along With the Gods:
The Two Worlds
The Artist: Rebound
The Battleship Island
Bluebeard
The Bros
The Chase
Columbus
The Day After
Fabricated City
Forgotten
The Fortress
Gook
Heart Blackened
The King
Lucid Dream
Midnight Runners
The Mimic
Missing
Okja
On the Beach at Night Alone
The Outlaws
The Prison
RV: Resurrected Victims
The Spy
Star Nextdoor
Steel Rain
The Swindlers
A Taxi Driver
The Villainess

2018
Along with the Gods:
The Last 49 Days
Be With You
Believer
Burning
Champion
Dark Figure of Crime
Default
Deja Vu
The Drug King
Fallen
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum
The Great Battle
High Society
Illang: The Wolf Brigade
Intimate Strangers
Little Forest
Miss Baek
Miniforce: New Heroes Rise
Psychokinesis
The Puzzle
Rampant
Revenger
Second Life
Swing Kids
The Witch: Part 1 -
The Subversion
Unstoppable
The Wrath

2019
The 12th Suspect
Ashfall
The Battle of Jangsari
The Culprit
The Divine Fury
Exit
Fist & Furious
Gang
Idol
Jazzy Misfits
Jo Pil-ho: The
Dawning Rage
My Bossy Girl
Parasite
Pinkfong and Baby Shark's
Space Adventure
The Secret Mission
Shadow Flowers
Tune in for Love

2020
Black Light
Blackpink: Light Up the Sky
Bodyguard
Call
Deliver Us From Evil
A Distant Place
Diva
Intruder
The Larva Island Movie
The Man Standing Next
Minari
Night in Paradise
Search Out
Set Play
Six Ball
Steel Rain 2: Summit
The Swordsman
Time to Hunt
Voice of Silence

2021
The 8th Night
CCTV
Emergency Declaration
Escape from Mogadishu
Hard Hit
The Human Trap
Indian Pink
Hostage: Missing Celebrity
Kingdom: Ashin of the North
Midnight
Pumpkin Time
Shark: The Beginning
Seire
Sinkhole
Sweet & Sour
What Happpened to Mr. Cha?
Space Sweepers
Wish You

2022
2037
20th Century Girl
Alienoid
The Anchor
Carter
Celeb Five: Behind
the Curtain
Confession
Decision to Leave
Gentleman
The Ghost Station
Hot Blooded
The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves
to Die
Love & Leashes
A Man of Reason
The Outlaws 2
The Pirates: The Last Royal
Treasure
Remember
Return to Seoul
Seoul Vibe
Turandot
The Witch: Part 2 -
The Other One
Yaksha: Ruthless
Operations

2023
Ballerina
Believer 2
The Childe
Don't Buy the Seller
Devils
Dream
Jung_E
Kill Boksoon
Moon
Past Lives
Project Wolf Hunting
The Roundup: Now Way Out
Unlocked
The Wild

2024
Alienoid: The Return of
the Future
Badland Hunters
Citizen of a Kind
Exhuma
Mission: Cross
My Name Is Loh Kiwan
Officer Black Belt
Uprising
Wonderland

* indicates North Korean movie