Why Korean Films Are More Exciting Than Hollywood's

South Korean cinema has been sweeping western audiences since the release of Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite in 2019, but just how many other films of this caliber are there? And does it show any signs of slowing down?

[childearth]

Korean films are exciting because they deal with human situations and emotions with utmost subtlety, care and attention to detail. So many countries around the world just love them.

[joannparkgiraud]

One insight my dad provided me was the effective use of weapons, particularly hammers and knives, in Korean films, which evokes a more intimate and visceral experience for the viewer. He mentioned that Korea and other parts of Asia relied heavily on swords and blunt objects when fighting, so there’s a true brutality and emotional experience with the physical nature of this kind of hand:hand combat. The infamous breezeway scene in Old Boy is such a classic one for that very reason - men clamoring about in absolute chaos violently bludgeoning each other. The elegance in the camerawork and direction while simultaneously portraying brutality at its chaotic core elicits tension, discomfort, awe, and transcendence.

[Zypyhra]

0:12 Parasite
0:23 Squid Game
0:38 The Outlaws
0:41 Burning
0:49 I Saw The Devil
0:54 Oldboy
0:56 A Frozen Flower
1:00 Memories Of Murder
1:04 The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
1:20 No Tears For The Dead
1:27 A Moment To Remember
2:11 Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
2:17 Train To Busan
2:19 Tune In For Love
5:29 Past Lives
5:45 Hello Ghost
5:48 Enemies To Lovers
5:52 Hide And Seek
6:11 The Mask Girl
8:26 My Name
8:36 The Man From Nowhere

[jinmo]

In short, Hollywood film industry makes movies to make better money. South Korean film industry makes money to make better movies.

[JSK]

Korea is literally taking over the entertainment industry in music & film, it's crazy how much influence they have for being such a small country and started from the bottom from the Japanese rule not even that long ago.

[danalasmane]

I've been familiar with South Korean cinema since the end of 1990ies/beginning of 2000s when I started renting out video tapes from our local rental in a provincial town in Latvia. And it has been an eye-opening journey.
Amongst them, there have been some true gems (several of Kim-ki-duk's movies, Old Boy etc.) and of course the occasional total bunkers movie.
So I completely agree that South Korean cinema has been and still is one the best, if not the best, in the contemporary movie scene.

[pettybee]

Memories Of Murder is literally one of the best movies ever made and you can't tell me otherwise

[anonposts]

The sad thing is seeing Hollywood slowly wrap its tentacles around kdramas and films inserting their ideological propaganda into Korean films and dramas. I’ve pulled back from watching Korean films/dramas for this reason. I don’t want to feel like I’m watching a moral lecture on why I need to embody the next new ideological trend

[alex]

Parasite and Squid Game were impressive. Old Boy is still a classic and in my top 10. Impressive the rise of K-pop, K-Drama (My love from another star was streamed like 2 billion times in China) and K-movies..

[arniyoon]

I have been watching Korean movies and dramas for like 6 years now and honestly I am still impressed with the quality of what they produce.... Last year I have recommend few series to my mom and from that moment she only watches Korean series hahaha she said that whenever she tried to watch something western again it always disappointed her and she always had in the back of her mind that she could watch something so so much better instead

[murgency]

As a Korean, I don't think it's fair to compare recent Hollywood blockbuster flops with some of the best Korean movies. An actual Korean movie theater is usually filled with the K-version of bad blockbuster flops with forced scenes that make audience cry (iykyk). Let's not even talk about the horrors of Korean SF films.. Only once in a while we'd see great films such as The Wailing or Parasite.
The Korean TV-dramas, however, are only getting better these days with big Netflix budgets.

[thedungeon]

These past 3 years or so, I've fallen in love with KDramas especially, but Korean movies have been really good too. It's crazy how many shows I've watched these past 3 years that have really entertaining, while everyone around me complains that everything is a reboot, prequel, sequel, or spin off. I keep telling them to watch certain Korean shows; every now and then someone does, but for the most part the dreaded subtitles scare people away.

[teenOfficial]

The Wailing might be the best horror film ive seen

[Waynesodumb]

Sweet home on Netflix. You'll thank me later.

[DVictor]

Because they're still interested in telling a good story instead of making ideological propaganda.

[tracieok]

75% of my watching is Korean. 25% is other Asian, Australian, etc. No Hollywood.

[douxhc]

I have been watching Korean Films for more tan 15 Years now, and I instantly recognize their hollywood counterparts and how bad hey are, Asians have a different way to approach cinema and telling histories, a way that I as a person from the Caribbean and very influenced by US Cinema it was a culture shock to say the least, I still watch everything coming from them

[lori]

As an english speaker, subtitles never bothered me, i enjoy the movie the same. Parasite is just chef's kiss to me, one of the best I have seen.

[aquarius]

Chinese are learning. They already improved a lot. Having Korea so close has influenced them.

[auneeuna]

People in the United States never had to learn a second language or study abroad to earn money at young ages bc they are too lucky living in a privileged economy.

People from Asia have to adapt to Western languages ( Europe + US + UK etc.), Western values, Western media since born. If Asians don’t learn English or adapt, they cannot survive.

It is this survival mentality and also openness to adapt new values, no other options but to completely learn and be totally creative in this competitive globalised world.

This is why other countries are slowly catching up to the Western media. Hollywood is no longer as open minded or creative bc they are too rich that they don’t have to.