Top Picks: Must-Watch Korean Cinema Masterpieces for a Magical Movie Experience

Since the last decade, the Korean waves have been surfing throughout the world, especially within the last five years, due to K-pop and K-dramas simultaneously giving exposure to Korean cinema, i.e., Korean movies. Here are some of the best recommendations for you:

Train to Busan.

Released in 2016, this movie will take you through the journey of a father-daughter train journey that turned out to be their worst nightmare. How the zombie virus breaks out in South Korea creates a plight for survivors. This could be a great choice if one wants to dive into the zombie world of Korean cinema.

Memories of Murder

This story revolves around the rural district of South Korea where two dead bodies of young women were found and the two detectives desperately attempting to catch the culprit and beating confessions out of suspects. But the story takes a gradual shift when another woman is murdered and a pattern emerges.

Burning

A man runs into a girl who once lived in his neighborhood.  She asks him to feed her cat as she takes off on an extended trip to Africa. After her return with this mysterious man, the plot took an intriguing surge for viewers to authentically convince them of envy turning into suspicions. The mysterious man's hobby plays a huge role in determining the end of the plot.

Parasite

This movie made a remarkable history of Korean cinema by winning four Oscars and 309 accolades. “When one is expecting a drama but it turns out to be a crime," . This movie shows the distinction between the world of two classes: poor and rich, and the consequences of the poor entering the rich yet gullible family. When the owner left the house for vacation, they moved in and came across undesirable circumstances that changed everyone's life.

Old Boy

After 15 years, a man got released from this shabby cell, where he was kidnapped and tortured, with money, a cell phone, and expensive clothes. As the man strives for his mission to get revenge, he finds himself getting deeper and closer to the loopholes dug by his kidnapper, eventually finding out the connection between his past and present.

Past lives

Two childhood friends who were deeply connected to each other are wrested apart after one of them emigrates from South Korea. Soon after 25 years, they reunite for a week, which helps them discover life, unexplored paths, destiny, and unrequited love. This will be a great choice for a light-hearted, heartfelt movie.

The Handmaiden.

The BAFTA Award-winning movie revolves around 1930s Korea under Japanese rule, where a young Korean woman goes to work as a handmaid for a young Japanese woman. A Korean woman with ulterior motives intends to defraud her appointee, but her feelings could get in the way, potentially changing the desirable consequences.