FILM2.0's Top 37 Korean Films (2002)

A pressured accountant, his war veteran brother and their dysfunctional family struggle with integrating into post-War Korean society.

A composer and his wife are thrown into turmoil when a housemaid becomes more than they bargained for.

A story that follows the lives and interactions of two Buddhist monks living in South Korea.

Following a man's suicide, time traverses back to reveal six chapters of his life on why he committed suicide.

About desires and lives of four characters in diverse circumstances. A poor novelist, a cheating wife, a mysophobic husband and a ticket girl.

Situated in the small poverty stricken town of Woomukbaemi, South Korea, this film centers on a clothes factory manager and the triangular relationship between himself, his insatiably jealous and violent wife, and one of his employees.

A terminally ill bachelor Hahn Suk-Kyu runs a photo studio in Seoul. One day a young meter maid Shim Eun-Ha visits his studio. Over time they form an untimely though touching bond which leads to an unfinished love story.

This is a film about the coming of age of three men.

Despite its falling popularity, a father teaches his two children the Korean musical tradition of Pansori (one singer accompanied by one drummer).

An irresponsible and childish ex-con befriends a girl with cerebral palsy and develops a progressively stronger bond with her.

Detective Woo is on the trail of the mysterious gangster Sungmin, a master of disguise who always manages to elude his pursuers. Eventually, the cop tracks down and confronts the master-criminal in the suburbs of a coal-mining town.

In a time of political and social unrest in nineteenth-century Korea, an uncouth, self-taught painter explores his natural talent amidst the repressive world around him.

Going through a jail and a site of construction, a young laborer Young-Dal meets middle aged Mr. Jeong on his way to his hometown Sampo after ten years' absence. They become to know a waitress Baek-Hwa who runs away from a restaurant and then, they travel together. Arriving at the destination Kangcheon Station, Mr. Jeong is disappointed at the changes of the old village by building a hotel. Young-Datl and Mr. Jeong stay at Sampo not as the hometown but as the site of living. Baek-Hwa leaves Sampo with a ticket Young-Dal buys her with his last money.

Helmed by one of Korea's leading directors, Hong Sang-soo, Jisook joins two of her girlfriends for a holiday in Korea's Kangwon Province. But in an eerie twist of fate, her former lover, Sangkwon, plans a getaway for the same destination, where tragedy brings them together once again.

After a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.

A writer who was disabled during the Korean War (1950-1953) is now contributing a serial to a newspaper. His wife, who once adored him, is tempted by a young man she happens to know. But he overlooks her affair thanking her for her utmost care up until that time. Then the young man asks her to leave with him for a faraway place.

About three monks in a remote monastery; an aging master, a small orphan and a young man who left his city life to seek Enlightenment.

A man tries to raise his two sons and two daughters under some of the most adverse conditions known to man. The father operates a horse-drawn cart, but in a city that is modernizing after the destruction of the Korean War, automobiles are making carts obsolete. The children are experiencing difficulties as well. The eldest son has flunked the bar exam twice and is not hopeful of passing it a third time to become a lawyer. The eldest daughter is mute and married to an abusive husband. The younger daughter tries to pose as a rich university student to move up in life. The youngest son has a penchant for petty theft.

This is a film which ridicules the weaknesses of South Korean society.

A man comes to stay at a friend's house in the country. The household consists of a father, daughter, and a mentally disturbed son. The man falls in love with the daughter. One day she is attacked, but her attacker is slain. At first her boyfriend stands accused of murder, but in a moment of lucidity, her brother steps forward and claims responsibility. He is led away to prison.

A married man who moved to live in Seoul for a better life visits the small town where he grew up and falls in love with a local girl.

Two ruined, old adversaries meet in a rehab center and reassess the conflict that dominated their lives since the Korean War. One man is a former cop and the other is a former communist guerrilla. The film flashes back to their tragic pasts to explain how they arrived where they are.

The story is set in the 1970s during the period of military dictatorship. Schools were frequently closed down and society seemed to face bleak prospects on all fronts. Nonetheless, Byung Tae, a college student, enjoys pursuing romance at group "meetings" or blins dates. It is during one of these ventures that he meets Young-ja, a French Literature student.

South Korean agents Ryu and Lee are tracking a female assassin from North Korea who has mysteriously disappeared. With new killings and the theft of a deadly bomb, time is running out to catch her.