korean new wave
45 titles · 1998–present · South Korea
The explosion of South Korean cinema following the 1998 relaxation of censorship and government support for the film industry. Park Chan-wook's operatic revenge thrillers, Bong Joon-ho's genre-bending social satires, Lee Chang-dong's humanist dramas, and Kim Ki-duk's confrontational provocations represent an extraordinarily diverse movement united by formal ambition, willingness to combine genres, and an unflinching engagement with South Korean society's stratifications and contradictions. Parasite's 2020 Best Picture win marked the moment the global mainstream caught up.
Distinguish from
Japanese New Wave is an earlier East Asian new wave (1960s) with a more politically radical, formally experimental orientation. The Korean New Wave is more genre-engaged and commercially viable while maintaining artistic ambition.
Oldboy
Memories of Murder
The Handmaiden
Stoker
Lady Vengeance
Burning
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Mother
Decision to Leave
3-Iron
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
No Other Choice
Thirst
Joint Security Area
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
Pieta
Three... Extremes
The Isle
Poetry
Bad Guy
Peppermint Candy
Oasis
Samaritan Girl
Moebius
Time
Secret Sunshine
The Bow
The Net
Breath
Address Unknown
The Coast Guard
Dream
Green Fish
Birdcage Inn
Crocodile
One on One
Human, Space, Time and Human
Real Fiction
Wild Animals
Amen
Trio
Call of God
Dissolve
Stop
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against typetwo worlds, one passportthe dream, curdledfish out of waterlove you can't trustone for themsomeone always knows moresad & funnysad fairytalesthe chance meeting that wasn'tsmall town, big secretthe mask that can't slipthe moment you're seentransformative mentorshipthe friendship that makes no sensesomeone is always watchingthe job goes sideways, charminglymoral ambiguityfound familycoming of ageidentity crisisloneliness & isolationrevenge & justicepsychological horrorforbidden loveclass warfareredemptioncultural dislocationinstitutional corruptionartistic obsessionnostalgia & longingorganized crimesurvivalwar traumaimmigrant experiencemental health struggletoxic relationshipsurban alienationmidlife crisisunderdog triumphpsychological unravelingenvironmental crisiscivil unrestsurveillance & controltime travel & paradoxcosmic horrorai & consciousnessmemory losspost-apocalyptic