# The best Korean films of all time

The top ten of the Korean Film Archive's 2024 list of 100 Korean films (a poll of 240 film professionals) plus the Korean classics loved by critics and audiences at home and abroad.

- 2 votes · 20 items
- Jun 6, 2024 · subin_cinephile
- https://even.best/en/l/436/the-best-korean-films-of-all-time

## Top 20

1. **Oldboy** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Park Chan-wook, 2003. Oh Dae-su's revenge after 15 years of captivity; Grand Prix at Cannes.
2. **The Handmaiden** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Park Chan-wook, 2016. Sarah Waters' novel transposed to Korea under Japanese rule.
3. **The Housemaid** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Kim Ki-young, 1960. A maid brings down a middle-class family; number one in the Korean Film Archive's 2024 list.
4. **Memories of Murder** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Bong Joon-ho, 2003. Detectives chasing the Hwaseong serial killer, with Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyung.
5. **Parasite** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Bong Joon-ho, 2019. The first Korean film to win both the Palme d'Or and the Oscar for Best Picture.
6. **Aimless Bullet** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Yu Hyun-mok, 1961. The tragedy of a family in war-ravaged Seoul.
7. **The March of Fools** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Ha Gil-jong, 1975. The drift and frustration of university students under the Yushin regime.
8. **Poetry** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Lee Chang-dong, 2010. Yoon Jeong-hee as a grandmother who learns to write poetry while facing her grandson's crime; Best Screenplay at Cannes.
9. **Decision to Leave** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Park Chan-wook, 2022. A detective falls for a suspect; Best Director at Cannes.
10. **Christmas in August** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Hur Jin-ho, 1998. A terminally ill photographer (Han Suk-kyu) and Shim Eun-ha in a quiet romance.
11. **The Day a Pig Fell into the Well** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Hong Sang-soo, 1996. Hong Sang-soo's debut; the crossing lives of four characters.
12. **Burning** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Lee Chang-dong, 2018. A mystery based on a Haruki Murakami short story; FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes.
13. **Peppermint Candy** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Lee Chang-dong, 1999. Twenty years of a man's life told in reverse.
14. **Secret Sunshine** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Lee Chang-dong, 2007. Jeon Do-yeon won Best Actress at Cannes for it.
15. **The Host** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Bong Joon-ho, 2006. A family against a monster from the Han River; at the time the highest-grossing Korean film.
16. **Mother** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Bong Joon-ho, 2009. Kim Hye-ja as a mother trying to clear her son of murder.
17. **Sopyonje** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Im Kwon-taek, 1993. A family of pansori singers and their han; the first Korean film to draw a million viewers in Seoul.
18. **Joint Security Area** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Park Chan-wook, 2000. North and South Korean soldiers who become friends at Panmunjom.
19. **Save the Green Planet!** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Jang Joon-hwan, 2003. A man who believes aliens are invading kidnaps an executive; a cult classic.
20. **Friend** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Kwak Kyung-taek, 2001. Four friends in Busan go their separate ways; a box-office record at the time.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.