1. Choi Min Sik In Oldboy (2003)
Oldboy, directed by Park Chan-Wook, is a gut-wrenching tale of revenge that follows the story of Oh Dae-Su, played by the renowned Korean actor Choi Min-Sik. Oh Dae-Su is the protagonist that the audience would love to hate and sometimes sympathize with his condition. Choi Min-Sik plays the role of an obnoxious drunkard who is abducted on the day of his daughter's fourth birthday. The story follows the complete mental deterioration of a man held in captivity for 15 years for unknown reasons, and by a person he hasn't met. All hell breaks loose when he is released from his solitary confinement. Desperation leads to rage, and rage leads to violence as Dae-Su goes down the dark path of revenge. The ever-rising tension culminates into a showdown that leads to a shocking revelation. Choi Min-Sik had to lose and gain a significant amount of weight for the role. He went into a training camp for six weeks to prepare for the hand-to-hand combat scenes in the movie and did most of the stunts himself. His performance was critically acclaimed, and he received three prestigious awards, namely, the Baeksang Art Award, the Blue Dragon Award, and the Grand Bell Award in the category of 'Best Actor of the Year' in 2003.
2. Song Kang-Ho In Memories Of Murder (2003)
Song Kang-Ho has delivered two career-defining performances that set the bar high for other actors. Memories of Murder, directed by Bong Joon-Ho, is loosely based on the real incident of the first confirmed case of serial murders in Korea. Park Doo-Man, played by Song Kang-Ho, is the detective solving the murders. He plays the role of Park Doo-Man in a nonchalant manner which often makes the character come off as a simpleton and a goofball. But as the movie goes on, new nuances are introduced in the character that shows him to have possessed a high intellect and strong observational and practical skills. His performance reminds the audience not to judge the book by its cover. An uncanny feeling persists throughout the movie, which indicates that something sinister is right around the corner. The movie itself is very atmospheric and funny in a very dark way. Song Kang-Ho won several awards like the Chunsa Film Art Award, Korean Association of Film Critics' Award, Director's Cut Award, Cine 21 Award, and the Grand Bell Award in the category, 'Best Actor of the Year' for his performance in Memories of Murder.
3. Song Kang-Ho In Parasite (2019)
Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-Ho, is a thought-provoking social satire, which ranges from gloomy to funny to downright spine-chilling. The movie presents to the viewer the hierarchy and class discrimination present in a society that pushes a family to a corner, and in their desperation, they lash out. Song Kang-Ho plays Kim Ki-Taek, a cunning family man, and he plays the character with warmth and heart. He and his family come up with a plan to get hired by a wealthy family by pretending as unrelated individuals. Song Kang-Ho's charismatic personality lights up the screen every time he is in the frame. His realistic portrayal of emotions laced with subtle humor keeps the audience glued to the screen. The movie received rave reviews and a plethora of awards. This is Song Kang-Ho's most ground-breaking performance to date. He received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Excellence Award in the Locarno Film Festival for his performance in Parasite.
4. Kim Min-Hee In The Handmaiden (2016)
The Handmaiden, directed by Park Chan-Wook, is an enchanting psychological thriller dealing with eroticism and psychological corruption. This movie is a blend of a love story and an erotic thriller that tells the story of Lady Hideko, who lives on a secluded but posh estate, and a con artist who plots to steal her fortune. Sook-He, a small-time thief, is hired as her Handmaiden. She is working with the conman in the scheme of defrauding Lady Hideko of her inheritance, but the problem starts when she falls in love with Lady Hideko. This movie plays out like a chess game of love, sensuality, and betrayal. Kim Min-Hee as Lady Hideko is breathtaking, and she plays this character with such elegance, poise, and grace that her portrayal remains with the viewer long after the movie is over. The Handmaiden is poetic and dark with an undertone of pulsating sensuality. Kim Min-Hee won several awards for her performance in this movie, such as the Blue Dragon Film Award, the Cine 21 Awards, and the Director's Cut Award for 'Best Actress of the Year' in 2016.
5. Won Bin In The Man From Nowhere (2010)
The Man from Nowhere, directed by Lee Jeong-Beom, is a fast-paced and blood-soaked action-thriller that tells the story of Cha Tae-Sik, a man with a dark past who gets involved in gang-war while trying to protect his neighbor's child who he befriends. Won Bin, who plays Cha Tae-Sik in the movie, was previously known for his performances in romantic film. In this one, he reinvents himself as an enigmatic action hero who carries an aura of mystery around himself. Cha Tae-Sik is cold, calm, calculative, and reserved at the beginning of the movie, but when he learns that some gangsters abducted the little kid, he goes on a quest riddled with violence to rescue the girl. What ensues can be described as a dance of death as Tae-Sik goes berserk on everyone that becomes an obstacle in this path of rescuing the girl. This movie with its explicit depiction of brutal violence and Won Bin's enigmatic performance keeps the audience hooked throughout the runtime. Won Bin performed most of the stunts himself in this movie. He won several awards, such as the Film Journalists Association Annual Film Award, the Max Movie Award, the Korea World Youth Film Festival Award, the Cine 21 Award, and the Grand Bell Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film- The Man from Nowhere in 2010.
6. Lee Young-Ae In Lady Vengeance (2005)
Lady Vengeance, directed by Park Chan-Wook, is a beautifully crafted revenge thriller that follows the story of the gorgeous femme fatale- Lee Geum-Ja, played by the actress Lee Young-ae. Lee Geum-Ja is forced to confess to a crime she didn't commit and she spends 13 years in prison where she fantasizes about unleashing her wrath on her wrong-doers after her release from prison. The movie is packed with plenty of unpredictable twists and turns, controlled but brutal violence, and brilliant performance by everyone in the cast. Still, Lee Young-ae shines the brightest as Lady Vengeance. Lee Geum-Ja was mainly viewed as a quiet and saintly person in her prison, but there were clear indications that a sea of venom was bubbling inside her, waiting to be unleashed. The anger keeps mounting as the days go by in prison, and when she is released, she sets out on an elaborate plan to seek revenge on the police officer who forced her to confess to the crime and on her kindergarten teacher, Mr. Baek. The fate awaiting Mr. Baek is gruesome as it awakens a desire for revenge that lurks inside any person who has been wronged. Lee Young-ae is mesmerizing in her portrayal of a strong woman who refuses to give in to the perpetrators' will. Lee Young-ae's performance was critically acclaimed worldwide, and this movie has become a cult classic in modern times. She won several awards in the Best Actress category in the 2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards, 2005 Korean Film Awards, 2005 Director's Cut Awards, and 2006 Baeksang Art Awards.
7. Lee Byung-Hun In I Saw The Devil (2010)
I Saw the Devil, directed by Kim Jee-Woon, is not a movie for the faint-hearted. It is a blood-curdling tale of murder, pain, suffering, and revenge. Choi Min-sik plays the character of Kyung-Chul, who is a psychopath who kills for pleasure. Kyung-Chul is the embodiment of pure evil, and his lack of motive for murders makes the character even more spine-chilling to watch. The movie delivers a punch in the gut initially as he kills the fiancée of an elite secret agent, Kim Soo-Hyeon. A sinister game of cat and mouse with outbursts of graphic violence follows. In his hunt for Kyung-Chul, Kim Soo-Hyeon, played by Lee Byung-hun, is more than willing to blur the lines between good and evil. Lee Byung-hun's performance is grounded in reality and makes the audience root for him to get his revenge even through brutal methods. Kyung-Chul makes the viewer's skin crawl, and everyone wants him to die by the end of the movie as there is no redeemable quality about him. The film delves into human depravity as these two characters cross path with each other for the first time. Kim Soo-Hyeon beats Kyung-Chul to a pulp, instead of killing him. He decides to thrust a GPS tracker down his throat so that he is aware of his location all the time and can listen to his conversations. The emotional and mental breakdown of Kim Soo-Hyeon is hard to watch and hard not to sympathize with. Lee Byung-hun's portrayal is sad, vulnerable, unnerving, formidable yet understandable. I Saw the Devil becomes the embodiment of the phrase 'Revenge is a dish best served cold' as the movie reaches its conclusion. Lee Byung-hun won the Grand Prize in the 2011 Baeksang Arts Awards and was nominated in the category of 'Best Actor' in Grand Bell Awards ceremony and the Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony.
8. Kim Yoon-Seok In The Chaser (2008)
The Chaser, directed by Na Hong-Jin, is an action-thriller intelligently and stylishly crafted with a strong storyline. The story revolves around a frazzled ex-police detective, played by Kim Yoon-Seok, who runs a small ring of prostitutes after being dishonorably discharged from the police force. He lands into financial trouble when two of his prostitutes go missing, and he takes the matter into his own hands when his old police task force refuses to help him because of their pre-engagement in a high-profile case involving the mayor. The film consists of several chase sequences up and down the steep stairs, labyrinthine streets, and alleys. This movie touches on subjects of human fallibility, moral struggles, and the failure of law in providing justice to the oppressed. Kim Yoon-Seok plays the character with subtlety and realism, which grabs the viewers' attention right away. Kim Yoon-Seok won several awards for the role - Best Actor in the Chunsa Film Art Awards, the Busan Film Critics Awards, the Buil Film Awards, Grand Bell Awards, the Blue Dragon Film Awards, the Korean Film Awards, the Director's Cut Awards, and Cine 21 Awards for his ground-breaking performance in this movie in 2008.
9. Im Soo-Jung In A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003)
A Tale of Two Sisters, written and directed by Kim Jee-Woon, is a horror drama that is beautifully orchestrated from its very inception to its conclusion. It is an atmospheric horror that radiates with a sense of mounting dread, culminating in a terrifying ending. This movie acts as a slow-burner and follows the story of two sisters who are reunited after spending time in a mental institution. They return to their family home to find out that their father has remarried. The kids instantly develop a feeling of aversion towards their stepmother, who also appears to dislike them. Apart from dealing with their stepmother's obsessive, unbalanced and condescending ways, they have to deal with the arrival of evil spirits that haunt their house. A Tale of Two Sisters uses the trappings of a ghost story to talk about deeper issues like family trauma and neglect. This film revolutionized the horror genre with its intricate plot, excellent acting, and subtle symbolism, leaving the audience feeling hollow and emotionally drained. There awaits a shocking revelation in the end, which brings the story to a full circle. Im Soo-Jung delivered a phenomenal performance, which was critically acclaimed. She won several awards in the 'Best New Actress of the Year' category in award ceremonies like Screamfest Horror Film Festival, Busan Film Critics' Awards, Blue Dragon Film Awards, Korean Film Awards, Director's Cut Awards, and Grand Bell Awards.
10. Bae Doo-Na In Kingdom (2019-Present)
The last entry on this list is a little different from the rest of its predecessors because it is a TV series that is still ongoing. It is Netflix's first original Korean series and follows the story of a prince who sets out on a quest to investigate the origin of a deadly plague that begins to ravage his kingdom. This TV series is a zombie horror wrapped in a package of period drama and delivers genuine scares. Bae Doo-na is a powerhouse of an actor, and her layered portrayal of Seo-bi steals the entire show. Seo-bi is a physician who joins forces with the country's crown prince to defeat both zombies and court corruption. Instead of being a submissive woman who is protected by men and gets easily scared of zombies, who would be more stereotypical of women of that time, Seo-bi is a brave, strong, and nurturing woman who can pulverize a zombie's head if required. She is a force to be reckoned with in horror drama.
