The South Korean film industry tends to unfold a plethora of beautiful, scary, and thought-provoking plots, driving viewers' minds to the point where they must whack their consciences to allow the moral of those stories to seep in. If you feel the need to understand the world's underlying complexities, here's a list of Korean films with top-notch direction and performances that deliver salient social messages out there for us to receive.
1. Parasite
Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite is a critical and well-executed social critique. Unfolding in front of the audience the stark difference between layers of life, of men made of the same flesh and blood living at two extremes of a thread only to end up destroying one another's lives. We are invited to scrutinize the lifestyles of the Kim family, that lives beneath the ground level in South Korean Basement dwellings, and the pleasant, homely Park family, that resides who reside in a ‘top of the hill’ house. The huge social class disparity, insecurities, and a few unlucky circumstances all lead to an expected yet unexpected ending that leaves both families with nothing.
2. Okja
Mirando's experimental prototype pigs were delivered to certain farmers to mature in a decade in order to deceive animal rights activists, and thus began the narrative of a loving bond between young Mija and her charming animal buddy Okja, a genetically modified pig. The film exposes corporate cruelty when it chooses Okja, allegedly the best from a group whipped up by science, as a poster animal for future meat products, focusing on the environment, animal rights and protection, and the ethics of meat consumption. Exploring compassion as well as the polar opposite ruthlessness of human behaviour, filmmaker Bong Joon Ho weaves a web of enchantment and dread throughout the film, making it work.
3. Silenced
In the style of a classic noir, the film begins with Kang In-Ho, an art teacher at a special school for disabled children, driving through the city, unaware of the horrors that await him. Unveiling the faculty's enigmatic, cruel actions against the children reveal several critical elements that highlight the gravity of the situation. The sign language art realistically conveys the trauma of being brutally abused and sexually mistreated, sending shivers down one's spine as dread hangs over and unknown helplessness tendrils around.
Based on Gong Ji Young’s novel –‘The Crucible’, ‘Silenced’ exposes the heinous truth lurking behind the school's façade
4. Kim Ji Young- Born In 1982
Based on Cho Nam Joo's novel, this film, with its singular flat narration, exemplifies the staleness of the endemic evil of gender discrimination, depicting a gender-biased society that continues to try to hide behind useless jokes and phoney actions. With shifting timeframes depicting Ji Young's loss of charms while striving to keep her body and soul together in an unfair world, and how her freedom is easily denied, the audience dearly sympathizes with her character on a personal level. This film intelligently carved a path to the persona of a woman who tenderly nurtures her bonds while managing her own heart.
5. Beauty Water
Beauty standards and the pressure to achieve them can be terrifying in Korea, and this film perfectly recreates those horrors with flawless animation, depicting the story of Yeji and her downfall as she associates having a pretty face with having a high socioeconomic status, and how her desires lead her to frightening consequences for which one may not be mentally and adequately prepared. Beauty Water is focused on educating the public about the concept of beauty that extends beyond the skin, displaying how infatuated one may be with appealing personalities and qualities- 'the halo effect’.
6. I Am Happy
With a parent suffering from dementia and a brother with gambling addiction, Lee Bo Young, unable to deal with the harsh reality, reaches the psychiatric hospital oblivious to the love which awaits him.
Traversing through the mind of a mentally challenged person, the movie accentuates how much a helpless mind can suffer. Defying its title, the movie is anything but happy, leaving the audience with a sense of insecurity tinged with impending sadness as the grievances of the characters weighs them down, making the depressing pessimistic outlook of the film highlight the grey and sympathetic tone.
7. Social Phobia
We've all heard of this high-spaced technology called the internet and the countless possibilities for social networking sites that have changed the way we engage, communicate and socialize with a linear angle; well, 'Social phobia' deals with that zone. A mystery thriller that delves into online addiction, cybercrime, bullying, and lack of morale, entraps a twisted case of a netizen's suicide that makes us ponder a lot more as the plot leaves hints about something our eyes cannot see.
8. Reach For The Sky
This documentary film, cleverly presenting the South Korean education system, paints the truth of how students deal with the unbearable pressure of studies and exams.
It is illuminating and gripping as we go through the journey of three students, Hye In, Hyeon Wha, and Minjoon, shedding light on the impact of exams and how students begin to define themselves based on their scores. Reach for the Sky also holds some hope and unity as it unveils how all the youngsters cling to their optimistic attitude and how they continue to believe in themselves.
9. Mirror
Christina Yoon frequently strives to explore hurt, detachment, and identity, conveying the deep-rooted emotions and themes with conventional direction and narration.
Following the life of a scar-faced Korean immigrant who covers her diffidence with a mask, inferring an attempt to hide her fragility in both mental and physical aspects, this short film very clearly demonstrates the notion of self-hatred in insecure women who deem themselves to be ugly and how this sentiment eats away at their inner peace pushing to make regrettable wrong decisions.
10. Save My Seoul
Through the eyes of two Korean-American brothers, this drama-documentary helps the audience discover the petrifying scene of sex trafficking, pervasive prostitution, and slavery. It exposes the deeply implanted chauvinistic attitude and the disgusting complexity of this trade. Appositely reminding the moviegoers about the value of human dignity, and prompting them to open their eyes to speak up against such horrendous crimes.
