Before I moved to Korea I immersed myself in Korean movies — at least as much as I could via Netflix (which doesn’t offer all that much).  I remember watching the movies and feeling like I was in some bizarre dreamland.

The movies were very similar to Hollywood, but something was always off.  Small things were different.  The bathrooms, the restaurants, the unabashed listing of one’s faults.  But watching Korean movies was wonderful.  As Gwyneth Paltrow so breathlessly said in Shakespeare in Love, it was “a new world!”

Now, when I watch these movies I still get the same sensation of wonder; it still feels different, and yet, I realize that I’m living in that world.  It feels like I’m watching a movie within a movie.

Of course, it could be that I’m just watching better movies…

Here’s some of my favorites:

1. The Chaser (2008)
   
2. JSA (2000)
3. Oldboy (2003)
4. Memories of Murder (2003)
5. The President’s Last Bang (2005)
   
6. Oasis (2002)
7. I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006)
   
8. Secret Sunshine (2007)
9. The Show Must Go On (2007)

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