5 Korean Films For Your Weekend Watch List

My guilty pleasure is Korean drama. The spy thriller that got me addicted was “Commitment”, a film released in 2013. When I first started watching K-dramas, they were only available in the US on Netflix and Viki. Now the streaming platforms compete for viewers and subscribers and I'm loving it!

• Four (4) FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming) Platforms to Watch Korean Dramas

One of the fun things I always enjoyed about Saturday afternoons when I was growing up was going to the movies. Sometimes you could go to the local theater and they would either have a double feature or a triple feature. That meant for the same price that you paid for one movie ticket, you got to watch two or maybe even three films. If I was at home enjoying a lazy day, I could watch movies from the afternoon until the evening. Even now Saturdays are still the best day for movies. Don't you think so?

Do you feel like binge-watching movies on a Saturday afternoon or having a watch party (any day of the week)? Check out this list.

♦ (1) An Ethics Lesson (2013)

GENRE: Crime, Black Comedy; Hidden Gem

STORYLINE: One woman ends up dead and 5 men suffer the consequences for being involved with her. The moral of this story is very clear. If you live like a fool, you will probably die like a fool! And you will have nobody to blame but yourself! Also, if you broke the rule that you and your wife agreed on at the beginning of your relationship and cheated on her, don't expect her to understand and forgive you. If there was a genre or a category named “Stupid Is As Stupid Does”, this Korean movie would fit!

Main Characters:

• Jung -Hoon (played by Lee Je-Hoon)
• Myung-Rok (played by Cho Jin-Woong)
• Hyun-Soo (played by Kim Tae-Hoon)
• Soo-Taek (played by Kwak Do-Won)
• Sun-Hwa (played by Moon So-Ri)

TRAILER: Lotte Entertainment (International. “An Ethics Lesson | Official Main Trailer | INTL.” YouTube Video. YouTube, September 25, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Icxu4WsurY.

‌♦ (2) Carter (2022)

GENRE: Action, Thriller, Spy

STORYLINE: What do you do when you wake up in strange surroundings and you don't know who you are? On top of that, you're practically naked. You feel vulnerable and exposed. Suddenly, a phone rings. You answer it and the person starts giving you directions on what to do. You would like to ask them “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?”, but you don't have much time. Because if you don't quickly escape from where you are … you're gonna die! Or you'll become one of the living dead. A deadly virus has caused a pandemic and the infected people are violent and zombie-like.

The young man does not know who he is, but it seems like he's got skills. Fighting and killing skills. He's been trained as a … soldier? … secret agent? … special ops? He doesn't know. He just knows he needs to do whatever the voice is telling him to do. Oh! By the way, the voice does tell him that his name is Carter. A doctor cured his daughter from the virus and Carter's mission is to bring the girl to North Korea at a facility where a vaccine is being developed. As his memories return, he realizes that he volunteered and is desperate to complete this mission because his own daughter has been infected. The vaccine could save her life.

(NOTE: NO spoilers but the ending for this movie left me bewildered. ???)

Main Characters:

• Carter Lee (played by Joo Won)

TRAILER: Netflix. “Carter | Official Trailer | Netflix.” YouTube Video. YouTube, July 18, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulPHag30btQ.

‌♦ (3) The Call (2020)

GENRE: Horror, Mystery, Time Travel (Netflix viewers added: Chilling, Psychological, Dark)

STORYLINE: Two women who live in two separate time periods connect with each other through a mysterious phone call. As with anything that deals with time, there is the question of whether the past can be altered and what would be the consequences for doing so.

Seo-yeon is a young woman grieving the loss of her mother, so she moves into her family home to heal. When she was getting settled she found an old cordless phone in the house. Young-sook called and claimed she was living in the same house only she was in the past, in the year 1999. At first, Seo-yeon thought it was a prank, but then she witnesses events unfolding in the past through the window of her house.

The two women establish a connection across time and they start to influence each other's lives. However, when Seo-yeon tries to change a tragic event from Young-sook's past, it changes the course of both their lives. But the changes have happened and Young-sook is determined to protect her own reality at any cost. Seo-yeon finds herself trapped not knowing how to unblur the lines between past and present. "Call" delves into the butterfly effect and combines the elements of horror, mystery, and psychological suspense.

Main Characters:

• Kim Seo-Yeon (played by Park Shin-Hye)
• Oh Young-Sook (played by Jun Jong-Seo)

TRAILER: Netflix K-Content. “The Call | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB].” YouTube Video. YouTube, October 29, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8sjZQl1SE8.

♦ (4) Ransomed (2023)

GENRE: Action, Comedy, Mystery, Thriller; Based on a true story

STORYLINE: Based on a true story, and set in Lebanon. A Korean diplomat wants to be assigned to a post in the United States. His superiors send him on assignment in Lebanon. Another Korean diplomat has been kidnapped. He is told that if he successfully completes this mission he will be able to work as a diplomat in America. Fortunately, he crosses paths with a Korean taxi driver who speaks fluent Arabic and knows how to get around in Lebanon. Unfortunately, the cab driver is also a swindler. That's terrific! As if trying to rescue a kidnapped diplomat isn't hard enough. He can't even trust a fellow countryman in a foreign land. Let's hope he gets the job done.

Main Characters:

• Min-Joon (played by Ha Jung-Woo, “Narco Saints”)
• Pan-Soo (played by Ju Ji-Hoon, “Blood Free”, “Kingdom”, “Jirisan”)

TRAILER: Well GO USA Entertainment. “RANSOMED Official International Trailer | Kim Seong-Hun | Starring Ha Jung-Woo & Ju Ji-Hoon.” YouTube Video. YouTube, July 18, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRxSpCJaKcM.

‌♦ (5) Emergency Declaration (2021)

GENRE: Action, Thriller and Suspense, Drama

STORYLINE: This thriller is not based on true events but it very well could have happened for real. An emergency is declared when it is certain that the safety of the aircraft or its passengers and crew have been threatened. Jin-Seok is INSANE!! He is the one behind an act of biological terrorism that forces the pilot, Hyun-Soo, to have to make an emergency declaration and land the plane. In my review of another Korean film titled “Unlocked”, I said Im Si-Wan was not a very convincing bad guy. That was before watching him play the terrorist in “Emergency Declaration”. He still has the sweet innocent-looking face but you can't judge a book by its cover. He masterfully played the role of a freaking dangerously deranged pyscho!

Main Characters:

• Jin-Seok (played by Im Si-Wan)
• Hyun-Soo (played by Kim Nam-Gil)

TRAILER: Well. “EMERGENCY DECLARATION Official Trailer | in Theaters August 12 | Song Kang-Ho | Lee Byung-Hun.” YouTube Video. YouTube, July 7, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHN9bN7PyLA.

‌That's my list. Have fun!