One insight my dad provided me was the effective use of weapons, particularly hammers and knives, in Korean films, which evokes a more intimate and visceral experience for the viewer. He mentioned that Korea and other parts of Asia relied heavily on swords and blunt objects when fighting, so there’s a true brutality and emotional experience with the physical nature of this kind of hand:hand combat. The infamous breezeway scene in Old Boy is such a classic one for that very reason - men clamoring about in absolute chaos violently bludgeoning each other. The elegance in the camerawork and direction while simultaneously portraying brutality at its chaotic core elicits tension, discomfort, awe, and transcendence.
0:12 Parasite 0:23 Squid Game 0:38 The Outlaws 0:41 Burning 0:49 I Saw The Devil 0:54 Oldboy 0:56 A Frozen Flower 1:00 Memories Of Murder 1:04 The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil 1:20 No Tears For The Dead 1:27 A Moment To Remember 2:11 Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance 2:17 Train To Busan 2:19 Tune In For Love 5:29 Past Lives 5:45 Hello Ghost 5:48 Enemies To Lovers 5:52 Hide And Seek 6:11 The Mask Girl 8:26 My Name 8:36 The Man From Nowhere
Korea is literally taking over the entertainment industry in music & film, it's crazy how much influence they have for being such a small country and started from the bottom from the Japanese rule not even that long ago.
@Jackku8 "the sad truth is that it'll just turn into nrml pop ig with english atleast" that has already happened.. groups like NewJeans.. Le Sserafim.. Fifty Fifty.. ITZY.. Twice.. and many many more.. and singing only in english now.. not just in Kpop but groups from Japan that are popular in Kpop like XG or NIZIU also sing in english now more and more.. USA... like it or not.. are still number 1 when it comes to brainwashing the planet.
I've been familiar with South Korean cinema since the end of 1990ies/beginning of 2000s when I started renting out video tapes from our local rental in a provincial town in Latvia. And it has been an eye-opening journey. Amongst them, there have been some true gems (several of Kim-ki-duk's movies, Old Boy etc.) and of course the occasional total bunkers movie. So I completely agree that South Korean cinema has been and still is one the best, if not the best, in the contemporary movie scene.
I am impressed that someone from a provincial town in Latvia has been following Korean cinema for that long. I spoke with a Canadian who immigrated from Russia recently. He has been a fan of Korean films and shows for over a decade. He stopped watching all Hollywood films/ shows completely and just solely watches Asian films/ shows.
@@skatingcanuck9837"Asian films/shows"? You are kidding. Japanese and Chinese ones are joke compared to Korean ones. They themselves pass theirs to watch Korean shows.
@@jinmo2821 I am not entirely sure what you are trying to say because your words and sentence structure is a mess. Perhaps you don't speak English and are using a bad translation app? Based on my guess of what you are trying to articulate, I believe you need to do A LOT more research on Asian film history. Rather than just infer recent Korean films/ shows. Asia is a large continent with a long film history - do not oversimplify it.
@@skatingcanuck9837 Yes Asia is a big place, but the Korean wave is sweeping over the other Asian countries. China has place all sorts of subtle and not so subtle barriers to slow down their own citizens enthusiasm for Korean content. India despite having bollywood is finding that Korean content has grown rapidly especially among their younger generation. Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, etc etc. It is sweeping over Asia as well. Korean content stands out
Korean films are exciting because they deal with human situations and emotions with utmost subtlety , care and attention to detail. So many countries around the world just love them.
Parasite and Squid Game were impressive. Old Boy is still a classic and in my top 10. Impressive the rise of K-pop, K-Drama (My love from another star was streamed like 2 billion times in China) and K-movies..
I have been watching Korean movies and dramas for like 6 years now and honestly I am still impressed with the quality of what they produce.... Last year I have recommend few series to my mom and from that moment she only watches Korean series hahaha she said that whenever she tried to watch something western again it always disappointed her and she always had in the back of her mind that she could watch something so so much better instead
You’ve done an amazingly objective report. I like how you pointed out the flaws of Korean working conditions despite the good movies they make, and yeah there is also a lot of wacky stuff that’s not good.
Exactly. I hate it when I see creators romanticize film industries from different countries, but blatantly ignored their issues. Especially the people who used these industries as a talking point against “wOKe” Hollywood. Just because you watched a couple foreign films doesn’t make you an expert on that industry, nor understand the politics and culture of said foreign country.
The sad thing is seeing Hollywood slowly wrap its tentacles around kdramas and films inserting their ideological propaganda into Korean films and dramas. I’ve pulled back from watching Korean films/dramas for this reason. I don’t want to feel like I’m watching a moral lecture on why I need to embody the next new ideological trend
I freaking hate when capitalism slimily sneaks its way into genres and replaces genuine content with, basically ads. Like never know who to trust feeling
These past 3 years or so, I've fallen in love with KDramas especially, but Korean movies have been really good too. It's crazy how many shows I've watched these past 3 years that have really entertaining, while everyone around me complains that everything is a reboot, prequel, sequel, or spin off. I keep telling them to watch certain Korean shows; every now and then someone does, but for the most part the dreaded subtitles scare people away.
90s chinese moviee, if you can be ignorant of certain aspects, are overall good with a common theme of loneliness and youth. Ofcourse hong kong and Taiwanese cinema is really rich in its own way and has flavours. Japan is a whole different subsect of beautiful cinema in its own way.
@oreochocolate_lavacake9960 Bollywood is a bygone commercial fuss now. But real good Indian cinema is still there with distributors like Netflix and other small projects which arent as commercialized as Bollywood. And ofcourse each regional language has its own inventory of good cinema too
Yup, this is the heart of it right here. Most our writers are political activists first, and may not even be writers at all. Their writers are writers.
what an idiotic statemen, you think theres no ideology in parasite, memories of murder, burning? its literally impossible to make art that isnt ideological propaganda
@@MewDenise Having broad political messages such as rich vs poor is not the same as ideological propaganda, even if you wanna make a political statement with a story, you should always prioritize making a good story and asking questions instead of just being patronizing and preach to your viewers.
As a Korean, I don't think it's fair to compare recent Hollywood blockbuster flops with some of the best Korean movies. An actual Korean movie theater is usually filled with the K-version of bad blockbuster flops with forced scenes that make audience cry (iykyk). Let's not even talk about the horrors of Korean SF films.. Only once in a while we'd see great films such as The Wailing or Parasite. The Korean TV-dramas, however, are only getting better these days with big Netflix budgets.
Totally agree with your observation re: horror movies. K-horrors are just plain bad. Occasionally, they have a gem. In my opinion serial killer / revenge movies are top notch.
@@용용이-f3f 드라마 말고 한국 영화에 대해 말한거였어요. OTT 덕분에 한드는 아주 좋아진거 같아요. 근데 영화계는 OTT에서도 그닥 발전한게 안보이네요. 여러 장르에 도전하고 있는거 같지만 결국 신파로 부실한 스토리를 커버하거나 애국심을 내세워서 억지 감정 끌어내는게 요 몇년간 나오는 상업영화의 대부분 이에요. 독립영화계는 잘 모릅니다만 한국 상업 영화계는 봉준호 박찬욱 감독님 등 두세명이서 멱살 잡고 이끄는 중이에요.
I have been watching Korean Films for more tan 15 Years now, and I instantly recognize their hollywood counterparts and how bad hey are, Asians have a different way to approach cinema and telling histories, a way that I as a person from the Caribbean and very influenced by US Cinema it was a culture shock to say the least, I still watch everything coming from them
amazing coverage renzy, east asian cinema isnt recognized enough, it gives feeling no western movie can replicate. thank you once again for your content.
Excellent work in terms of breaking down where the US and South Korea film industries diverge in terms of their motivations and consequently their artistic results. And it was appropriate to include a couple of scenes from Train to Busan, a legitimately scary yet poignant film which serves as a great example of what that country is capable of.
I just read recently that 90% of the writers in SK are female. Only 27% of them in the US are female. So with the strike in Hollywood the two primary goals were more money and AI. That's it. Not better product. More money. Not more representation of women writers but money. Movies and TV that are scripted depend upon scriptwriters. Bad writing ends up in bad material. SK puts writers at the forefront. Production houses battle to get hot new writers. Does that happen in Hollywood? No. Everything is based on well known stars. And repetition of the same material over and over again. Are we on the 10th Fast and Furious movie? How many seasons are we now in for Law and Order or CSI? You can hire the top 10 highest paid actresses in SK for the same price as the 10th highest paid actress in Hollywood. And the vast amount of material in SK allows for more growth of talent and more experienced crews and directors. 16 episode series. One and dones. The US instead has 20 seasons of the same show. Boring. Hallyu is simply better than Hollywood. In volume and quality.
People in the United States never had to learn a second language or study abroad to earn money at young ages bc they are too lucky living in a privileged economy. People from Asia have to adapt to Western languages ( Europe + US + UK etc.) , Western values , Western media since born. If Asians don’t learn English or adapt, they cannot survive. It is this survival mentality and also openness to adapt new values, no other options but to completely learn and be totally creative in this competitive globalised world. This is why other countries are slowly catching up to the Western media. Hollywood is no longer as open minded or creative bc they are too rich that they don’t have to.
I've been watching foreign films, TV shows, dramas (filipino, japanese, thai, korean, chinese...) for 20 + years and counting and I will never watch anything produced in Hollywood again.
Korean shows and movies are some of my absolute favourite content, especially in the last decade or so when Hollywood spends all fucking day preaching to us about how terrible we are as humans. Hands down the best drama I've ever watched was Korean. "It's OK, That's Love". The movie spoke to me in ways that most drama series never seem to accomplish. That's just the tip of the iceberg though. A lot of people are only focused on newer content that can be found on Netflix, but there are great series that have never made it to Netflix like W-Two Worlds, Blood, and Pinocchio two name a few.
It's korean entertainment era. Western entertainment is now over. That's fact. There is a time where they are the best but not now. when you realize that the is different era of culture per 10-15 years. There's time where brazillian, japanese entertainment era exist too
@5:20 "Mega celebs as a crutch" i always say it, its a very old school mentality to think people go to movies just to see a Hollywood celeb. It doesnt happen. People are more close to Social Media influencers rather than Hollywood celebs. These celebs are only highly paid because these execs are holding on to an old model.
Shortly before COVID-19, US theaters had nothing but "comic-book superhero" movies. These do not appeal to me. I found South Korea's "Keys to the Heart", "In Our Prime", and "1987: When the Day Comes". Strange -- North Korea's dictator saw "Rashomon" (1950) and wanted NK to become a cinematic powerhouse. 70 years later, South Korea has done it !
South Korean entertainment industry was well known for having a lot of “yeoljung pay” jobs. It roughly means your passion pays your salary, so you barely get enough compensation or sometimes any money for the work you do. Koreas movie industry was always low budget so directors and scriptwriters focused on developing a compelling, interesting story since it was the cheapest way to attract audiences to the cinema.
I got the answer. The next sure Hollywood hit. Fast and Furious 23....Transformers 30...and we keep going... As long as it makes a profit, that means it's good.
Yes I wondered how long it would take the West to catch on. China ,Korea,Thailand and Japan also have incredible cinema. I started watching during the Pandemic and have not stopped. Hollywoodis just okay not very deep with endless repeating scenarios that make most movies interchangable. And actors that look so much alike they could be clones. The good Asian films, dramas and series I've seen have rich layered plots, atmosphere, acting that is relatable even though is not my culture. The music, costuming and cultural differences are interesting to put it mildly and also I love learning about myths I never heard of as well. its just a incredible experince. I have lists of every kind of film you can think of and most are subtiled and none are from the west. I've learned to read faster. I would so rather watch a good Asian film that does not have the Western male gaze making it always the same story. I'm so glad I've found cinema from Korea,Japan,China,Thialand, India.
They don't shy away from showcasing animal instincts hidden inside human beings. They are unapologetic about it. they don't play safe to make their films commercial and family friendly,
So true. Used to only watch Hollywood. During COVID I tried k drama and got hooked. Hollywood got so woke and created terrible films, I couldn’t watch it anymore. I found Korean films to be the best of old Hollywood. Good stories, good character development, great acting and directing. I then tried other foreign films hoping it would be like Korean films. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Fortunately, streamers like Netflix have so many Korean films being produced, I always have something new to see.
As a Korean person. Korean people do not make better movies overrall... Like many East Asian countries, the prime incentive is to make money. Talent is secondary to fan appeal. Boyband/Girlband singers, Idols, Models, anyone with a big following are considered fiest over talent. Even in Parasite, they had to hire popular idols to guarantee attendance and ticket purchases. It just so happems Bong Joon Ho is extremely talented. He is NOT the norm. This is like saying anime is better than western animation... There are pros and cons to both. Always be wary of anyone who says one is better than the other when it comes art..
Rather than better art than the other, I feel people connect to korean or asian media more, even if its bad stuff in technical terms. It feels (emphasis on feels) more authentic and human, and that draws people's intrigue and emotions. I watch both and other languages too but korean media undeniably holds attention more easily even if in absolute rubbish shows or films. Hollywood seems superficial right now comparatively
What this is the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard. Koreans are probably THE most critical audience when it comes to calling out bad acting/plots. Talent is literally THE most important thing that Koreans look at when it comes to cinema and music. Hollywood literally uses Korea as a benchmark for global success. Why? Because they know how critical the Korean audience is. Your analogy of anime also doesn't even make sense. You're stating the obvious when you say that not every movie is like Parasite or every director is like Bong. What are you even talking about 😂
@@seeyafornow2642I also watch both Hollywood and Korean movies and tv shows. I majored in cultural studies so from what I’ve learned is that Korean culture and language is high context whereas US is low context culture. That explains Korean culture where people use nonverbal languages a lot more than Americans and Korean language itself has a lot of various expressions and more complicated than English. I work as a Korean English translator and every time I translate English into Korean is more challenging since there are so many expressions I have to consider. These two things are significant that they influences the Korean way of expressing emotions in the movies and dramas and do different from Western culture.
@JeanKim-eb9ff hey thanks for staring that! i actually recall studying the low context and high context culture concept in my psychology coirse and found it v interesting. and now that you put two and two together, it makes sense in the movies context too. also fun to know you're a korean english translator, altho like you said, can imagine it being frustrating at times when english phrases and words are not sufficient to express the whole and actual meaning/contexts
한국의 엔테테인먼트 산업이 세계적으로 성장하면서 점점 더 많은 재능있는 젊은이들이 꿈을 가지고 이 분야로 뛰어들고 있습니다. 한국의 젊은이들뿐 아니라 아시아 전역의 젊은이들이 몰려들고 있는 것도 사실. 아이러니하게도, 노동력 착취 등 여러 부정적인 그늘에도 불구하고 이들의 순수한 열정이 한국 엔테테인먼트 산업의 동력이 됩니다. 지금은 넷플릭스 같은 거대 글로벌 자본도 유입되고 있으니 앞으로도 한동안 한국 엔터테인먼트가 성장할 것이란 점은 의심하지 않습니다. 빛이 커질수록 어두운 그늘도 커지겠죠.
Interesting video but I wanted to hear some more examples / stats or something to support your points. Otherwise it sounded more like an opinion rather than informative video essay
dude you're point is way off. the Korean film industry isn't being sustained by the government. plenty of people involved in the Korean film and entertainment industry are working 2 or more jobs just to get by. and a major problem right now in Korea is that people aren't going to the cinemas and tickets sales are way down. it's to the point where less movies are being made and major actors who usually only do movies are now doing tv dramas as well.
This is a decent video: bravo! However, I'm not sure I entirely agree that the main reason Korean movies are so good is because they are funded by the government. Very recently, in fact, the opposite has been true. Bong Joon-ho and other artists were blacklisted under the conservative government of Park Geun-hye (2013-2017). In interviews, both Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho have said that the years of oppression and dictatorship in the country led to a lot of repressed desires. When democracy came (1988) and the true liberalization of media in society under Kim Dae-jung (1998-2003), this allowed everything to come spilling out and create a lot of the extreme content we see today. Interestingly, because of the nature of cold war politics on the Korean peninsula, JSA was more controversial than Oldboy's themes of incest when it was released because it featured positive depictions of North Korean soldiers.
This is rich, you'd think Hanoi jane would be more comfortable presenting the award to Kim Jong Un and would be upset at the lack of diversity and inclusion
Speaking of music, I'd like to recommend K-Pop from the 80s and 90s. While K-Pop is globally popular today, the 80s and 90s were actually the golden age of K-Pop.
this is somewhat wrong. government doesn't have that big of a part in the superior product. while they do give funding, it's much less than what china, japan and others give.
One insight my dad provided me was the effective use of weapons, particularly hammers and knives, in Korean films, which evokes a more intimate and visceral experience for the viewer. He mentioned that Korea and other parts of Asia relied heavily on swords and blunt objects when fighting, so there’s a true brutality and emotional experience with the physical nature of this kind of hand:hand combat. The infamous breezeway scene in Old Boy is such a classic one for that very reason - men clamoring about in absolute chaos violently bludgeoning each other. The elegance in the camerawork and direction while simultaneously portraying brutality at its chaotic core elicits tension, discomfort, awe, and transcendence.
What are you talking about...I never saw knives or hammers in Korean romcoms
In short, Hollywood film industry makes movies to make better money. South Korean film industry makes money to make better movies.
korean entertainment make quality art not just have to call a movie or a series
Hollywood is making movies to preach woke.
Lol then u havent watch much hollywood thrillers then..😂
Just watxhing mainstream sht
Mainstream Korean is better. It is worth my time.
@@aquarius5719woke isn’t an argument & is lazy criticism
0:12 Parasite
0:23 Squid Game
0:38 The Outlaws
0:41 Burning
0:49 I Saw The Devil
0:54 Oldboy
0:56 A Frozen Flower
1:00 Memories Of Murder
1:04 The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
1:20 No Tears For The Dead
1:27 A Moment To Remember
2:11 Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
2:17 Train To Busan
2:19 Tune In For Love
5:29 Past Lives
5:45 Hello Ghost
5:48 Enemies To Lovers
5:52 Hide And Seek
6:11 The Mask Girl
8:26 My Name
8:36 The Man From Nowhere
Thanks bro
Korea is literally taking over the entertainment industry in music & film, it's crazy how much influence they have for being such a small country and started from the bottom from the Japanese rule not even that long ago.
@Jackku8 of course America will be #1 in this industry, but Korea is indisputably #2 on the global scale.
@Jackku8 "the sad truth is that it'll just turn into nrml pop ig with english atleast"
that has already happened.. groups like NewJeans.. Le Sserafim.. Fifty Fifty.. ITZY.. Twice..
and many many more.. and singing only in english now..
not just in Kpop but groups from Japan that are popular in Kpop like XG or NIZIU
also sing in english now more and more..
USA... like it or not.. are still number 1 when it comes to brainwashing the planet.
@Jackku8 well kdrama and korean movies actually represents South Korea. Kpop is in english. So I don;t think it represents Korea that much
@@ishmamjahan4952Kpop is in English? Mayne the ones you listen.
Most of Korea's music is way too polished and manufactured. Not my cup of tea.
I've been familiar with South Korean cinema since the end of 1990ies/beginning of 2000s when I started renting out video tapes from our local rental in a provincial town in Latvia. And it has been an eye-opening journey.
Amongst them, there have been some true gems (several of Kim-ki-duk's movies, Old Boy etc.) and of course the occasional total bunkers movie.
So I completely agree that South Korean cinema has been and still is one the best, if not the best, in the contemporary movie scene.
I am impressed that someone from a provincial town in Latvia has been following Korean cinema for that long. I spoke with a Canadian who immigrated from Russia recently. He has been a fan of Korean films and shows for over a decade. He stopped watching all Hollywood films/ shows completely and just solely watches Asian films/ shows.
@@skatingcanuck9837"Asian films/shows"? You are kidding. Japanese and Chinese ones are joke compared to Korean ones. They themselves pass theirs to watch Korean shows.
@@jinmo2821 I am not entirely sure what you are trying to say because your words and sentence structure is a mess. Perhaps you don't speak English and are using a bad translation app? Based on my guess of what you are trying to articulate, I believe you need to do A LOT more research on Asian film history. Rather than just infer recent Korean films/ shows. Asia is a large continent with a long film history - do not oversimplify it.
@@skatingcanuck9837 Yes Asia is a big place, but the Korean wave is sweeping over the other Asian countries. China has place all sorts of subtle and not so subtle barriers to slow down their own citizens enthusiasm for Korean content. India despite having bollywood is finding that Korean content has grown rapidly especially among their younger generation. Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, etc etc. It is sweeping over Asia as well. Korean content stands out
Korean films are exciting because they deal with human situations and emotions with utmost subtlety , care and attention to detail. So many countries around the world just love them.
Parasite and Squid Game were impressive. Old Boy is still a classic and in my top 10. Impressive the rise of K-pop, K-Drama (My love from another star was streamed like 2 billion times in China) and K-movies..
The Host is one of the best monster / horror movies ever IMO
Sweet home on Netflix. You'll thank me later.
👌👌
The Wailing might be the best horror film ive seen
Genius movie
@dellyspiceyou bring a nice point of how forgetful hollywood often is other than few obvious good ones
I watched it. And yes it's the most amazing movie I ever seen. Watched it like 4 times already
👍
I have been watching Korean movies and dramas for like 6 years now and honestly I am still impressed with the quality of what they produce.... Last year I have recommend few series to my mom and from that moment she only watches Korean series hahaha she said that whenever she tried to watch something western again it always disappointed her and she always had in the back of her mind that she could watch something so so much better instead
I love Korean Movies and TV shows.
You’ve done an amazingly objective report. I like how you pointed out the flaws of Korean working conditions despite the good movies they make, and yeah there is also a lot of wacky stuff that’s not good.
Exactly. I hate it when I see creators romanticize film industries from different countries, but blatantly ignored their issues. Especially the people who used these industries as a talking point against “wOKe” Hollywood. Just because you watched a couple foreign films doesn’t make you an expert on that industry, nor understand the politics and culture of said foreign country.
so, what is your point? Korean movies are not 100% perfect?
The sad thing is seeing Hollywood slowly wrap its tentacles around kdramas and films inserting their ideological propaganda into Korean films and dramas. I’ve pulled back from watching Korean films/dramas for this reason. I don’t want to feel like I’m watching a moral lecture on why I need to embody the next new ideological trend
Sooner or later, the west will have nothing to show but its wokeness.
I've noticed that too. I will immediately switch off if I sniff any western, hollywood influence.
I freaking hate when capitalism slimily sneaks its way into genres and replaces genuine content with, basically ads. Like never know who to trust feeling
These past 3 years or so, I've fallen in love with KDramas especially, but Korean movies have been really good too. It's crazy how many shows I've watched these past 3 years that have really entertaining, while everyone around me complains that everything is a reboot, prequel, sequel, or spin off. I keep telling them to watch certain Korean shows; every now and then someone does, but for the most part the dreaded subtitles scare people away.
Hollywood really need to take notes.
It is too late for Hollywood. They have gone too woke.
Chinese are learning. They already improved a lot. Having Korea so close has influenced them.
I also like Taiwanese and Japanese films. Old Bollywood was good, but there are very few good movies nowadays, but it's slowly getting better
90s chinese moviee, if you can be ignorant of certain aspects, are overall good with a common theme of loneliness and youth. Ofcourse hong kong and Taiwanese cinema is really rich in its own way and has flavours. Japan is a whole different subsect of beautiful cinema in its own way.
@oreochocolate_lavacake9960 Bollywood is a bygone commercial fuss now. But real good Indian cinema is still there with distributors like Netflix and other small projects which arent as commercialized as Bollywood. And ofcourse each regional language has its own inventory of good cinema too
But Koreans learned from the movies from Hong Kong in the 80s.
75% of my watching is Korean. 25% is other Asian, Australian, etc. No Hollywood.
Because they're still interested in telling a good story instead of making ideological propaganda.
Yup, this is the heart of it right here. Most our writers are political activists first, and may not even be writers at all. Their writers are writers.
what an idiotic statemen, you think theres no ideology in parasite, memories of murder, burning? its literally impossible to make art that isnt ideological propaganda
@@robokugel3383 Except the western shit is not even ideological. It is all about LGBTQI and BLM, nothing else.
Actually A LOT of korean movies tell the story about rich vs poor so it's hella political
@@MewDenise Having broad political messages such as rich vs poor is not the same as ideological propaganda, even if you wanna make a political statement with a story, you should always prioritize making a good story and asking questions instead of just being patronizing and preach to your viewers.
Memories Of Murder is literally one of the best movies ever made and you can't tell me otherwise
The Chaser (추격자) is 10 times better. There, I told you otherwise.
@@UltimateTruthChannel nah, MoM is better
As an english speaker, subtitles never bothered me, i enjoy the movie the same. Parasite is just chef's kiss to me, one of the best I have seen.
As a Korean, I don't think it's fair to compare recent Hollywood blockbuster flops with some of the best Korean movies. An actual Korean movie theater is usually filled with the K-version of bad blockbuster flops with forced scenes that make audience cry (iykyk). Let's not even talk about the horrors of Korean SF films.. Only once in a while we'd see great films such as The Wailing or Parasite.
The Korean TV-dramas, however, are only getting better these days with big Netflix budgets.
Totally agree with your observation re: horror movies. K-horrors are just plain bad. Occasionally, they have a gem. In my opinion serial killer / revenge movies are top notch.
Please dont confuse Korean American as being a Korean
@emurgency I can tell you are not a Korean. Very probably you're Chinese. I can see it from the way you made factual errors 🤣
한국인이 이딴 댓글을..한국 영화는 항상 퀄리티 좋고 알음알음 해외에서 한국영화광들이 많았어요 코로나 이후로 넷플릭스가 흥행하면서 좋은 시나리오들이 스크린이 아니라 ott로 빠지면서 체감상 영화관 한국 영화가 침체된 느낌이 드는거랍니다
@@용용이-f3f 드라마 말고 한국 영화에 대해 말한거였어요. OTT 덕분에 한드는 아주 좋아진거 같아요. 근데 영화계는 OTT에서도 그닥 발전한게 안보이네요. 여러 장르에 도전하고 있는거 같지만 결국 신파로 부실한 스토리를 커버하거나 애국심을 내세워서 억지 감정 끌어내는게 요 몇년간 나오는 상업영화의 대부분 이에요. 독립영화계는 잘 모릅니다만 한국 상업 영화계는 봉준호 박찬욱 감독님 등 두세명이서 멱살 잡고 이끄는 중이에요.
I have been watching Korean Films for more tan 15 Years now, and I instantly recognize their hollywood counterparts and how bad hey are, Asians have a different way to approach cinema and telling histories, a way that I as a person from the Caribbean and very influenced by US Cinema it was a culture shock to say the least, I still watch everything coming from them
I saw the devil (2010) is one of my all time fav thrillers. I love it more than Parasite (2019) and Oldboy (2004).
Parasite is overrated af. The other 2 are 10/10 products though
amazing coverage renzy, east asian cinema isnt recognized enough, it gives feeling no western movie can replicate. thank you once again for your content.
Happy to have you here!!
Excellent work in terms of breaking down where the US and South Korea film industries diverge in terms of their motivations and consequently their artistic results. And it was appropriate to include a couple of scenes from Train to Busan, a legitimately scary yet poignant film which serves as a great example of what that country is capable of.
I love k dramas and k movies they never disappoint ❤
I just read recently that 90% of the writers in SK are female. Only 27% of them in the US are female. So with the strike in Hollywood the two primary goals were more money and AI. That's it. Not better product. More money. Not more representation of women writers but money. Movies and TV that are scripted depend upon scriptwriters. Bad writing ends up in bad material. SK puts writers at the forefront. Production houses battle to get hot new writers. Does that happen in Hollywood? No. Everything is based on well known stars. And repetition of the same material over and over again. Are we on the 10th Fast and Furious movie? How many seasons are we now in for Law and Order or CSI? You can hire the top 10 highest paid actresses in SK for the same price as the 10th highest paid actress in Hollywood. And the vast amount of material in SK allows for more growth of talent and more experienced crews and directors. 16 episode series. One and dones. The US instead has 20 seasons of the same show. Boring. Hallyu is simply better than Hollywood. In volume and quality.
Most Korean dramas are aimed towards females
uh, money is generally the point of a strike. you proposing that they should have striked for... better writing? the fck are you talking about?
@@jp-sn6si they mean, better writing, better money. Better storyline means, more people are interested in watching it. Conclusion: more money.
@@loony7534 that's not what they meant at all.
Where the hell did you get that disinformation? Reveal the source. The male to female ration is 4:6
what is the movie called at 1:23 ... i am looking for a similar film that i saw briefly a few years ago when i was in korea
No Tears For The Dead
People in the United States never had to learn a second language or study abroad to earn money at young ages bc they are too lucky living in a privileged economy.
People from Asia have to adapt to Western languages ( Europe + US + UK etc.) , Western values , Western media since born. If Asians don’t learn English or adapt, they cannot survive.
It is this survival mentality and also openness to adapt new values, no other options but to completely learn and be totally creative in this competitive globalised world.
This is why other countries are slowly catching up to the Western media. Hollywood is no longer as open minded or creative bc they are too rich that they don’t have to.
I've been watching foreign films, TV shows, dramas (filipino, japanese, thai, korean, chinese...) for 20 + years and counting and I will never watch anything produced in Hollywood again.
The Chaser , Memories of Murder and The Handmaiden has to be my top 3 South Korean Movies , Absolute Classics!!!
Korean shows and movies are some of my absolute favourite content, especially in the last decade or so when Hollywood spends all fucking day preaching to us about how terrible we are as humans.
Hands down the best drama I've ever watched was Korean. "It's OK, That's Love". The movie spoke to me in ways that most drama series never seem to accomplish.
That's just the tip of the iceberg though. A lot of people are only focused on newer content that can be found on Netflix, but there are great series that have never made it to Netflix like W-Two Worlds, Blood, and Pinocchio two name a few.
I want a list of all the Korean movies in this video
I can hardly watch American movies or TV anymore. all I like are Korean shows. Favorites: Crash Landing on You and The Glory
It's korean entertainment era. Western entertainment is now over. That's fact.
There is a time where they are the best but not now. when you realize that the is different era of culture per 10-15 years.
There's time where brazillian, japanese entertainment era exist too
5:52 can anyone tell me what this film is please?
2013년 영화 숨바꼭질 Hide and Seek
@5:20 "Mega celebs as a crutch" i always say it, its a very old school mentality to think people go to movies just to see a Hollywood celeb. It doesnt happen. People are more close to Social Media influencers rather than Hollywood celebs. These celebs are only highly paid because these execs are holding on to an old model.
Shortly before COVID-19, US theaters had nothing but "comic-book superhero" movies. These do not appeal to me. I found South Korea's "Keys to the Heart", "In Our Prime", and "1987: When the Day Comes". Strange -- North Korea's dictator saw "Rashomon" (1950) and wanted NK to become a cinematic powerhouse. 70 years later, South Korea has done it !
10000% agree.
9:27 to 9:31 what is that from? it completely freaks me out, I want to watch
It’s an anthology horror film called Urban Myths! This is a snippet from one of the stories. There are 10 in total.
South Korean entertainment industry was well known for having a lot of “yeoljung pay” jobs. It roughly means your passion pays your salary, so you barely get enough compensation or sometimes any money for the work you do. Koreas movie industry was always low budget so directors and scriptwriters focused on developing a compelling, interesting story since it was the cheapest way to attract audiences to the cinema.
I got the answer. The next sure Hollywood hit. Fast and Furious 23....Transformers 30...and we keep going...
As long as it makes a profit, that means it's good.
first short for the horror genre is not South Korean though but Ringu from Japan.
Yes I wondered how long it would take the West to catch on. China ,Korea,Thailand and Japan also have incredible cinema. I started watching during the Pandemic and have not stopped. Hollywoodis just okay not very deep with endless repeating scenarios that make most movies interchangable. And actors that look so much alike they could be clones. The good Asian films, dramas and series I've seen have rich layered plots, atmosphere, acting that is relatable even though is not my culture. The music, costuming and cultural differences are interesting to put it mildly and also I love learning about myths I never heard of as well. its just a incredible experince. I have lists of every kind of film you can think of and most are subtiled and none are from the west. I've learned to read faster. I would so rather watch a good Asian film that does not have the Western male gaze making it always the same story. I'm so glad I've found cinema from Korea,Japan,China,Thialand, India.
9:27 whats the name of this movie? looks creepy af
Just bought a netflix membership again, because I couldnt resist the urge to watch more k dramas 😂
make a video on indian films, there are great gems there especially in malyalam cinema(regional cinema in india)
Can someone list the movies used here please
They don't shy away from showcasing animal instincts hidden inside human beings. They are unapologetic about it. they don't play safe to make their films commercial and family friendly,
Watch The Wailing. Its the most amazing and suspense movie i ever seen. Itbwill sjow you how great the korean cinema is.
So true. Used to only watch Hollywood. During COVID I tried k drama and got hooked. Hollywood got so woke and created terrible films, I couldn’t watch it anymore. I found Korean films to be the best of old Hollywood. Good stories, good character development, great acting and directing. I then tried other foreign films hoping it would be like Korean films. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Fortunately, streamers like Netflix have so many Korean films being produced, I always have something new to see.
Please list the movies
As a Korean person. Korean people do not make better movies overrall... Like many East Asian countries, the prime incentive is to make money. Talent is secondary to fan appeal. Boyband/Girlband singers, Idols, Models, anyone with a big following are considered fiest over talent. Even in Parasite, they had to hire popular idols to guarantee attendance and ticket purchases.
It just so happems Bong Joon Ho is extremely talented. He is NOT the norm.
This is like saying anime is better than western animation... There are pros and cons to both.
Always be wary of anyone who says one is better than the other when it comes art..
Rather than better art than the other, I feel people connect to korean or asian media more, even if its bad stuff in technical terms. It feels (emphasis on feels) more authentic and human, and that draws people's intrigue and emotions. I watch both and other languages too but korean media undeniably holds attention more easily even if in absolute rubbish shows or films. Hollywood seems superficial right now comparatively
What this is the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard. Koreans are probably THE most critical audience when it comes to calling out bad acting/plots. Talent is literally THE most important thing that Koreans look at when it comes to cinema and music. Hollywood literally uses Korea as a benchmark for global success. Why? Because they know how critical the Korean audience is. Your analogy of anime also doesn't even make sense. You're stating the obvious when you say that not every movie is like Parasite or every director is like Bong. What are you even talking about 😂
@@seeyafornow2642I also watch both Hollywood and Korean movies and tv shows. I majored in cultural studies so from what I’ve learned is that Korean culture and language is high context whereas US is low context culture. That explains Korean culture where people use nonverbal languages a lot more than Americans and Korean language itself has a lot of various expressions and more complicated than English. I work as a Korean English translator and every time I translate English into Korean is more challenging since there are so many expressions I have to consider. These two things are significant that they influences the Korean way of expressing emotions in the movies and dramas and do different from Western culture.
@JeanKim-eb9ff hey thanks for staring that! i actually recall studying the low context and high context culture concept in my psychology coirse and found it v interesting. and now that you put two and two together, it makes sense in the movies context too. also fun to know you're a korean english translator, altho like you said, can imagine it being frustrating at times when english phrases and words are not sufficient to express the whole and actual meaning/contexts
한국의 엔테테인먼트 산업이 세계적으로 성장하면서 점점 더 많은 재능있는 젊은이들이 꿈을 가지고 이 분야로 뛰어들고 있습니다. 한국의 젊은이들뿐 아니라 아시아 전역의 젊은이들이 몰려들고 있는 것도 사실. 아이러니하게도, 노동력 착취 등 여러 부정적인 그늘에도 불구하고 이들의 순수한 열정이 한국 엔테테인먼트 산업의 동력이 됩니다. 지금은 넷플릭스 같은 거대 글로벌 자본도 유입되고 있으니 앞으로도 한동안 한국 엔터테인먼트가 성장할 것이란 점은 의심하지 않습니다. 빛이 커질수록 어두운 그늘도 커지겠죠.
Korea just feeds me what I want. Cheesy bad boy romances.
Interesting video but I wanted to hear some more examples / stats or something to support your points. Otherwise it sounded more like an opinion rather than informative video essay
I never understood the dislike of subtitles americans have
dude you're point is way off. the Korean film industry isn't being sustained by the government. plenty of people involved in the Korean film and entertainment industry are working 2 or more jobs just to get by. and a major problem right now in Korea is that people aren't going to the cinemas and tickets sales are way down. it's to the point where less movies are being made and major actors who usually only do movies are now doing tv dramas as well.
I saw the devil is fucking awsome
Hollywood just disgust me thesedays for some reason
This is a decent video: bravo! However, I'm not sure I entirely agree that the main reason Korean movies are so good is because they are funded by the government. Very recently, in fact, the opposite has been true. Bong Joon-ho and other artists were blacklisted under the conservative government of Park Geun-hye (2013-2017).
In interviews, both Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho have said that the years of oppression and dictatorship in the country led to a lot of repressed desires. When democracy came (1988) and the true liberalization of media in society under Kim Dae-jung (1998-2003), this allowed everything to come spilling out and create a lot of the extreme content we see today. Interestingly, because of the nature of cold war politics on the Korean peninsula, JSA was more controversial than Oldboy's themes of incest when it was released because it featured positive depictions of North Korean soldiers.
Korean movies are alternative to Hollywood woke agenda.
What about Indian?
The PC ruins the movie.
You say western when you should say Hollywood. Mexican cinema is not like Hollywood and we are in the west.
American movies are too puritan
You mean too gay.
Hollywood is too gay, quite literally.
Because Hollywood has become woke crap.
This is rich, you'd think Hanoi jane would be more comfortable presenting the award to Kim Jong Un and would be upset at the lack of diversity and inclusion
Overrated.
because you don't speak the language you have no idea how bad the acting is
Banana..yellow on the outside, white on the inside
It is just more theatrical, which is a good thing.
Such a bad take 😂😂
Speaking of music, I'd like to recommend K-Pop from the 80s and 90s. While K-Pop is globally popular today, the 80s and 90s were actually the golden age of K-Pop.
this is somewhat wrong. government doesn't have that big of a part in the superior product. while they do give funding, it's much less than what china, japan and others give.