No doubt about it: Korean dramas are an important part of our lives now, and no one will judge you if you stay up all night binge-watching a whole season! However, if you simply *don't have the time* or the brain cells to focus on a 16-episode show, why not try K-movies for a change?
We asked Cosmo Girls to share the best Korean movies they've seen! Here are 20 films that will make you laugh and cry in unexpected ways, according to Pinays:
1. Forgotten (2017)
This mystery thriller stars Kang Ha Neul! Netflix tells us: "When his abducted brother returns seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, a man chases after the truth behind the kidnapping."
Where to watch it: Netflix
2. 200 Pound Beauty (2006)
An overweight girl named Han Na undergoes head-to-toe plastic surgery to achieve her dream body and reinvents herself as a singer called Jenny. Along the way, she discovers that looks aren't really everything.
Where to watch it: Netflix
3. Unforgettable (2016)
A radio DJ receives a letter that was written more than 20 years ago, and we are taken back to his teenage days. We also learn about his super tragic first love. If you're watching this movie, make sure to have a handy pack of tissue near you!
Where to watch it: Viu
4. Extreme Job (2019)
Here's a comedy film for a change! According to Netflix: "A narcotics unit takes over a restaurant near a gang's hideout when the food they sold to keep their cover turns into the next big chicken franchise."
Where to watch it: Netflix
5. Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds (2017)
After dying unexpectedly, a firefighter is taken to the afterlife by three guardians. To reincarnate, he must pass seven trials within 49 days to prove that he led an upright life while he was still alive. (Via Viu) If you've finished watching this movie, try its sequel, Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018).
Where to watch it: Netflix, Viu
6. Be With You (2018)
The film's Viu description tells us that before her death, a woman promises her husband and son that she would return to them on a rainy day. A year later, she stays true to her word, but unfortunately has no memory of her past.
Where to watch it: Viu
7. Parasite (2019)
The Kim family members somehow find a way to work for the affluent Park family, but their perfectly-planned ruse lands them in big trouble one rainy night. Parasite is a Cannes Film Festival and Oscar winner, and it speaks a lot about the society we live in today, IMO.
Where to watch it: Viu
8. Tune In For Love (2019)
It's "not your typical love story," according to Cosmo Girls! Two people, who first meet at a bakery in the 1990s, keep running into each other at the wrong time.
Where to watch it: Netflix
9. Sunny (2011)
When a new girl arrives in school, a group of friends take her under their wing. The movie is a combination of flashbacks and present-day-scenes, and we gradually learn what happened to the girls' friendship.
10. Hello Ghost (2010)
"A man's failed suicide attempt enables him to see ghosts, who later keep following him everywhere. It is now up to him to fulfill their wishes to make them go away." (Via IMDB)
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11. My Sassy Girl (2001)
When a college student sees a drunk woman standing too close to the train tracks, he pulls her back, saves her life, and later falls in love with her. This movie was such a hit that it inspired the historical TV series My Sassy Girl in 2017.
12. The Classic (2003)
This film is also from the director of My Sassy Girl! The Classic tells the intertwined love stories of a mother and her college-age daughter, and both characters are played by Son Ye Jin.
13. Windstruck (2004)
Jun Ji Hyun plays the role of a police officer who mistakes a schoolteacher (Jang Hyuk) for a thief. The two fall in love, but their lives take a different turn when Jang Hyuk's character dies unexpectedly.
14. Il Mare (2000)
Two strangers start exchanging letters through a mailbox, only to find out that they're somehow living in two separate timelines! This movie actually inspired the Hollywood movie The Lake House.
15. A Moment to Remember (2004)
Yup, it's another Son Ye Jin film! Soompi tells us that in A Moment To Remember, Su Jin (Ye Jin) falls in love with Cheol Su (Jung Woo Sung) and they end up getting married. Eventually, their happy relationship is tested by a serious illness.
16. On Your Wedding Day (2018)
The film's trailer description reads: "Happy-go-lucky teenager, Woo Yeon, falls in love for the first time when he meets the new transfer student, Seung Hee. Since then, becoming her boyfriend has become his only goal in life! Over the next 10 years, life brings them together through a series of coincidences until Woo Yeon realizes that love is all about timing."
17. Microhabitat (2017)
MUBI tells us that this film features 31-year-old Mi So who lives in Seoul. "Her joys in life are: cigarettes, one glass of whiskey after work, and her poor boyfriend who dreams of becoming an artist. As cigarette prices and rent start to rise, Mi So couch surfs with old friends while reconsidering her place in life."
18. The Handmaiden (2016)
This movie, which was an official entry to the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of two women: Hideko, a rich Japanese lady, and Sook Hee, a Korean woman who is Hideko's new handmaiden. However, Sook Hee is actually part of a plan to steal Hideko's inheritance!
19. A Taxi Driver (2017)
According to Well Go USA Entertainment, this movie is set in 1980 and is based on the real-life Gwangju Uprising. It features "a down-on-his-luck taxi driver from Seoul" who arrives in Gwangju, only to find the city under siege by the military government.
20. Miracle In Cell No. 7 (2013)
A mentally-challenged father is wrongfully accused of murder, and his cellmates devise a plan to smuggle his young daughter inside prison. This is one of the most heartbreaking films out there, and people loved it so much, Turkish and Filipino adaptations were even created!
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