Oldboy at 20: The movie that kicked open the door for South Korean films
Park Chan-wook's violent tale of revenge blazed a trail for other Korean gems, including Snowpiercer, Train To Busan, and Oscar winner Parasite
Film Features Oldboy
When Parasite won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2020, it marked a historic moment for cult favorite filmmaker Bong Joon-ho and for South Korean cinema. While some American audiences were surprised, and even annoyed, to see an international film win Best Picture, many film aficionados knew it was only a matter of time before prestigious Hollywood voting committees started taking more notice of something that had been true for decades: South Korea produces some of the most exciting and audacious films and filmmakers in the world.
And at least in terms of modern Korean cinema, known as the Renaissance era, much of that excitement among American audiences stemmed from Park Chan-wook’s haunting masterwork, Oldboy, which turns 20 this week. You never forget the first time you see Oldboy. For me, it was an international film studies course as an undergrad. I was struck by the way the film defies genre categorization, nimbly moving from comedy to action, to thriller, and horror, with these genres ultimately overlapping.
While labeled as a revenge story, it feels so much more expansive than that, akin to a modern myth. Park Chan-wook’s film rejected genre classification at a time when American cinema was clinging more tightly to easily quantifiable genres and tones. Simply put, Oldboy wowed me and sent me on a deep dive of discovery through South Korea’s most popular releases, including Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002) and Lady Vengeance (2005) which, along with Oldboy, formed the Vengeance Trilogy.
Putting South Korean cinema on the map
While Oldboy is certainly one of the most recognizable films in South Korean cinema, the Renaissance period didn’t start there. It started, as so many great film movements across the world have, in response to governmental policies. In 1988 the South Korean government lifted restrictions on the importing of international films, permitting Hollywood movies to be shown theatrically. At the same time, a certain quota of South Korean films was required to play for at least 146 days of the year to prevent the oversaturation of Hollywood films in their country. The policy, following a period of economic recovery after the financial crisis of the ’90s, led to an explosion of homegrown filmmakers, including Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, who would put their stamp on the South Korean film industry and, later, the world.
Originally, South Korea’s blockbusters followed a similar pattern to the Hollywood hits at the time, focusing on spies and cops and offering up thrilling cat-and-mouse games alongside shootouts. Kang Je-gyu’s slick, action-espionage film Shiri (1999) became the first South Korean blockbuster. Park Chan-wook followed with his third feature Joint Security Area (2000), which became the highest-grossing film in Korean history the following year.
Although South Korea had access to Hollywood films, which made up a minority in terms of distribution, America remained largely unaware of South Korea’s growing industry, though filmmakers Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino, the latter of whom Bong Joon-ho thanked in his acceptance speech when he won the Best Director Oscar for Parasite, had long championed the country’s films.
But when Oldboy won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, a shift took place. American audiences not only became aware of South Korea’s filmmaking movement, but U.S. distributors recognized there was an untapped market. While South Korean blockbusters still didn’t garner much interest in the States, as that need had already been filled, the country’s horror, thrillers, and genre-bending films took off, filling a need that audiences didn’t even know they wanted. Along with the Vengeance Trilogy, Jee-woon Kim’s A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003), Bong Joon-ho’s Memories Of Murder (2003) and The Host (2006) became popular entries in the Korean cinema canon.
At the same time, Hollywood was finding success in remaking horror hits from Japan following the success of The Ring (2002). This eventually led to a brief period of flirtation where South Korean films received the Hollywood treatment; A Tale Of Two Sisters was remade into The Uninvited (2009) and Spike Lee made his own version of Oldboy (2013). Neither proved successful, but that didn’t hinder the proliferation of South Korean cinema, nor did it stop Hollywood from widening its directorial pool and hiring South Korean filmmakers for English-language films.
Hollywood embraces Korean filmmakers
The 2010s brought a wave of films directed by South Korean filmmakers and starring Hollywood actors, like Park Chan-wook’s Hitchcockian Stoker (2013) and Bong Joon-ho’s post-apocalyptic Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja (2017). As more English-speaking audiences began to familiarize themselves with the filmographies of South Korean directors—with their English-language films being a gateway for many—South Korean films moved beyond the realm of cult DVD curiosities and became popular theatrical and streaming attractions.
Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie film, Train To Busan (2016), Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing (2016), and Lee Chang-dong’s Burning (2018) all contributed to the accessibility of South Korean film, culminating in Parasite (2019) winning the Oscar for Best Picture in 2020. During awards season, Bong Joon-ho spoke often about his hopes that English-speaking audiences would not turn away from foreign language films because of their subtitles and they’d expand their knowledge of cinema by seeking out international titles.
It seems his hopes have been realized, in part, since it was his earlier film, Okja, a Netflix release, that really led to a new wave of international titles on the streamer. Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Squid Game (2021) became Netflix’s most-watched series, leading the streaming giant to invest in more South Korean films and television.
As the writers and actors strikes continue, streamers and studios will undoubtedly be looking to fill their “content” vacuum with international projects. In April this year, it was revealed that Netflix will invest $2.5 billion in South Korean projects, something that seemed unfathomable even a decade ago. We’ve come from Oldboy being an underground hit to South Korean cinema and TV being primed as the life raft of the studio era. As the entertainment industry continues to shift, one thing seems certain—South Korea’s Renaissance era won’t be ending any time soon.
22 Comments
I knew about Oldboy because of the Cannes win. Since I’ve been a movie fan forever, when I watch a movie for the first time I can guess pretty well what the next scene is going to be. With Oldboy, it was one surprise after another. Whatever I thought the next scene was going to be, I was wrong—wonderfully, wonderfully wrong.
I still remember borrowing the Oldboy DVD from an Asian friend who told me about it. Blew my mind.
Great selection of recommended K-films for the uninitiated. After seeing Oldboy, I actively sought out Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance. All three are 180 degrees from the Western movies’ portrayal of “righteous” vengeance. After viewing Lady Vengeance, I just sat and stared off into space for quite some time.One movie not listed that I’d say belongs here as well is Bong Joon-ho’s Mother (2009).
I will proudly be that guy who says he knew about Memories of Murder already by this time and it is still the best film of the century so far. I like Oldboy and Park’s films overall, and he did open the door somewhat…but I think Bong’s films are the top. There were other films around that time also, Save the Green Planet! and The President’s Last Bang. One funny thing is, it’s very difficult to find a Korean actor you barely remember on IMDB or remember what else you know them from because they are often in like FIVE films a year :DIt looks like the original director is remaking Save the Green Planet! in the US! Very much looking forward to this.
No arguments here, Memories of Murder was a superb film. I believe they eventually worked out who the guy was in real life as well.
Movies that have inspired tons of essentially remakes: Godfather, Goodfellas, Memories of Murder, …uhhh Anchorman 😀
Although by the time they identified him, the 15 year statute of limitations had expired. It’s since been extended to 25 years and then abolished entirely, in part thanks to the existence of Memories of Murder, but those changes didn’t apply retrospectively.He’d actually already been convicted for his final murder, but it wasn’t connected to the others at the time, so he’ll theoretically be eligible for parole in the next few years.
MoM is a masterpiece for sure. Oldboy is just ok. The ending is just too icky for me.
concerning Park, I like Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance better, actually best. Then maybe Stoker (for the atmosphere and Shirley Jackson), Decision to Leave, Oldboy, Handmaiden, JSA, Lady Vengeance, Thirst. But to be clear, I like every one of these movies (and the short) quite a bit. I don’t remember , Three…Extremes. Haven’t seen Trio or the rest (drummer girl) and I think I turned off the Cyborg comedy (like I turned off von Trier’s The Boss of it All) but maybe I should try it again.
Cut (Park’s short from Three… Extremes) is pretty memorable, it’s the one where the female lead from Oldboy is hooked up to a piano marionette-style, and has her fingers cut off one by one in order to torture her movie director husband.The Little Drummer Girl is great, Florence Pugh is particularly good in it. Based on your list, I’d expect you to rank it quite highly.I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK is… uh… not bad, but probably his weakest film. It’s weirdly forgettable given how visually inventive it is, and eminently skippable.
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At least in the Dallas area, it’s back in theatres for a short time starting later this week. I’m hoping to make it.
There was about 5 years when I was buying every Korean film I could get my hands on as well as going to South Korea almost every year in the period of 2005 to 2010. Highlights included going to see Korean films with my friend and no English subtitles. However you pick up a lot from just the visuals and actions on screen (plus what Korean I had learned which though never great also helped).I highly recommend the website koreanfilm.org for information about Korean films and the industry by year going back decades. The founder is an expat American who helped with the subtitles on Parasite and is credited and his wife ran an excellent online DVD store for Korean film which I bought many films from before it sadly had to close.
It’s a great site, I only wish their reviews hadn’t grown so infrequent over recent years.
SK has put out some pretty decent war films too…tropes for sure, but the action sets are good.
Actually, at least in Europe, the glut of Korean films started a bit earlier, with huge art house succeses by Ki-duk Kim especially his movie Island (2000) which was followed by Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…Spring (2003) ain 3-Iron (2004).Oldboy was a big thing but felt a bit more commercial than that…
I got Oldboy from Netflix back in 2009 and it blew my mind. I had probably only seen a handful of foreign films before then and it really opened up my world, along with a couple of film studies courses and a cinephile roommate.
Ok Oldboy is SOO good, and I will add that, IF you have not seen toe Korean version, the US remake with John Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen, who you get to see nude by the way lol, actually does a decent job. It’s not perfect, but if you have never seen the OG movie I think it works quite well.
One of my movie-watching points of pride is that I got to see Oldboy in the theater. According to boxofficemojo it peaked at 28 theaters in the US. I don’t live in a major market so I felt fortunate that I got to see it. There were four of us in the theater, including my friend and I. It was incredible.But more than that I think it’s really cool how Oldboy caught on and helped grow the Korean film industry.
This is a lovely piece, well done.I used to love showing this movie to friends, had to try really hard not to stare at them right before each shocking scene.Tbh I think the reliance on hypnotism as a plot device let’s it down a bit when rewatching, but man watching for the first time is an experience.
I’m not an expert on this, and “Oldboy” was great when I saw it years and years ago. But like that one, most of these focus on movies with a fucking incredible amount of violence.
So, it’s kind of odd to not mention a great romantic comedy, “My Sassy Girl,” which is 22 years old, made a mint, and is still hilarious and touching to this day. And got remade in America in 2008. But this article is more “Violent South Korean Movies” than anything else, I guess.