Im Kwon-taek

Revivre (2014)

A middle-aged man who has recently lost his wife to cancer indulges in fantasies about a young woman at his work, in the new film from Korean master Im Kwon-taek. ...

Hanji (2011)

Low-ranking civil servant Pil Yong (Park Joong Hoon) has things hard looking after his disabled wife(Ye Ji Won). He takes charge of a hanji project in hopes it will bring him a promotion. His wife comes from a family of hanji masters. One of his tasks incl ...

Beyond the Years (2007)

A drama centered on brother-and-sister musicians trained to perform the epic Korean poems known as pansori. ...

Low Life (2004)

A sprawling story of one man's tumultuous life within the context of the South Korean political situation during the second half of the 20th century. ...

Chihwaseon (2002)

Jang Seung-eop, also known as "Chihwaseon," drinks and paints all day. Through Mae-hyang, he learns the meaning of fate, sees art beyond even the smallest things, and sets out for the path he seeks. ...

Chunhyang (2000)

Once at a pagoda Mongryong Lee, a scion of a well-to-do family, meets Chunhyang, the young daughter of a courtesan and an aristocrat. Despite her low social standing she is smart and well-educated. The young people fall in love and think about marriage so ...

Downfall (1997)

A young woman is tricked into prostitution, thinking she is going to sell beverages at a village store. She soon learns about the dark world of Korea's red-light districts, where their pimps and society exploit her. ...

The Taebaek Mountains (1994)

Based on the great river story, The Taebaek Mountains chronicles the lasting generational conflict between proprietors and peasants in South Korea. ...

Sopyonje (1993)

The 1930s. Wishing to pass down his knowledge, the father teaches his children to sing Pansori. The elder daughter and the younger son become professional singers but time has changed and people are no longer interested in folk singing. The younger boy giv ...

General's Son 3 (1992)

Following the final events of General's Son 2, Kim Du-han is forced to go on the lam but eventually returns to Jongro where he attempts to rebuild his gang with the brothers that are still alive and loyal and defeat Hayashi's Yakuzas once and for all. ...

Fly High, Run Far (1991)

In mid-19th Century Korea, the people of Joseon Dynasty embrace the new religion Donghak. After the founder is executed, Choi Si-hyeong becomes Donghak's second-generation leader and successfully propagates the religion, but in doing so becomes the object ...

General's Son 2 (1991)

Upon being released from prison, Kim Du-han begins rebuilding his street gang in the face of Hayashi's Yakuzas and increasing Japanese influence. ...

General's Son (1990)

In Japanese-occupied South Korea, a young man, newly-released from prison, is accepted into a gang for his fighting skills and quickly rises to the top. Based on the life of South Korean mobster and politician Kim Du-han. ...

Come, Come, Come Upward (1989)

Schoolgirl Sun Nyog suffers from pain and hardships, life and the world around her confuse the girl. Her father, a Buddhist monk, left them, the mother has totally neglected her daughter while her lover harasses the girl. One winter day Sun Nyog goes to th ...

Hand in Hand (1989)

A documentary covering the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. ...

The Diary of King Yonsan (1988)

A historical drama about the life of Prince Yeonsan of Joseon,. ...

The Surrogate Womb (1987)

A barren noblewoman encourages her husband to take a young peasant as a surrogate to secure the male line. ...

Adada (1987)

Young-hwan who is the descendant of a fallen noble family takes pure and innocent Adada as his wife. Because of Young-hwan's selfish desires, Adada seeks out her childhood friend Su-ryong. But he, too, becomes a slave to desire. Adada protests and dies by ...

Ticket (1986)

The lives of the women working in a "café" in a South Korean port town, where customers exchange tickets for services. ...

Gilsodom (1986)

A middle-aged woman in Busan searches for the son she lost in Gilsodom during the Korean War. ...

You Can't Stop a Flowing River (1984)

In Korea during the Joseon Dynasty, a young man is forced to marry the king's daughter despite being betrothed to another woman, triggering a series of tragic events. ...

Daughter of the Flames (1983)

A man married to a Christian, but from a shamanistic upbringing, attempts to come to terms with the spirit of his mother who visits him in dreams. ...

Jagko (1983)

In 1980s South Korea, a former cop, now in destitution, is placed in a rehabilitation center, where, by chance, he finds the Communist guerilla who had eluded his capture more than 30 years ago. ...

Crying in a Butterfly's Embrace (1983)

A beleaguered cabbie accompanies a mysterious and moody woman on an eventful journey across South Korea to find her long-lost lover. ...

The Village of Mist (1983)

A young South Korean woman moves to an isolated mountain village, where all of the villagers are related except for a mysterious vagabond, to take up her first teaching post. ...

Polluted Ones (1982)

Abenko Green Beret (1982)

Abengo Corps is under the direct control of headquarters of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In order to conceal the Inchon Landing Operation, Abengo is assigned to the Wonsan Landing Operation as a decoy mission. With the operation soon at hand, the members of thi ...

High School Tears (1982)

Kwon Dal-ho is a teacher who wants to make his 3rd grade class the best. ...

Mandala (1981)

A story that follows the lives and interactions of two Buddhist monks living in South Korea. ...

The Hidden Hero (1980)

After the war, a journalist investigates a Communist leader in South Korea. ...

Mrs. Speculator (1980)

Mrs. Han who argues with her husband about living expenses. She unexpectedly earns 5 million won over an apartment she sold and becomes a speculator. She teams up with some slanderers and makes big money then soon dissolved into pleasure with men around he ...

Divine Bow (1979)

There is trouble in a fishing village on a remote southern island. The catch has been meagre and Wang-nyeoni, the local shaman, is on strike: she refuses to perform a ritual to turn fortunes around. In flashback we learn how she married into a shaman (dang ...

The Little Adventurer (1979)

In an effort to erase his disgrace, the mischievous Kim Hwan starts a movement to build birdnests but the old park keeper gets injured in his efforts. In order to get money for the park keeper's hospital fees, Hwan gets on his friend Chil-sung's boat to ca ...

Genealogy (1979)

During the Japanese occupation of South Korea, a Japanese bureaucrat is ordered to persuade an influential Korean patriarch into obeying the law of changing his Korean surname to a Japanese one. ...

Tomorrow and Tomorrow (1979)

Gyu-hwa and Jin-wu are old friends with very different personalities. Their friend Mi-yeon used to be close to Jin-wu but when she grows up, she becomes a prisoner of Gyu-hwa's aggressive behavior. Gyu-hwa takes Ga-hi away from Jin-wu when he discovers tha ...

A Warrior's Fighting Spirit (1979)

Near Yet Far Away (1978)

In-chul in his fifth year gets lost due to a ship wreck on his way back from a remote island and drifts to the border between the South and North Korea. In-chul meets North Korean boy Dong-man who collects used metals for living. Although difference of the ...

The Evergreen Tree (1978)

Two Korean college graduates arouse the suspicions of Japanese authorities after modernizing a rural community with a school and a youth hall. ...

Japanese Invasion in the Year of Imjin and Gye Wol-hyang (1977)

The Life of Ok-rye (1977)

Wife (1976)

Commando on the Nakdong River (1976)

Bare Feet in the Snow (1976)

Hye-seon grew up in an orphanage with Myeong-gu. They marry when they get older but strain on there relationship tears them apart. Pregnant and alone, Hye-aeon wonders where to turn. ...

My Hometown (1976)

After 14 years in Japan, a gangster returns to the Seoul neighborhood where he grew up and is forced to confront some difficult truths. ...

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1975)

Inspection of the plot Ministry of Public Security Inspector Gangmun-gil is enjoying a picnic with his family on holidays. He wakes up in a nearby neighborhood where he picks up rusty shells from nearby Kangdongsan and witnesses a devastating explosion. Th ...

Why Did I Do That? (1975)

Yeonhwa (1975)

Yeonhwa 2 (1975)

I Won't Cry (1974)

Wives on Parade (1974)

A newlywed wife, Ji-sun moves to her husband's village in a rural area called Sambatgol where it is customary to have glossy charades, incompetence is prolific, and thus poverty is endemic. She starts to endeavor to break down all these vices. Her family a ...

The Testimony (1974)

June 25, 1950. When second lieutenant Jang has a date with his girl friend during weekend, numerous North Korean jet fighters make sudden air raids to the skies of Seoul. It is the beginning of Korean War. In spite of Korean Army's brave defense, North Kor ...

Weeds (1973)

A depiction of the life and fate of a physically weak woman who has strong maternal love. ...

The Big Chase (1973)

Five Hostesses for the Resistance (1973)

A patriot Park No-Hun is dispatched by Shanghai Provisional Government for Independence to assassinate members of the House of Council. In this situation Young-Kuk, brother of Hyeon-Ju who is a kisaeng of Myeong Wol Kwan, is jailed and Choi Chil-Yong, an i ...

Seize the Precious Sword (1972)

After the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, Iljimae, a master of the interlaced sword method, heads to Japan to find the national treasure, the Cheonryongsword, which was robbed by the Japanese pirate Kuroda. Around this time, there were two more men loo ...

One Who Comes Back and the Other Who Has To Leave (1972)

Cruel history of Myeong Dong (1972)

An omnibus of three stories all taking place in the Myeongdong district of Seoul. ...

Whirl of Betrayals on Myeongdong (1972)

A Second Mother (1972)

Nam-Ok who has Yun-Ho and Yun-Suk remarries widowed Heung-Yeol who has Hyeong-Tae and Hyeong-Ja. Nam-Ok are concerned about frequent quarrels between half brothers and sisters, but manages to deal with them wisely. As Yun-Ho who went to fishing with him fa ...

Revenge of the Sword (1971)

Don't Torture Me Anymore (1971)

The Two Revengeful Hunchbacks (1971)

A Bout in 30 Years (1971)

Best friends Dae-gyu and Dal-su fight over Ok-hi. When Ok-hui marries and goes to Seoul the fight ends. After many years, Ok-hi is widowed and brings her daughter Ji-hyang to her home village, and the fight between Dae-gyu and Dal-su begins again. Ok-hui b ...

Snowing on Grudge Street (1971)

Woman with Long Eyelashes (1970)

Suk-jin, a naive Young woman lives on her own in Seoul. When her brother dies following a car accident, she finds out he had been having an affair with the wife of a businessman. ...

Rain Outside the Porthole (1970)

In 1946, Tae-woong, a man nicknamed "The Bear" who dominated the streets of Busan with his fists, have returned after twenty years. Tae-woong is still haunted by his former love, Yeonsuk, and is confused when he meets Jung-hee, who looks exactly like Yeons ...

A Mysterious Sword (1970)

A Man Who Arrived by Night Train (1970)

A Woman Pursued (1970)

At the death of her father, A-mi returns to Korea and realises he was implicated in the theft of a chest full of gold bars. She then becomes the target of a criminal organisation. ...

A Crape-Myrtle with Morning Dew (1970)

One-eyed Park (1970)

A Sword Under the Moon (1970)

Three Generations of Men (1969)

Sorry to Give You Trouble (1969)

Gu Bong-seo and Kim Hui-gab are good buddies. Bong-seo has no where to go, so he lives at Hui-gab's place. Naturally, Hui-gab often gets into quarrels with his wife, and Bong-seo gets involved to help them reconcile. One day, Bong-seo wins a lottery. He sa ...

Rainy Gomoryeong Hill (1969)

A Precious Sword, A Knife of Thunder (1969)

A group of swordsmen takes on a hard-fight battle to possess a precious sword named Loegeom. Ahn Gil-won, one of the swordsmen, heads to enemy camp by himself, looking for the sword. He manages to swipe out the gang of enemy, finds his sword and heads on h ...

The Night of Full Moon (1969)

Escaping Shanghai (1969)

Eagle of Wild Field (1969)

Returned Left-handed Man (1968)

Lady in Dream (1968)

A Man Like the Wind (1968)

Femme Fatale, Jang Hee Bin (1968)

King Sukjong assigns Jang Ok-nan, a court lady, as a concubine overnight. Jang plots to drive the current Queen into exile. ...

Nostalgia (1967)

A Swordsman (1967)

During the Joseon dynasty, the adviser Choi manages to place his natural son on the throne. His ambitions are upset by the appearance of Young-mun, a man whose parents he had killed. ...

A Red-and-blue Gauze Lantern (1967)

Nilliri (1966)

I Am a King (1966)

Trainer Meng Doo-ho spots Young-chul in a bar fight and decides to turn him into a boxing champion. ...

Ok-i Makes a Judge Cry (1966)

After her father, failed at stock investment and was shocked to death, a girl enters a textile factory and supports her family. But living on her small salary and repaying her father's debt is too difficult for her. In the end, she tries to kill herself to ...

Battlefield and a Female Teacher (1966)

The King and the Servant Boy (1965)

Fading in the Rain (1965)

Her Majesty Yeonghwa (1964)

At the close of the reign of Sin the Great in Goguryeo (B.C.37-A.D.668), royalist Uso is executed by a false incrimination made by a treacherous retainer Yangsin and his sister Jangssi. His daughter becomes a royal concubine of King Nammu, and called Her M ...

The Power for Ten Years (1964)

During the reign of King Yeongjo in the Joseon Dynasty (1302-1910), the villainous retainer party led by Jang Ji-hang gains power after cutting the head off a royalist Hong seong-won. His son Hong Guk-yeong passes a state exam and tries to assist the king ...

The Regular Tardy Student (1964)

The Teacher with Ten Daughters (1964)

The Result of the Ambition (1964)

The Heartbreaking Story (1964)

Sinmungo (1963)

For My Husband (1963)

His own father had hated Crown Prince Sado. The king finally orders to kill him by locking him up in a rice-chest. After his death, his wife Hong goes with her son to her parents' house to live there. Some high officials in the court constantly try to harm ...

Man Is Not Popular (1963)

Fighting Lions (1962)

The War and an Old Man (1962)

A platoon of South Korean soldiers find themselves cut off from their squad without communication. They are aided by an old man in a nearby village who did not evacuate his home. ...

Farewell to the Duman River (1962)

Patriotic university student Youngwoo and his friends, led by their teacher Lee Sung, along with a British friend bid farewell to their families and become freedom fighters in Manchuria fighting against the Japanese occupation around the Tumen River. ...

Bonanza (1961)

A young sailor arrives in Busan Harbour; an outrageous-looking, woolly bear of a man appears in downtown Busan with a shotgun over one shoulder, a heavy knapsack thrown over the other; a tough-looking young woman joins her friend in robbing a naïve fat ma ...

Horizon (1961)

Walking in the Movies (2024)

KIM Dong-ho is the founder of the Busan International Film Festival and one of the key figures in the rise of Korean cinema. Starting his career as a civil servant, he dedicated his whole life to the sheer passion for films. With his deep commitment and in ...

Cloud, Encore (2019)

At 6:00 in the morning on the 1st day of January in 2013 80-year-old film-maker IM Kwon-taek started shooting his 102nd film, after his unintentional 5 years' break. I visited the shooting scene with my camera and had stayed there until the end of that yea ...

Gravity of the Tea (2019)

IM Kwon-taek is a Korean film-maker. He was born in 1934 when his country was under Japanese occupation. When Korean War was over his parents became North Korean partisan, and he ran away from home. He's made 101 films since he made his debut in 1962 with ...

Rough Play (2013)

Young is a nameless actor who dreams of becoming a big movie star. Then one day, he makes his breakthrough with a film and becomes a star overnight. ...

Jury (2013)

After the film screening, five people hold a meeting. Director Jeong asserts that a film should move the heart. Actress Soo-yeon emphasizes on the message of the film, Film critic Tony just discusses about the current trend of Korean cinema. Tomiyama canno ...

Ari Ari the Korean Cinema (2012)

Director Chung Ji-Young criticizes the thought that older directors have difficulties in making certain movies. Actress Yoon Jin-Seo agonizes over her identity as an actress. In 2009, before the movie "Unbowed" was made, they met and planned a documentary ...

Through Korean Cinema (2010)

Discover the roots of Korean cinema. A cinema who surprised by the success recorded in the major international festivals. Interviews to five famous Korean directors, to get to know closely the evolution of Korean cinema. Through their words, their pictures ...

The Nine Lives of Korean Cinema (2005)

South Korean cinema is in the throes of a creative explosion where mavericks are encouraged and masters are venerated. But from where has this phenomenon emerged? What is the culture that has yielded this range of filmmakers? With The Nine Lives of Korean ...

The Cinema on the Road (1995)

A personal consideration of the Korean cinema by director Jang Sun-Woo, looking at it's history of outside influence and censorship. ...