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Film and TV

The Korean Film Archive: a free, subtitled source for hundreds of classic Korean movies

Needing a crash course on Korean film? Thanks to the magic of the internet, there’s a perfect place for you to start your education.

Recently shared by Reddit user u/uhhuhidk in honour of Korean film Parasite winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the Korean Film Archive collates hundreds of classic Korean movies, all available for free and subtitled in English.

복원본 / Early Rain korean film archive 1966
Still from 복원본 / Early Rain (1966)

Watch hundreds of classic Korean films online for free, as curated by the popular Korean Film Archive Youtube channel.

Amongst the many movies uploaded are a number of incredible digital restorations, meaning you can watch films such as A Hometown in Heart (1949) or The Hand of Destiny (1954) in beautifully restored high definition.

The channel even sorts a number of the films into playlists based on the decade they were made, going all the way back to the 1930s for Sweet Dream (Lullaby of Death). Check out the decade playlists here.

If you’re looking for a place to start, the Reddit thread in which the archive was shared also had a number of recommendations from the list. These included The Day a Pig Fell into the WellThe Road to the Race Track, and 301/302.

Browse the full archive for yourself here.