Korean Horror: The Forgotten Asian Horror Genre

When the topic of horror movies from the Asia comes up it’s all too often in reference to the offerings from Japan. Korea doesn’t get enough attention during these discussions as they have easily produced horror movies on par with those coming out of Japan. Below we have 5 films that are representative of the amazing frights you can get out of this country and will certainly inspire the scariest halloween costumes for this upcoming Halloween.

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum It would appear that the haunted asylum gestalt for horror movies is pretty much a standard no matter what country you’re in, but clearly, some countries do it better than others. If Rotten Tomatoes is any judge this film is a perfect 10, having scored 100% on their rating meter. Done in a “found footage” style this film shares the results of a group of web horror enthusiasts doing a live broadcast from a Korean asylum. Fans of Paranormal Activity will get a kick out of this.

I Saw The Devil We never fail to be amazed at the ubiquitous nature of “The Devil” in horror movies from all over the globe. This movie follows a secret service agent seeking revenge for his fiancee's dismemberment and murder by a serial killer. But unlike straight up gory scare tactics like severed head props or zombie body props, the movie has one of the single most unsettling and brutal vengeance scenes to ever grace the big screen, so make sure you’re emotionally prepared to handle it when it comes.

Bedeviled In Asian culture women are generally expected to be dainty and reserved, striving to not interfere in the world of men as much as is possible. This film reveals what happens when a woman subjected to sexual, mental, and physical abuse finally has enough and snaps. Throughout this film we see a woman’s revenge for the way the world has treated her, and what lengths she’ll go to to find and retain her place in it.

Death Bell It’s clear that no matter where in the world you live one thing is unerringly true, school is hell. In this film we find ourselves exploring a school where students with high marks find themselves disappearing and turning up dead in ways that are unimaginably grisly. It also features the ineffable Nam Gyu-Ri, Queen of K-Pop band SeeYa. While we won’t spoil it for you we will go so far as to say that the twist in this film is neat and has plenty of shocks and gore.

The Silenced Easily one of Korea’s most underrated horror films this story follows a young girl to a boarding school. While she’s there her fellow students start to go missing, a mystery which she attempts to solve at her own peril. The movie is considered a masterpiece due to its eerie style and visually stunning representation of Korea during its occupation by the Japanese. How did the white dresses NOT become yearly haunted house props?

The next time you go looking for Asian horror films we cannot recommend digging into Korea’s offerings enough. They are uniquely styled, touched with the Korean concept of fear and horror, and are truly an enjoyable experience for any horror aficionado.