1970s Korean Movies

One of Han Ok-hee’s renowned pieces called The Hole uses the flicker, oblique angles, the cross-cutting of reality and fantasy to express inner entrapment and the desire for liberation. Han Ok-hee’s The Hole, The Rope and Untitled not only experimented with cinematic forms of expression, but also played an important role in the protest against forms of expression in experimental films and the artistic protest against the social suppression and censorship in 1970s Korea. (Art Cinema OFFoff)

Kang-hie recalls from her cell how she was used by Japanese detectives to track down and destroy the Korean Independence fighters. She manages to escape from prison during a break and proceeds to hunt down her former lover who was a Japanese agent.

James Nam and Johnny Taylor star in Jaws of the Dragon. This martial arts extravaganza concerns two rival factions in the Far East. In "Hatfields and McCoys" fashion, one group gradually decimates the other and vice versa.

Hye-Suk takes care of Si-Mok's family. She is jealous of the warm-hearted relation between Si-Mok and his wife, Ae-Ja and kills her and takes her happiness and wealth using Si-Mok's mother, Mrs. Heo, and Chun-Cheol. Ten years later, Ae-Ja enters Si-Mo's house being a master of her portrait Chun-Cheol draws. Her ghost kills Hye-Suk and Mr.s Heo but can't kill her children because of a Bodhi-sattva. As Si-Mok begs her pardon, realizing that this unhappiness is due to the lack of his recognition, Ae-Ja's ghost goes up to the sky.

When a nuclear catastrophe lays an entire civilization, the Green Empire, to waste, its remaining inhabitants turn to the only method of survival they can think of: they take human beings into captivity and force them to rebuild their empire. Sent to rescue the captives are Captain Leo and his Cosmos Warriors. He strikes a deal with the Queen of the Green Empire, but when she refuses to let the captives go and orders the assassination of all the Cosmos Warriors, Captain Leo must prepare for a battle with much more at stake than just the well being of the captives. The fate of humanity just might rest in his hands.

In a village in Northern Manchuria, Min-gyu's Taekwondo training hall faces Sujuki's karate hall. With his defeat at a martial arts match, Sujuki loses his pupils to Min-gyu's Taekwondo hall. With growing hostility, Sujuki hires three masked men, Heuk-chun and Hwang-pyo, and has them kidnap Min-gyu's wife, Suk-hi. They torture Suk-hi forcing her to write a letter to her husband asking him to close the training hall and return to his home country. Heuk-chun and Hwang-pyo received from Sujuki a large sum of money for it. They are about to leave when Min-gyu stops and fights them. Along with Jin-pyung, Min-gyu tears down Sujuki's fighting hall and rescues his wife.

In hope of growing his power, a warlord hires a group of 'Devil Fighters' to kill whoever gets in his way. When a group of martial arts experts does just that, it seems a bloodbath is unavoidable.

Two brothers, one deaf and one mute, seek revenge on seven Kung Fu Masters after their father is brutally murdered.

Japan conquers China just before WW2 starts. Chinese women are captured and placed in concentration camps, where they are tortured and humiliated. Some try to escape incurring enormous risks, and death if they fail.

Kim Joe Rang, the new appointed chief of the village, takes charge of a strange case from the first day. A villager is dead just after telling that he saw a ghost. Kim Joe Rang offers his daughter for reward and sends monk Chon-Won and his pupil Min-Do to get rid of the ghost. But they are killed by the ghost. Kim Joe Rang goes to Jeom-Sa who tells him that is wolf's mischief and they should sacrifice a young lady born in Mu-Jin year to solve the problem. Kim is looking for the right person and his daughter Ran volunteers to be a sacrifice. When Ran is alone in the mountain trembling with fear, an eminent monk appears to help her and they defeat the ghost.

An unmarried man in his mid-thirties meets a homeless woman. He allows her to live with him. In return, she must do the household chores. However, to avoid trouble from their conservative landlord, they must pass themselves off as married.

A giant crocodile is killing and frightening people living nearby rivers. Two men, whose wives and daughter have been killed by the crocodile, decide to chase and eliminate it.

The benevolent Dr. Kim created Robot Taekwon V, installing his eldest son Kim Hoon as the robot's pilot. A taekwondo champion, Kim Hoon imbues Taekwon V with his own martial arts prowess in order to stop the giant robot minions of the evil Dr. Kaff, who - like all evil megalomaniacs - is looking to annex Korea and enslave all of humanity. Can Kim Hoon and Robot Taekwon stop the evil doctor from fulfilling his nefarious aims?

A man wanders around the mountains with a bleeding leg, holding a rifle in his hand. Seemingly a fugitive, he runs from as-yet unknown pursuers, but he also seems to be following somebody who has already walked the same path. As he hides in a secluded cave, past memories sweep through his exhausted mind, memories of lifelong cowardice and evasion. And this recollection leads to a reconstruction of early 20th century Korean history. Winner of Best Picture (Nam-a Pictures Co., Ltd.), Best Actor (Ha Myung-joong), Best Art Direction (Kim Yoo-joon), Best Lighting (Son Young-cheol) at the 14th Grand Bell Awards. (source: Jiro Hong, koreanfilm.org)

Seon-Hee, whose dream is to go to high school, gets a job as a housemaid in Jae-Yon's in Seoul. The family of the restaurant treats her as a member of the family. Seon-Hee solves the problems between Jae-Yong and his girlfriend, Yeo-Ju. On the day when Jae-Yong joins the military service, he ensures his love to Yeo-Ju. With the careful concern of the family, Seon-Hee comes true her dream of going to high school. Seon-Hee in her school uniform is full of hope and walks to school.

In-Son is a young benchwarmer with aspirations of breaking into the first team, which is littered with established stars. The opening game of the season hands him his opportunity, but his lack of experience coupled with the expectation of the crowd leave him with little success on the pitch. The side loses, forcing the manager and the team back to the drawing board.

A rumor surfaces that the fighting scriptures, 'Dharma's Secret Technique,' written by the Buddhist priest, Dharma, is secretly hidden in a Buddhist temple in China. The masters who love justice and the warriors of the Biryong Fighting Hall search high and low for the scriptures. Seo Chun-wi has come from Koryo to avenge himself against his parents' enemies. Chun-wi becomes the disciple of the greatest fighting master Tae-baek. He receives 'Dharma's Secret Technique' and begins his training. However, Ma Chun-pyo and his gang have been eyeing the scriptures. They put drugs in Chun-wi's tea and defeat him. They seize 'Dharma's Secret Technique' and even kill Ah-min, Chun-wi's girlfriend. However, through incredible efforts, Chun-wi regains his strength and makes a clean sweep of Chun-pyo and his gang. Chun-wi punishes Suk-in, the enemy of his parents, and returns to his home country.

Sickly Yeon-ah is befriended by her popular, athletic classmate Cheol-yi. Her new friend makes up his mind to help her but to do so means that he must confront her over-protective parents.

Once upon a time, since a head of a village is killed mysteriously, nobody wants to take that post. At that time Won-Seok whose wife is so beautiful voluntarily takes the post and makes efforts to solve the case. Since he doesn't believe in superstition, he firmly believes that the murder is committed by somebody not by an evil spirit. However outline of the murderer is not cleared while mysterious things happen one after another.

A Chinese General seeks refuge with a mother and daughter and falls in love with the daughter while being pursued by Mongol invaders.

A lightning bolt strikes the grave of Bruce Lee. However, that is as much as Bruce Lee has to do with it. Then a kung fu instructor starts a quest to avenge a friend's death, and on the way has a romance with a girl with similar problems. He eventually finds the bad guys behind it all, and has several fights with them...

Alpha Star is approaching Earth at a rapid pace to destroy humanity and conquer Earth. Taekwon V fights against the Green Queen, the leaders of that star, and General Max. Before Alpha Star collides with Earth,

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 looking for Kuroda, one of them was Ma-cheol, a one-armed swordsman who lost his left arm due to Kuroda's trick, and the other was Kuroda's henchman Okamodo, who lost his newlywed wife and even lost his own eyes. This is Yoshiyama, the swordsman who lost his mind. At first, the three knights, who met by chance, were wary of each other for their own goals, but were captured by Kuroda's persistent pursuit. In the end, after a bloody fight, they succeed in revenge, and Iljimae returns home with the recovered Cheonryongsword.

A company hopes to open a spa hotel named after Ieodo, a mythical island inhabited by the souls of drowned sailors. During a study trip to the proposed location of the hotel, a journalist disappears under mysterious circumstances. One of the contractors goes to Ieodo's neighboring island, populated by widows of the dead sailors, to unravel the mystery.

Yeong-su and Jeong-ah experience many problems as their budding romance defies the strict rules of the co-ed highschool they attend. After graduation when it looks like they can be free to live their own lives, Yeong-su joins the military and their relationship will never be the same.

Dae-dong is the newly appointed leader of the Jung-mu Martial Arts Hall. He is challenged by the Japanese and is killed. The Jung-mu Hall is almost at the point of ruin. The teachers of Jung-mu Hall go searching for the master Keum-san of Chosun, the great Taekwondo fighter. Keum-san was the Korean teacher of the deceased Dae-dong and a highly respected warrior. When Keum-san's disciple, Chung, hears the sad tidings of Dae-dong's death, his only friend, he goes to China with the Jung-mu masters to hold his funeral. During Dae-dong's funeral, Chung receives a challenge from the treacherous Japanese man, Kuromasa. Chung kills Kuromasa and returns to Chosun but he discovers his wife and master Keum-san murdered. Stunned, Chung destroys them all and leaves for somewhere desolately carrying his young child.

Nan-Hyang runs away from home because she can't bear her inharmonious family where her father is a doctor and her mother is the president of a third rate publishing company. Nan-Hyang meets Jin-Ho and his friend Min-Su and has mutual understandings. Jin-Ho stopped studying temporarily. With them, Nan-Hyang lives at her own way and sometimes deviates from the right path. But, Min-Su's success in exam, who makes efforts in everything, makes her realize self-consciousness. Jin-Ho also returns to the college.

Kwang-shik misunderstands his wife's motherly attentions for mute Sam-yong, a servant on his land, leading to Sam-yong being fired. Kwang-shik is having an affair of his own and when his mistress' husband finds out, he plans to take revenge on all of Kwang-shik's household.

Dragon Lee takes on five warriors who were sent by the emperor to discover who's behind the rebels plotting his downfall.

Kung-fu fighter Bruce goes up against the odds.

A newly discovered 36-foot gorilla escapes from a freighter off the coast of Korea. At the same time an American actress is filming a movie in the country. Chaos ensues as the ape kidnaps her and rampages through Seoul.

Nan-hee is slowly coerced into a life of crime by her boyfriend, Park. She is trained in assassination techniques and sent to assassinate the head of the Special Investigation Unit. However she cannot complete her mission because she suffers from pangs of conscience and a deep attraction to the investigator.

Passing through a jail and a construction site, a young laborer meets a middle-aged man returning to Sampo after ten years' absence. Together, they track down a young woman who ran away from the restaurant she was waitressing at, but instead of turning her in for a reward, the trio decide to go on an adventure together.

Yeon-ee, a city girl moves to the countryside to live with her great-grandparents when her father’s business fails. She gradually becomes friends with Seok-ee, a country boy from the neighboring farm. One day they go on a long hike to a nearby mountain, where they’re caught in a sudden storm.

Mi-yeong informs her boyfriend that she is becoming a prostitute to help her poverty striken family. Although she tries not to, she ends up falling in love with wealthy Dae-seon and moves into an apartment that he supplies. She is satisfied with this arrangement until she learns that Dae-seon's wife is her classmate.

Chang-su recalls the girl whom he loved before he entered the military. At that time she had been working as a housemaid. They meet again years later at a police station and the girl, Yeong-ja reveals that she quit her job after being raped by the son of her employer. Her life got steadily worse until finally she lost an arm in a car accident and had to work as a prostitute to pay for an artificial limb.

The nation called Hocheonpyo transports gold in the village of Korean vagabonds in Manchuria to Kukja family when some bandits attack and steal the coach with goods. The very prestigious head Paeng-deok mediates but old man Kim is killed when he asks for compensation. At this time, the Korean man Han-seong defeats the bandits and brings back the gold. So-jeong, old man Kim's daughter, decides to avenge her father. Han-seong goes to the place where the coach was attacked. Finding an emblem, he is filled with suspicion. The bandits have been employed as a convoy of Hocheonpyo and the emblem is theirs. Paeng-deok is Han-seong's older brother. Paeng-deok gets the compensation money together. While bringing the money, Seo-jun is killed and someone takes the money. Han-seong knows that Ho-chul is the culprit but Ho-chul dies by a poisonous dart. Han-seong persuades him knowing that Paeng-deok is the ringleader behind Ho-chul. - KMDB

Kim Myung-wu studies modern music in Germany and meets Ji-suk, a pianist. She disappears on the day of his recital to get money for her mother's treatment in hospital and no word from her for a month since. He sees through her mother's funeral when she's gone. When there's a fire in the village, Myung-wu witnesses Ji-suk playing piano at the church watching the flame. She sets a fire at a store she was trying to get the money from but the owner reported her. She blamed her mother's death on the store owner and revenged with the fire. She completes the Pyro-Sonata with help of Myung-wu hiding her from police.

Cha's meeting with the beautiful Mi-yeong is misunderstood by his family. His wife, furious at his behavior, packs up and moves to Pusan while his son, disgusted with his father, leaves home for Seoul.

Released in Korea in 1978, Gold Wing 123, or Golden Wing 123, is an animated sci-fi superhero feature from Kim Cheong Ki, who also directed the classic Robot Taekwon V (1976) and created the popular Wuroemae series. Like Robot Taekwon V, Gold Wing 123 draws from Japanese genre themes and character designs to create Korea's very own world-saving transforming superhero, a young man who attains super powers and is tasked to defend earth from the evil plans of a galactic conqueror. Known in the West as Goldwing, Gold Wing 123 is one of Korea's earliest and most classic animated films. The Gold Wing 123 was mastered in HD for Blu-ray release, but some imperfections still exist in the film due to the state of the original archive print.