steemit.com is very popular in South Korea. We may not be interacting much because of the language barrier but the numbers tell a great story. @freeforever shared these numbers today and I have to add few more points after your read those numbers.
steemit.com has the global ranking of 1079 and NETFLIX is at rank 30 and Reddit is at 7 and top 3 goes to Google, YouTube, Facebook. The world population was estimated to have reached 7.6 billion as of December 2017. South Korea has a population density of 517 people per km^2 and has a not so large population of 51,446,201 which is only 0.68% of the global population and they already account to 11.2% of steemit.com visitors. This kind of engagement far eclipse the United States. But most people don't know much about the Koreans. I don't know a whole lot either. I'm not a culture geek and I don't have too much interest in other cultures. What I'm more interested is what I can learn from them and the kind of things I can add to my life from to those cultures.
The entertainment sector and the stories that a culture develop is a very efficient way to gain a good glimpse into that culture. You are getting a filtered version and its not a complete picture. But it always shows a one or few good aspect/s well and it's never a lecture. You are always learning tangentially. You are going to have a great time and enjoy watching a movie and that's why I'm going to recommend my Top 3 South Korean Movies. I've mentioned these in various comment discussions but I've never made a post about them. So here we go.
#3 Confession of Murder (2012)
South Korea is a treasure trove when it comes to serial killer movies. Out of all, this is my favorite. There are many reasons. For first it looks like it was written by Gen Urobuchi. The entire concept, pacing, twists, revelations and set pieces could be right out of a Gen Urobuchi work. For those who know the Urobutcher, I've given sufficient reasons to go watch this movie. For the rest of you:
There were 2 chase sequences and one was actually really funny and that was done without loosing a single shred of seriousness. Basically there is a serial killer and there is the statutes of limitations. When a statute of limitations expires in a criminal case, the courts no longer have jurisdiction. After this time period ends, the serial killer who actually look like a Korean Television star/Model comes out writing a best seller that break all sales records becoming a rich celebrity. When the movie isn't high on very well executed action, it gets into drama/mystery/thriller and doesn't fail to deliver in a single department. That funny action scene I mentioned involves the cop from the opening scene trying to save the
The movie will not just keep you excited but it will make the second watch even more entertaining with a friend. Normally I figure things out fast. For people like me who remember past events well, the movie will have some euphoric moments where it re-contextualize everything. I won't spoil. Just 2 hours of action + psychological thriller. Writer/Director Jung Byung-gil is one of the most promising new directors I've recently come across. Keep an eye on this guy.
#2 The best performance of Chris Evans: Snowpiercer (2013)
Yep, the captain himself. It's just this time the movie is the best he has taken part in and IMO it's his best performance. 95% Rotten Tomatoes isn't always a good indicator of a good movie. MCU movies get 80%+ despite being utterly mediocre. But this hit from director Bong Joon-ho deserves all the praise. The movie also has Tilda Swinton and one more very special character near the end. It's not really a spoiler. But don't look up the cast. This is a movie that can suprise you and keep you hooked. So please let it. Unlike the other 2 on this list, Snowpiercer is about 80% English. With a familiar cast, this could serve as a first watch for people who aren't very willing to step out of their comfort zones.__
The movie may look like a great action/adventure/drama and it does deliver. But more than anything the movie is a meta-commentary. Most people get thrown off by the ending unable to figure things out. But unlike those surrealist movies, this one has a easy to follow surface plot that actually even look and proceed like a class struggle and managed to become one of the highest grossing Korean movies while being the most expensive movie to produce at the time of release. But instead of the normal cliche ways, Snowpiercer takes the smart and sensible approach. Everything on the meta level makes so much sense. But the meta-commentary does comes at the expense of the plot at times and the movie never managed to create a sense of anime like flow for me. So it's not perfect. But it makes so much god damn sense.
Even the ending is about going horizontal. There is nothing to be had up and down the classes. These classes didn't just appear out of thin air. Resistance needs to be taken care of in various ways. Every cog is a part of the system and the only liberation is in a paradigm shift. Capturing the powers never leads to anything. These plot lines can end up being nonsensical for the intellectually less inclined. Just take your time and think meta. Think 1984, Animal Farm and The Matrix put together.
Spoilers!!! (Plus I do differer at some points given in the videos)
Now it's time for the very best. It would seem like a lot to top Snowpiercer but this one does it. Welcome to a historical recreation. Yep, what you are about to see is based on a diary about Battle of Myeongnyang which had
#1 The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)
The movie costed as much as 2 episodes of Game of Thrones and the second hour of the 2 hour movie is a historical recreation of a navel battle that is directed almost without flaws and pacing and flow is simply flawless and perfect. It's real military tactics and real tension and above all the movies exaggerates the losses of Admiral Yi Sun-sin for the sake of mere believably. Yes, the protagonist of the story was so freaking amazing the director had to make it look like the flagship which did most of the fighting (remember that
The composer's name is Kim Tae-seong and the movie was co-written, produced and directed by Kim Han-min who made 2011's highest grossing Korean movie and The Admiral: Roaring Currents eclipsed even that becoming THE BIGGEST Box office hit in Korea and I'm really glad to see that my favorite movie beig the biggest hit from the country that produced it. Half of the movies I love don't do that well in cinemas.
One thing about the movie is that it really captures what it means to be the guy who goes at 333 ships with his ship after loosing his biggest ace thinking and actually believing that he could win. The first hour of the movie almost feels like Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in retrospect and at the end there is a scene which I won't spell. But it comes down to a point where the Deus Ex Machina of the story was calculated and the human courage was surprising and completely unexpected. When people growing a spine is the grace of god and pulling off Deus Ex Machina is part of the plan, you know you are dealing with what legends would come to worship. So here is one last documentary.
Spoilers!!! Because it's a history lesson.
I don't know what the Korean community has to say about my picks. Just consider this a way of me saying: You guys are awesome accounting for 11.2% of steemit.com visitors making the blockchain grow and show its real capabilities. Happy steeming!
