The Best Films From South Korea Released in 2012

Films from South Korea Released In 2012

Baby Emperor Penguin Pengi and Sommi's Ultimate Challenge Begins! At 60 degrees below zero, winter has come to the South Pole, the coldest glacial region in the world. Abandoned due to its bitter coldness, the South Pole is greeted by the real natives of this place, the Emperor Penguins, who have come to welcome new lives. Through the indescribable love and care given by mom and dad, baby Emperor Penguins Pengi and Sommi awake from their egg shells. Gluttonous Pengi, the number one trouble maker in the South Pole, and cutie Sommi, who loves daddy's embrace the best, become great friends. Then one day, Sommi’s dad goes out to the sea to seek her out. Sommi left all alone, cold and starving to the brink of death, and Pengi desperately tires to help Sommi through her troubles. Could Pengi and Sommi possibly overcome numerous hardships and become beautiful full-grown Emperor Penguins?

Tears of the Antarctic (2012)

A woman suddenly disappears. Her fiance then sets out to find her and, in the process, uncovers layers of dark hidden secrets.

Helpless (2012)

A gang of South Korean thieves team up with a Hong Kong crew to steal a diamond necklace from a heavily-guarded casino safe in Macau. As the cops close in, old betrayals — and misunderstandings — resurface.

The Thieves (2012)

The movie depicts the three months before Choong-nyung (the future Sejong the Great) becomes king. The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which follows the history of the Joseon Dynasty between 1413 and 1865, leaves out records of this crucial period. While future generations would come to know him as King Sejong, the legendary figure who created the Korean alphabet and advanced the country’s scientific research and law, Prince Choong-nyung was originally dismissed as a reclusive bookworm. When his older brothers Yangnyeong and Hyoryeong fail to impress their father King Taejong, the king makes a royal command for Choong-nyung to become the next ruler of the kingdom instead.

I Am The King (2012)

Set towards the end of the 19th century, when coffee was first introduced to Korea, Russian sharpshooter Illichi and Joseon's first barista Danya are manipulated by Japanese officer Sadako into an elaborate plan to assassinate King Gojong.

Gabi (2012)

After a humiliating encounter, a group of small town thugs begin a feud with a big city gangster.

All Bark No Bite (2012)

A young couple, who have wanted a baby for a long time, are happily blesses with a twin pregnancy. However they get driven to despair by the fact that their twins are conjoined. Treated as monsters by their mother, the brothers, Sang-hyeon and Dong-hyeon, meet a beautiful girl one day.

The Peach Tree (2012)

On September 4, 1984, democracy movement leader Kim Jong Tae (Park Won Sang) is arrested and taken to an infamous interrogation facility in Namyeong-dong. For the next 22 days, he would be cruelly and continuously tortured in all manners by interrogators intent on forcing him to confess to communist collaboration.

National Security (2012)

After his best friend dies in an unexpected accident, black market dealer Young-gyu decides to wash his hands off his illegal activities and start a new life with his girlfriend Yu-ri. But his dream stalls when he learns that Yu-ri needs money for her father's surgery. To help her out, Young-gyu decides to do the job one last time. His smuggling ring operates out of a boat that runs between Korea and China, picking victims from its voyager pool and harvesting their organs. Meanwhile, a married couple, Sang-ho and Chae-hee, boards Young-gyu's passenger boat heading to Weihai, China. That very evening, just when the boat enters international sea waters where countries' laws cannot be enforced, Chae-hee goes missing and all her pictures and belongings vanishes without a trace. Young-gyu finds Yu-ri on the same ship, and she claims to be the only witness to Chae-hee's disappearance.

Traffickers (2012)

Divorced mother Yoo Rim (Yoo Seon) lives with her teenage daughter Eun Ah (Nam Bo-Ra), who is having a tough time at her new school. She has a crush on classmate Jo Han (U-Kiss's Shin Dong Ho), but he turns out to be different than what she expected. He and his friends rape her and then threaten her with a videotape of the assault. Eun Ah eventually takes her own life, leaving Yoo Rim alone and devastated. As minors, Jo Han and his friends are let off with light punishments. Yoo Rim takes matters into her own hand to get revenge for her daughter.

Don't Cry, Mommy (2012)