Our Staff Picks column takes you back to a time when video stores reigned supreme and the "Staff Picks" section was the place to find out what films were worthy of one's time. Of course, our version of Staff Picks has a decidedly skintillating angle, as we suss out which films from a particular subgenre are the best to find great nudity. This week, we cover a classic: Korean Cinema!
Korean films have become very popular in the last few years in America. Actually, Korean everything has! From K-Pop taking the youth by storm to TV shows like Squid Game becoming one of the must-watch shows of 2021, Korean pop culture is dominating the globe - and for good reason: it is very good. Their movies especially are fantastic, so let's look at some Staff Picks for Korean films that are very worth watching, nudity and all.
Parasite
Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite is an obvious recommendation - and for a good reason. It is one of those rare international films that took the entire world by storm, even winning Best Picture at The Oscars. Parasite swept awards and good reviews and it deserved all of them. It really is very good as it takes a critical and humorous look at modern class divisions. Jo Yeo-jeong plays one-half of a wealthy couple who seem to have it all - even orgasms! Her hubby fingers her while the couple lays on the couch...and their employees hide underneath the couch listening.
The Handmaiden
Did you want a SPICY Korean film filled with hot sex? Then The Handmaiden is for you. This is one sexy movie with a twisted plot that will keep you watching until the very end. Sadomasochism, lesbian romance, and gorgeous cinematography are what everyone remembers about this film. Tae-ri Kim plays a former thief who becomes a handmaiden hired by a wealthy man to help convince Lady Hideko, Min-hee Kim, to elope with him. She certainly seduces her...for herself.
Before long, the women are plotting to be together. It's no wonder! How could anyone tear themselves away from that kind of arrangement after 69-ing like that?!
Thirst
Let's get scary with Thirst. Chan-wook Park directed this 2009 vampire flick in which a priest volunteers for a medical experiment that is trying to develop a vaccine for a new virus. That might sound too close to home, but this was 2009. Anyway, the experiment does not work out and it instead turns him into a vampire with a strong sexual appetite. The priest seduces Kim Ok-bin who shows off her breasts in this film which feels more relevant than ever. Sink your fangs into Kim's suck sacks!
Oldboy
Speaking of Chan-wook Park, Oldboy is a Korean classic. It was even remade in America in 2013, but the original is the one that you need to see - even if it is harder to stomach. Vengeance and BDSM are on the menu in this film about a man who was kidnapped and held captive in a hotel room for fifteen years. He finally gets released and is told that if he does not locate his kidnapper in five days, then he will receive further punishment and real torture.
This movie is bloody, violent, and shocking. It also features some nudity from Kang Hye-jung in three scenes and Jin-seo Yun in a boobalicious scene that will get any Oldboy feeling young again.
My Wife is a Gangster
Comedy, action, suspense, and romance are all encapsulated in this 2001 film that has everything. Two sisters were separated after they were placed in orphanages. Thus they had very different upbringings and one of them took to a life of professional crime. She became a notorious gangster named Mantis who lives her life preying on people in the city. When the other sister gets cancer, she wishes that she and her sister wishes to help Mantis' life by fixing her up with someone to go on a date with.
That's right! This crime drama gets really romantic. Eventually, she meets a man while she is doing one of her, ehem, jobs. They get married and we see their complicated life from there because that's only half of the movie. If you like tattooed ladies, then this film has one for you! Shin Eun-Kyung shows off some fresh ink of a large dragon that spans her entire backside. A gangster with tattoos? Of course!
Burning
Another Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Burning was a big hit in 2018. The plot is simple: a man watches his neighbor's cat when she is on vacation. When the woman returns, she brings back a mysterious man whose side gig is a danger to everyone. I won't spoil it as this film is definitely worth watching. Jun Jong-seo also looks skintastic in three scenes that show her breasts, particularly in one that is quite well-lit. Her round mounds with tiny nipples look exquisite against the setting sun.
The Concubine
Did you want to see Parasite's Jo Yeo-jeong get even more naked? Then Concubine is for you! This Kim Dae-Seung flick follows a lower-class Korean girl who wants to get out of her class status. So what does she do? Become a concubine! She is sent to work as a concubine at the imperial palace, but when the king suddenly dies she is unsure of what her place at the palace is. That is when she decides to do anything she can to curry favor with the prince, using his crush on her to her advantage.
It is a dramatic, intriguing tale that shows what one girl will do to survive in imperial Korea. It also shows Jo's breasts and buns in four very hot sex scenes.
