South Korea Movies

Wangmagwi

The legendary lost giant monster movie. Though it was listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for a while for having used some huge number of extras during production, this movie has apparently never been released on video or appeared on TV anywhere, though it does play the occasional film festival in Asia.

Yongary, Monster from the Deep

A nuclear test in China releases a giant dinosaur from hibernation. The monster rampages through Korea until a young inventor kills it with a special chemical. Made when Godzilla reached the height of his popularity, Yongary, Monster from the Deep was a blatant attempt to capitalize on the sucess of that most popular of movie dinosaurs. This movie is quite similar to Giant Monster Gamera, made at about the same time. It was dubbed and released in the US, much to the delight of b-movie fans.

A*P*E

A giant ape bound for Disneyland escapes and rampages around South Korea. The inevitable female target of his attentions is an actress in Korea filming a movie where she gets raped in every scene! Originally shot in 3-D, with an ape suit that looks like it was put together from carpet samples.

Reptilian

Filmed in English with largely American actors, Reptilian (loosely based on Yongary, Monster from the Deep) may be (for Westerners) the most accessible Asian monster film ever made. The production company that made it was so set on selling it overseas that they barely released it in Korea. However, the movie only got a DVD release over here, due to shoddy effects and American actors who aren't exactly well known in their native country. The plot deals mainly with the excavation of a giant dinosaur and his subsequent resurrection by aliens, but even if you can't pay that much attention, try to make it to the later portions of the film, wherein the monster Yonggary throws down with another giant monster named Cyker.