Otto Paraploo
Korean Noir Cinema Soundtracks on Spotify
CHO YOUNG-WUK (Jo Yeong-wook)
Park Chan-wook's composer for over 25 years. Search his artist page on Spotify — 61K monthly listeners. Also a 105-track fan-compiled playlist under "Jo Yeong-wook."
Oldboy (2003) — the waltz theme alone is worth the practice. Melancholic strings, baroque tension.
Lady Vengeance (2005) — darker, more orchestral.
Thirst (2009) — horror-noir. Sparse, unsettling.
The Handmaiden (2016) — lush, period-drama noir. Romantic and sinister simultaneously.
Decision to Leave (2022) — neo-noir romantic mystery. Uses Mahler's Adagietto alongside original score. The most refined of the set.
Uprising (2024) — Netflix period film, 20 tracks. Historical action with his orchestral darkness.
Revolver (2024) — dark thriller.
The Sympathizer (2024) — TV miniseries, 7 episodes.
No Other Choice (2025) — Park Chan-wook's latest. A laid-off man devises a plan to eliminate his job competition. Pure Korean noir. The score was called "equally hypnotic" — one standoff sequence where the music blares so loud the subtitles change style. Soundtrack may not yet be on Spotify as a standalone album.
Nine Puzzles (2025) — TV series, 6 episodes.
JUNG JAE-IL
Bong Joon-ho's composer.
Parasite (2019) — minimalist piano with light percussion. Start with "Opening" and "Belt of Faith." Contains "Soju One Glass" performed by Choi Woo-shik.
Okja (2017) — gentler but still dark underneath.
TARŌ IWASHIRO
Japanese composer scoring Korean noir.
Memories of Murder (2003) — Bong Joon-ho's serial killer masterpiece. 27-track album on Spotify.
A WORKING PLAYLIST ORDER
Oldboy waltz → Decision to Leave → No Other Choice → Parasite → Memories of Murder → Uprising → The Handmaiden → Thirst
The sequence moves from baroque noir through romantic noir through employment noir through minimalist noir through rural noir through historical noir through period noir through horror noir. Eight temperatures.