Best South Korean movies I watched so far (Over 80 movies for now)
Over 80 South Korean movies I watched for now, listed from the best to average. Althou, I must stress out that, when South Korean movies are god, they are better than most, and when they are average, they are better than average American movies. (From 1-7 are 10, 8-16 are 9, 17-38 are 8, 39-72 are 7, 73-84 are 6) There are at leats 10 I forgot.
Any recommendations for South Korean movies to watch, and that are not on this list are MORE than welcome!
Any recommendations for South Korean movies to watch, and that are not on this list are MORE than welcome!
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- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoShin Ha-kyunBae DoonaA recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsNam-mi KangJeong-nam ChoiHye-Sook GoAfter being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.
- DirectorHun JangStarsSo Ji-seobKo Chang-seokJang Hie-jinA gangster who wants to be an actor; an actor more gangster than anything. Here their paths and lives begin to cross.
- DirectorHee-chan RaStarsJeong Jae-yeongSon Byung-hoLee Young-eunThings get out of control when Doman, an eager and saintly traffic cop, is asked the play the role of the bank robber in a robbery intervention police training program.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsKim Yoon-seokHa Jung-wooSeo Yeong-hieA disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
- DirectorLee Hae-junStarsJeong Jae-yeongJung Ryeo-wonYeong-seo ParkA failed suicide attempt leads a heartbroken man to live a life in the wilderness.
- DirectorJung Byung-gilStarsJeong Jae-yeongPark Shi-hooJung Hae-kyunLee Du-Seok publishes an autobiography describing murders he committed after the statute of limitations expires. A detective and one of the victim's mothers search for the author while an anonymous person claims to be the real killer.
- DirectorYun-ho YangStarsYang Dong-geunAya HirayamaMasaya KatôIt is a Korean boy who went to Japan and started to learn Karate from his brother.
- DirectorHan-min KimStarsChoi Min-sikRyu Seung-ryongCho Jin-woongAdmiral Yi Sun-sin faces a tough challenge when he is forced to defend his nation with just 13 battleships against 300 Japanese enemy ships in the Battle of Myeongryang.
- DirectorKang Woo-sukStarsAhn Sung-kiSol Kyung-guHuh Joon-hoBased on a true story of 1968 Korean Republic Army plan to assassinate North Korean president Kim Il-Sung. 31 criminals and death row inmates are recruited into secret training on the island of Silmi; for two years they are subjected to maximum mental and physical abuse before the mission is cancelled and the unit terminated.
- DirectorPark Jin-PyoStarsSol Kyung-guKim Nam-juGang Dong-wonOne day, the only son of famous news anchor HAN Kyung-bae, disappears without a trace. Soon, the kidnapper calls the mother demanding a $100,000 ransom. The police assign a veteran inspector to the case and assemble a top-notch task force to work under his command. But the kidnapper constantly outwits the police and continues calling the parents with yet more instructions for the money drop.
- DirectorByung-woo KimStarsWon-Jin AhnLee Da-witChoi Deok-moonA newsman discovers he's been rigged with a bomb after he has an exclusive interview with a terrorist who blew up a bridge.
- DirectorChang-min ChooStarsLee Byung-hunRyu Seung-ryongHan Hyo-jooA look-alike commoner is secretly hired to take the place of a poisoned king to save his country from falling into chaos.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoKim Ok-binChoi Hee-jinThrough a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
- DirectorCheol-soo JangStarsSeo Yeong-hieJi Seong-wonMin-ho HwangA woman subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out.
- DirectorKim Hyeong-joonStarsSol Kyung-guRyu Seung-beomHan Hye-jinDespite being nearly proven the murderer, a serial killer threatens to kill the daughter of a forensic pathologist if he doesn't get him bailed out.
- DirectorGeun-seop JeongStarsUhm JunghwaKim Sang-kyungSong Young-chang15 years ago, a mother lost her child in a kidnapping case. A similar crime happens again and she won't let him go this time.
- DirectorHun JangStarsSong Kang-hoGang Dong-wonKo Chang-seokA fired South Korean agent and a deserted North Korean spy meet by chance after six years and start a business partnership, each with the intention of stealing information from the other.
- DirectorKang Woo-sukStarsJeong Jae-yeongPark Hae-ilYoo Joon-sangA mysterious person calls a young man and informs him that his estranged father has died in a country village. The curious son travels to the town to discover what happened. From there out the audience is led on a thrilling and hauntingly atmospheric journey into the history of the father and the truth about his relationship to the threatening and violent locals. The film is 2h40m, long even for Korean standards, but it is the magically haunting and at the same time threatening atmosphere in the film that sustains the audience interest. Let yourself be carried away...
- DirectorRyoo Seung-wanStarsChoi Min-sikRyu Seung-beomJeong-ah BaeTae Sik, a troubled middle aged man and Sang Hwan, a troubled youth will meet in the ring with their respective mission. To change their life.
- DirectorWoo-seok YangStarsSong Kang-hoKwak Do-wonIm Si-wanAn ambitious tax attorney decides to represent an old friend in court.
- DirectorJung Doo HongKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunShin Min-aKim Yeong-cheolThings go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't follow his boss's orders.
- DirectorHun JangStarsShin Ha-kyunGo SooRyu Seung-suA drama centered on the Korean War's final battle that will determine the border between north and south.
- DirectorKang Je-kyuStarsJang Dong-gunWon BinLee Eun-juWhen two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLee Yeong-aeLee Byung-hunSong Kang-hoAfter a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.
- DirectorKyung-taek KwakStarsYu Oh-seongJang Dong-gunSeo Tae-hwaFour childhood friends go their separate ways, two go off to college while the others become rival gangsters.
- DirectorPark Hoon-jungStarsLee Jung-jaeChoi Min-sikHwang Jung-minAn undercover cop finds it difficult to play both a cop and a goon.
- DirectorHa YooStarsZo In-sungChun Ho-jinMin Nam-koongA small time thug collecting debts for the local triad is torn between his criminal aspirations and his devotion to family.
- DirectorLee Jeong-beomStarsWon BinKim Sae-ronKim Tae-hoonA quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.
- DirectorJohnnie ToKa-Fai WaiStarsChing Wan LauAndy OnKa-Tung LamA rookie cop teams up with a former detective with a supernatural gift to hunt down a serial killer.
- DirectorYang Ik-joonStarsKim KkobbiHwan LeeYang Ik-joonA bitter loan shark strikes a friendship with a troubled schoolgirl as he faces his own troubled past with his abusive father.
- DirectorKang Woo-sukStarsSol Kyung-guLee Sung-jaeKang Shin-ilA detective plays cat-and-mouse with a banker who brutally murdered his own parents.
- DirectorJ.Q. LeeStarsHyun BinJeong Jae-yeongJo Jung-SukKing Jeongjo (Hyun-Bin) attempts to protect his royal powers from the conflict of two factions: Noron and Soron.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsPark In-hwanNa Moon-heeSong Kang-hoA family opens a mountain inn where their first guest commits suicide. Suddenly all their guests befall horrible fates.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsMitsuru FukikoshiDendenAsuka KurosawaThe lives of a bored suburban couple are changed forever when a seemingly nice old man gives their daughter a job at his fish store, and soon his gruesome hobbies are brought to light.
- DirectorLeste ChenStarsZheng XuKaren MokZhong LüThe famous psychologist Xu Ruining has a raising career, when he met the troublesome patient Ren Xiaoyan. The meeting is not easy as feeble-looking Ren is point by point against him.
- DirectorKim Byung-seoUi-seok JoStarsSol Kyung-guJung Woo-sungHan Hyo-jooA high-tech police surveillance team attempts to take down a gang of ruthless bank robbers.
- DirectorJohn H. LeeStarsCha Seung-wonKwon Sang-wooChoi Seung-hyunThe story of student-soldiers trying to protect a middle school during the early days of the Korean War.
- DirectorKwang-Hyun ParkStarsJeong Jae-yeongShin Ha-kyunKang Hye-jeongSoldiers from both sides of the Korean divide live among villagers who know nothing of the war.
- DirectorHan-min KimStarsPark Hae-ilRyu Seung-ryongKim Mu-yeolA skilled Korean archer goes up against the mighty force of Manchus with the sole purpose of rescuing his kidnapped sister.
- DirectorYoon Jong-binStarsChoi Min-sikHa Jung-wooCho Jin-woongOn the verge of being fired, a corrupt customs official finds a haul of drugs and teams up with a vicious gangster to become the most powerful crime partnership in Busan.
- DirectorPang Eun-jinStarsRyu Seung-beomLee Yo-wonCho Jin-woongBrilliant math teacher formulates the perfect cover-up, after his neighbor murders her abusive ex-husband.
- DirectorHan Jae-rimStarsSong Kang-hoLee Jung-jaeBaek Yun-shikAbout Nae-kyung who is able to assess the personality, mental state and habits of a person by looking at his face. Because of his abilities, he gets involved in a power struggle between Prince Sooyang and Kim Jong-Seo.
- DirectorYoon Jong-binStarsHa Jung-wooGang Dong-wonLee Sung-minA period action film centered on a militia group who turn against an unjust nobility.
- DirectorShin Jae MyungKim Su-Jin-IHa YooStarsZo In-sungJu Jin-moSong Ji-hyoA historical drama set in the Koryo dynasty and focused on the relationship between a king and his bodyguard.
- DirectorLee Joon-ikStarsKam Woo-seongJung Jin-youngKang Seong-yeonTwo clowns living in Korea's Chosun Dynasty get arrested for staging a play that satirizes the king. They are dragged to the palace and threatened with execution but are given a chance to save their lives if they can make the king laugh.
- DirectorJe-yong LeeStarsJeon Do-yeonLee Mi-sookBae Yong-junIn late 1700s Korea, Lady Cho challenges the playboy Lord Jo-won into seducing and sleeping with her husband's coming young, virgin concubine. Lady Cho agrees to sleep with him if he succeeds.
- DirectorKeishi OtomoStarsTakeru SatohEmi TakeiTatsuya FujiwaraKenshin Himura goes up against pure evil Makoto Shishio who is attempting to overthrow the Meiji government. The fate of the country hangs in the balance as Kenshin Himura takes up the sword that he vowed to never draw again.
- DirectorKim Seong-hunStarsLee Sun-kyunCho Jin-woongJeong Man-sikAfter trying to cover up a car accident that left a man dead, a crooked homicide detective is stalked by a mysterious man claiming to have witnessed the event.
- DirectorDong-hoon ChoiStarsKim Yoon-seokLee Jung-jaeKim Hye-suAfter a heist in South Korea, a gang of 5+1 fly to Hong Kong to look into a heist, in a Macau casino, of a $30M diamond, planned by someone unreliable. He brings in HK thieves as well. Can anyone be trusted?
- DirectorSang Man KimStarsSoo AeYoo Ji-taeMa Dong-seokSun-young, a popular radio host, decides to quit her job to take care of her ill-daughter. But, the last day of her job turns nightmarish when a murderer takes her family hostage.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTôma IkutaRyôhei AbeYoshiki ArizonoReiji Kikukawa, who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Reiji is ordered to become a "mole," an undercover cop. His target is Shuho Todoroki, the boss of the Sukiyakai gang. The group is the largest crime group in the Kanto area. Masaya Hiura, who works as a young boss of a Sukiyakai affiliated gang likes Reiji. While going through various hardships, Reiji works his way towards Shuho Todoroki.
- DirectorIn-ho HwangStarsSon Ye-jinLee Min-kiPark Chul-minA magician meets an eccentric girl and offers her to work together in his magic show. It is only until a year later that he starts to know her personally and develops a feeling towards her despite her own problems.
- DirectorRyoo Seung-wanStarsRyu Seung-beomYoon So-yiAhn Sung-kiAs a dorky cop falls in with five Tao masters who admire his c'hi, an ancient foe comes looking for them all.
- DirectorHan-min KimStarsPark Yong-wooUhm Tae-woongPark Sol-miTalent manager Seung-min sees Yoon Jin Ah, a rising actress, as his one last hope to turn his life around. Just as Jin-Ah is on the path to stardom, he receives a threat from her former lover and gets her sex clip on his phone. Seung-Min tracks down the culprit and retrieves the tape but ends up losing his phone. He realizes there is one last evidence of the sex tape on his phone and anxiously looks for it. Lee Gyu, who found Seung-Min's phone, calls Seung-Min's wife and asks her to come pick it up. On the night the phone was suppose to be returned, Lee-Gyu doesn't show up. Now Lee-Gyu is the one holding the leverage. Seung-Min tries to do everything possible to get back his phone but Lee-Gyu's demands are escalating to the point of no return.
- DirectorYeon-woo LeeStarsKim Yoon-seokJung Kyung-hoSeon Woo-seonJo Pil-seong, a rural detective, is an unhappy husband, often blamed by his older wife for gambling. Despite her being hard on him, he steals money from her to bet on bull butting. Fortunately, he chalks up an unexpected win, but his luck, by no means, lasts long because his money gets snatched by an unprecedented absconder.
- DirectorSeok-beom KangStarsKim Byeong-OkJi Dae-hanPark Eun-hyeReleased from prison, Taesik goes to live with an adopted mother. He takes a job and tries to live a quiet life with his new family. His efforts are threatened when a politician seeks to knock the family restaurant down to build a mall.
- DirectorCheol-hie ParkStarsShin Ha-kyunYun Ji-hyeKim Min-joonA mute hit-man vows to kill only the rude, and save up enough money for tongue surgery.
- DirectorRyoo Seung-wanStarsRyoo Seung-wanLee Beom-suKim Byeong-OkAfter their childhood friend is murdered, a two-man martial arts army beats a path to the perp.
- DirectorJoon-Hwan JangStarsShin Ha-kyunBaek Yun-shikHwang Jung-minByeong-gu believes that the world is on the verge of an alien invasion, and sets out to save the world.
- DirectorIm Sang-sooStarsHan Suk-kyuBaek Yun-shikSong Jae-hoA look at the life of President Park Chung-hee and the events leading up to his assassination.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoByun Hee-BongPark Hae-ilA monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
- DirectorRyoo Seung-wanStarsHwang Jung-minYoo Ah-inYoo Hae-jinA honest cop seeks justice for a common man against all odds. A rich boy seeks revenge on the cop.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsSong Kang-hoLee Byung-hunJung Woo-sungThe story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsHan Suk-kyuShim Hye-jinMoon Sung-KeunReturning home and finding his town drastically changed, a former soldier falls in with gangsters.
- DirectorJae-young KwakStarsCha Tae-hyunJun Ji-hyunIn-mun KimA young man sees a drunk, cute woman standing too close to the tracks at a metro station in Seoul and pulls her back. She ends up getting him into trouble repeatedly after that, starting on the train.
- DirectorYoon-Chul JungStarsHwang Jung-minJun Ji-hyunKang Ae-shimA snobbish producer makes a documentary about the extraordinary behavior of her neighbor who believes himself to be Superman.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.
- DirectorPil-sung YimStarsCheon Jeong-myeongEun Won-jaeShim Eun-kyungAfter meeting a mysterious girl on an dark stretch of road, a young salesman is invited to a beautiful house with bizarre secrets and no way to escape.
- DirectorWoon-hak BaekStarsSon Hyeon-juMa Dong-seokDaniel ChoiA decorated detective involved in a taxi driver's death realizes he is caught in a trap and must untangle past mistakes to figure out why he was targeted in the first place.
- DirectorHong-soo ParkStarsChoi Seung-hyunHan YeriYun Je-munThe son of a North Korean spy decides to follow in his father's footsteps to protect his little sister.
- DirectorKeishi OtomoStarsTakeru SatohEmi TakeiYû AoiA former assassin who has resolved to never kill again has his vow sorely tested.
- DirectorSang-hoon AhnStarsKim Ha-neulYoo Seung-hoJo Hie-bongSu-a loses her sight and kid brother in a car accident. No more police academy. 3 years later she takes a taxi which hits a woman. Su-a gets out. After reporting it, a cop works with her learning that her 4 other senses "see".
- DirectorYoung-Tak KimStarsCha Tae-hyunKang Ye-wonLee Moon-suA man's failed suicide attempt enables him to see ghosts, who later keep following him everywhere. It is now up to him to fulfill their wishes to make them go away.
- DirectorDong-hoon ChoiStarsGang Dong-wonLim Soo-jungKim Yoon-seokJeon Woo-chi, an undisciplined womanizing Taoist from the Joseon era, ends up in present-day Korea causing mayhem with his knack for magic.
- DirectorKyu-maan LeeStarsPark Yong-wooRyu Seung-ryongSung Dong-ilThe film is based on a true case from the early 1990s that is known among Koreans as the "disappearance of the frog children." In 1991, five elementary school students told their parents that they were going to hang out on a nearby mountain to catch frogs. They went missing.
- DirectorKim Dae-seungStarsCha Seung-wonPark Yong-wooJi SungBlood Rain tells the story of a slew of grisly murders plaguing a small, fairly isolated island village. However, it's not just the mounting death toll that's causing residents to worry, but the sadistic, methodical way in which the victims were killed. With the killer still on the loose, the government sends in special investigator Wong Gyu (Cha Seung Won) to crack the case. While conducting his dogged investigation, he soon uncovers a myriad of hidden secrets, tracing the murders back to an incident that occurred some seven years earlier. The previous owner of the village's paper mill was executed as a Christian. Does that mean that the murdered man's spirit has come back to seek bloody retribution? The real truth, Wong Gyu learns, may be far more terrifying...
- DirectorKwang-shik KimStarsLee Chae-eunWon-tae ChoiChoi Gwi-hwaAn unlikely romance brews between Dong-chu, a tough-acting thug with a tender heart, and his bookish, and recently single, IT consultant neighbor, Se-jin.
- DirectorJeong Ji-yeongStarsAhn Sung-kiPark Won-sangNa Young-heeKim Kyung-ho is fired by his university after he questioned the validity of a math question in its entrance exam. Kim files a lawsuit against the university, but it is dismissed. Out of frustration he confronts the judge with a crossbow. Kim is arrested. He says that he did not shoot the judge but the judge insists he did.
- DirectorDong-hoon ChoiStarsJun Ji-hyunLee Jung-jaeHa Jung-wooWhile Korea is occupied by the Japanese Army in 1933, the resistance plans to kill the Japanese Commander. But their plan is threatened by a traitor within their group and also the enemies' forces are hunting them down.
- DirectorRyoo Seung-wanStarsHa Jung-wooHan Suk-kyuRyu Seung-beomJong-seong, a North Korean ghost agent, interrupts an illegal arms sale in Berlin. A notorious North Korean agent tests the loyalties of everyone involved as Jong-Seong prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice.