Entertainment
The Best Korean Movies Of The 2010s
What are the best Korean movies of the decade? You get to help make that call. Korea has a vibrant filmmaking scene, and their movies are popular around the world. Due to the phenomenal recent success of Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, both critically and commercially, eyes are increasingly focused on Korean cinema. For good reason, too. There's an emphasis on challenging and absorbing stories that pull viewers right in.
Parasite is definitely one of the most popular Korean movies of the 2010s. Others that have achieved a measure of acclaim in North America include Kim Ji-woon's I Saw the Devil, Lee Chang-dong's Burning, and Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden. Bong Joon-ho's two prior films, Okja and Snowpiercer, are also among the finest movies to come out of Korea in the last ten years. There are plenty of others. We've assembled a list of Korean films from every genre -- drama to comedy, horror to romance. Aside from ranking the finest titles, this will also serve as a jumping-off point for anyone wanting to experience what Korean cinema has to offer.
Vote up the top 2010s Korean movies from the list below, and if there are some highly-ranked ones you haven't seen, plan a night of viewing entertainment.
- 1Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jeon Jong-seo
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Lee Chang-dong
Burning is a 2018 South Korean mystery drama film directed by Lee Chang-dong, based on the short story "Barn Burning" by Haruki Murakami. A part-time worker hoping to spend more time with a childhood ...more - 2Song Kang-ho, Jo Yeo-jeong, Park So-dam
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan. - 3Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Na Hong-jin
The Wailing is a 2016 South Korean supernatural horror film directed by Na Hong-jin. Suspicion leads to hysteria when rural villagers link a series of brutal murders to the arrival of a mysterious ...more - 4Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Ryu Jun-yeol
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Jang Hoon
In 1980, a foreign journalist hires a down-on-his-luck taxi driver to take him to Gwangju, South Korea. They soon arrive to find a city under siege by student protesters and the military. - 5Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Jung Yu-mi
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
Train to Busan is a 2016 South Korean zombie apocalypse action thriller film directed by Yeon Sang-ho. A man, his estranged daughter and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a ...more - 6Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Hae-jin
- Released: 2015
- Directed by: Ryoo Seung-wan
Veteran is a 2015 South Korean action crime comedy film directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. A tough detective hunts down a young and successful man who has bad intentions. - 7Han Hyo-joo, Lee Byung-hun, Shim Eun-kyung
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Choo Chang-min
Masquerade is a 2012 South Korean historical drama film directed by Choo Chang-min. Though it places his own life in danger, a look-alike commoner secretly takes the place of a poisoned king to save ...more - 8Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
A post-apocalyptic ice age forces humanity's last survivors aboard a globe-spanning supertrain. One man (Chris Evans) will risk everything to lead a revolt for control of the engine and the future of ...more - 9Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Park Chan-wook
The Handmaiden is a 2016 South Korean erotic psychological thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook. A woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to ...more - 10Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Kim Jee-woon
On a dark road, taxi driver Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) comes across a scared female motorist stranded in a broken-down vehicle. He pulls over -- but not to help her. When the woman's head is ...more - 11Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo, Han Ji-min
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Kim Jee-woon
Korean resistance fighters smuggle explosives to destroy facilities controlled by Japanese forces. - 12Kim Hye-soo, Song Kang-Ho, Lee Jong-suk
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Han Jae-Rim
The Face Reader is a 2013 South Korean historical drama film directed by Han Jae-rim. A Korean face-reader learns of a prince's plan to seize his country's throne. - 13Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae, Ha Jung-woo
- Released: 2015
- Directed by: Choi Dong-hoon
Assassination is a 2015 South Korean espionage action film directed by Choi Dong-hoon. While Korea is occupied by the Japanese Army in 1933, the resistance plans to kill the Japanese Commander, but ...more - 14Won Bin, Kim Sae-ron, Young-chang Song
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Lee Jung-beom
The Man from Nowhere is a 2010 South Korean action thriller film directed by Lee Jeong-beom. When a young girl (Kim Sae-ron) is kidnapped, a mysterious man (Won Bin) embarks on a bloody rampage to ...more - 15Lee Jung-jae, Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jung-min
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Park Hoon-jung
New World is a 2013 South Korean crime drama film directed by Park Hoon-jung. Posing as the right-hand man of a ruthless gangster, an undercover cop finds it difficult to play both parts, even with ...more - 16Ha Jung-woo, Cho Seong-ha, Kim Yun-seok
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Na Hong-jin
The Yellow Sea is a 2011 crime action film directed by Na Hong-jin. A taxi driver goes on the run after an attempt to carry out a hit on a professor goes terribly awry. - 17Yeong-ran Lee, Jung In-sun, Chun Woo-hee
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Lee Su-jin
Han Gong-ju is a 2013 South Korean drama film directed by Lee Su-jin. A young woman is forced to confront a traumatic event from her youth as the result of a police investigation. - 18Ha Jung-woo, Cha Tae-hyun, Ju Ji-hoon
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Kim Yong-hwa
Three grim reapers escorts a man to the afterlife and will decide his fate based on what he had done when he was alive. - 19Lee Sun-kyun, Lee Ji-hoon, Ju-bong Gi
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Kim Seong-hun
A Hard Day is a 2014 South Korean crime action thriller film directed by Kim Seong-hun. A homicide detective accidentally kills a man with his car, then tries to hide the body in his mother's coffin ...more - 20Cheon Ho-Jin, Ryoo Seung-bum, Hwang Jung-min
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Ryoo Seung-wan
The Unjust is a 2010 crime thriller film directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. When the most probable serial killer suspect dies and the case looks like it's reached a dead end, the police decide to create a ...more - 21Park Shin-hye, Oh Dal-su, Jung Jin-young
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Lee Hwan-Kyung
Miracle in Cell No. 7 is a 2013 South Korean film starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Kal So-won and Park Shin-hye. The film is a heartwarming comedy and family melodrama about a mentally challenged man ...more - 22Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Jung-jae, Youn Yuh-jung
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Im Sang-soo
Eun-yi (Jeon Do-yeon), a poor Korean woman, takes a job as a domestic servant in the lavish home of Hoon Goh (Lee Jung-jae), a handsome businessman whose wife Hae-ra (Seo Woo) is pregnant. Under the ...more - 23
Inside Men
Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo, Baek Yoon-sik- Released: 2015
- Directed by: Woo Min-ho
Inside Men is a 2015 South Korean political crime-action film directed by Woo Min-ho, based on the webtoon by Yoon Tae-ho.
- 24Hwang Jung-min, Yunjin Kim, Oh Dal-su
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Yoon Je-kyoon
Ode to My Father is a 2014 South Korean family-drama war film directed by Yoon Je-kyoon. Amid the time of Korean War, a young boy vows to take care of his family, marking the beginning of a lifelong ...more - 25Han Hyo-joo, Kim Dae-myung, Do Ji-han
- Directed by: Baik
The Beauty Inside is a 2015 South Korean high-concept romantic comedy film directed by Baik. Furniture designer Woo-jin wakes up in a different body every day, regardless of age, gender, and ...more
