Entertainment
The Best Korean Action Movies Of All Time
Looking for more movies like The Man from Nowhere? Here are the top Korean action movies, ranked by fans everywhere. From action comedy, like Extreme Job, to gangster thrillers, like Veteran, this list of popular Korean action movies includes '90s classics and recent box office hits. Some good Korean action movies, like The Villainess and The Outlaws, are available to stream online, so be on the look out. Which famous action flicks stand out from the rest?
Vote up the best action films from South Korea, and add your favorites if they deserve to be ranked here.
Ranked by
- 1Gong 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 - 2Won 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 - 3Hwang 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. - 4Lee 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 - 5Ma Dong-seok, Kim Mu-yeol, Kim Sung-kyu
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Lee Won-tae
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is a 2019 South Korean action thriller film directed by Lee Won-tae. A gangster and a cop team up to chase a serial killer, each for their own reasons. - 6Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Dae-Su is an obnoxious drunk bailed from the police station yet again by a friend. However, he's abducted from the street and wakes up in a cell, where he remains for the next 15 years, drugged ...more - 7Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Young-hee
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Na Hong-jin
The Chaser is a 2008 South Korean action thriller film directed by Na Hong-jin. A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of escorts finds himself in a cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer. - 8Ma Dong-seok, Yoon Kye-sang, Jo Jae-yoon
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Kang Yoon-sung
The Outlaws is a 2017 South Korean crime action film directed by Kang Yoon-sung. When a new crime lord starts fighting for territory, a fearless detective tries to keep the peace the only way he ...more - 9Ryu Seung-ryong, Lee Ha-nee, Jin Seon-kyu
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Lee Byeong-heon
Narcotics detectives work under cover in a chicken joint to try and bust a gang of organized criminals. Things take an unexpected turn when their new recipe suddenly transforms the run-down ...more - 10Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea's Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous jaws into local residents. ...more - 11Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Kim Jee-woon
In 1930s Manchuria, an encounter on a train triggers an epic crusade for a treasure map, prompting a marathon chase in hot pursuit of the loot. Do-won, "The Good", is a bounty hunter, out to track ...more - 12Jun 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 - 13Gong Yoo, Park Hee-soon, Gi Ju-bong
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Won Shin-yun
The Suspect is a 2013 South Korean action thriller film directed by Won Shin-yun. Betrayed and on the run, a North Korean agent tries to uncover the volatile secrets hidden inside the eyeglasses of a ...more - 14Kim Ok-bin, Shin Ha-kyun, Sung Joon
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Jeong Byeong-gil
Honed from childhood to be an elite assassin, Sook-hee embarks on a rampage of violence and revenge to finally earn her freedom and escape her past. - 15Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yeong-cheol, Shin Min-ah
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Kim Jee-woon
A Bittersweet Life is a 2005 South Korean action film directed by Kim Jee-woon. When a high-ranking enforcer refuses to execute a hit ordered by his boss, he becomes the number one target. - 16Lee 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 - 17Lee Young-ae, Song Kang-Ho, Choi Min-sik
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Lady Vengeance is a 2005 South Korean psychological thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook, and the third installment in the Vengeance Trilogy. After being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years ...more - 18Jun Ji-hyun, Han Sukgyu, Ryoo Seung-bum
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Ryoo Seung-wan
The Berlin File is a 2013 South Korean spy thriller film directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. Jong-seong, a North Korean ghost agent, interrupts an illegal arms sale in Berlin. - 19Lee 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 - 20Chris 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 - 21Ha 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. - 22Jun Ji-hyun, Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Hye-soo
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Choi Dong-hoon
The Thieves is a 2012 South Korean comedy-action crime film directed by Choi Dong-hoon. A cat burglar and his gang are hired by a devious former partner to steal a $20 million diamond from a Chinese ...more - 23Jo In-sung, Nam Joo-hyuk, Park Sung-woong
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Kim Kwang-sik
The Great Battle is a 2018 South Korean historical action film directed by Kim Kwang-sik. Yang Manchun and his Goguryeo troops fight in an epic eighty-eight day battle against 500,000 Tang invaders ...more - 24Park Seo-joon, Kang Ha-neul, Park Ha-sun
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Jason Kim
Midnight Runners is a 2017 South Korean action comedy film directed by Jason Kim. Two friends who are students at Korean National Police University find themselves in an endless race against time ...more - 25Song 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.
