Entertainment
The Best Korean Movies Of All Time
Looking for good Korean movies to watch? Here are the all-time greatest Korean films, ranked by fans everywhere. After Bong Joon-ho's Parasite made Oscar history by becoming the first non-English language movie to win Best Picture, it's time to recognize the top Korean films that may have gone unnoticed in other countries. From popular Korean movies, like Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Burning, to South Korea's highest-grossing blockbusters, like Extreme Job, Veteran, and The Thieves, this list of famous Korean films features award-winning dramas, romantic comedies, action thrillers, and more.
Vote up the best films from South Korea, and add your favorites if they deserve a spot on this list.
Ranked by
- 1Choi 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 - 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. - 3Yoo 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 - 4Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
In 1986, Park (Song Kang-ho) and Cho (Kim Roi-ha) are two simple-minded detectives assigned to a double murder investigation in a South Korean province. But when the murderer strikes several more ...more - 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 - 6Kim 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 - 7Kwak 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 - 8Lee 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 - 9Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Kim Min-jung
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
Mother is a 2009 South Korean drama mystery film directed by Bong Joon-ho. When her disabled son is charged with murdering a girl, his mother desperately searches for the truth. - 10Jeon Do-yeon, Song Kang-ho, Jo Yeong-jin
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Lee Chang-dong
Tragedy follows a young Korean widow (Jeon Do-yeon) after she and her son move to another town to make a fresh start. - 11Park 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 - 12Hwang 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. - 13Sul Kyung-gu, Moon So-ri, Kim Yeo-jin
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Lee Chang-dong
Backtracking from his suicide as a broken and depressed man, this film recounts the life of Yong-ho (Sul Kyung-gu), from his tragic demise to his innocent and idealistic youth, in reverse order. In ...more - 14Kim 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. - 15Song 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 - 16Won 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 - 17Song 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. - 18Moon Geun-young, Im Soo-jung, Yum Jung-ah
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Kim Jee-woon
A Tale of Two Sisters is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror mystery film directed by Kim Jee-woon. After spending time in a mental hospital, a girl is reunited with her sister and returns home ...more - 19Lee 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 - 20Lee Young-ae, Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-Ho
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Joint Security Area is a 2000 South Korean mystery thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook. Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an ...more - 21Ryu 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 - 22Yoon Jeong-hee, Kim Hee-ra, An Nae-sang
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Lee Chang-dong
Poetry is a 2010 South Korean drama film directed by Lee Chang-dong. It tells the story of a suburban woman in her 60s who begins to develop an interest in poetry while struggling with Alzheimer's ...more - 23Chris 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 - 24Lee 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. - 25Ha 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.
