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Films hailing from South Korea have been wowing cinephiles for decades, and arguably increased in popularity with American audiences thanks to streaming (remember when Old Boy first hit Netflix in its early days?), and even more so since the breakthrough success of Parasite's groundbreaking Best Picture win at the 2020 Oscars. From romance movies like Tune in For Love to sci-fi epics like Space Sweepers, Korean films offer an escape into worlds with both intense plot twists and cheesy scenes (which we love). (Bonus: Most Korean movies, on Netflix and otherwise, come in right under that two-hour mark.) Browse our favorite Korean movies on Netflix, below, then sit back with some snacks and hit the play button. (For even more recommendations, we've rounded up the best Korean movies of 2024 so far.)
Prepare to feel tons of nostalgia for your teenage crushes while watching this sentimental rom-com. In 1999, 17-year-old Bo-ra receives a request from her best friend Yeon-doo: to find out everything she can about Yeon-doo's crush, the popular Hyun-jin, while her friend's away overseas. As Bo-ra spies on and later ends up becoming friends with Hyun-jin, she also builds a connection with his thoughtful best friend, Woon-ho. This film is a thoughtful love letter to both devoted teenage friendships and the first feelings of young love.
Because there's no such thing as too many K-zombie thrillers, #Alive takes place during a zombie apocalypse and follows live streaming video gamer Oh Joon-woo as he attempts to stay, yes, alive amid all the madness happening outside his apartment. Fortunately, he soon catches sight of another uninfected survivor, Kim Yoo-bin, in a nearby apartment, with whom he strikes up a very socially distanced friendship. Finally, they attempt a daring escape, but you'll have to tune in to see whether they make it to safety or succumb to the bloodthirsty hordes of zombies waiting eagerly on the streets below for new people to infect.
For any K-pop fans who haven't caught this documentary about global girl group BLACKPINK, it's worth it for a peek behind the scenes at what makes the group tick, as well as an insightful look into the industry's trainee system. Through interviews with the members and their producers, old trainee footage, and behind-the-scenes clips, Jennie, Jisoo, Ros, and Lisa tell their story of their rise to fame and their goals going forward.
This psychological thriller answers the question of what would've happened if, rather than Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock using the magic time-traveling mailbox in The Lake House to start up a (very) long-distance romance, a serial killer had used it instead to torture their next victim. Jeon Jong-seo and Park Shin-hye, respectively, play those two main characters, who can contact each other 10 years apart through a cordless phone in the house where they each spent their respective childhoods. Though their calls start helpful, with each giving the other enough information to improve their lives, things quickly take a turn, with the killer taking advantage of their multi-year connection to commit murders without attracting police attention and, ultimately, kill her long-distance phone pal. Though the movie seemingly closes on a happy ending, be sure to stick around for the two end credits scenes for the full story.
This 2017 crime film stars a pair of unlikely heroes investigating a serial killer in the town of Aridong. Deok-su is the miserly landlord of a small apartment, who always pushes the tenants to pay overdue rent. When a series of new murders are discovered and Deok-su is implicated, ex-detective Pyung-dal suddenly appears and asks the landlord for help, saying he already has a suspect and they can capture the killer together.
This true-crime documentary covers one of the biggest crimes in recent South Korean history, the Nth Room case. In 2019, news surfaced of secret chat rooms, where over 60,000 users paid for degrading and pornographic content obtained through coercion and blackmail. The rooms' creators, known under usernames like "godgod" and "baksa," would use phishing, fake model recruitment, and other means to force women to do what they demanded, or else the content would be leaked to their families. This horrifying doc lays out the timeline of the case and the creators' eventual arrest through interviews with several reporters and investigators.
This true-story drama centers around a small-time narcotics dealer Lee Doo-sam (played by Song Kang-ho), who eventually becomes the infamous king of narcotics in Korea in the '70s. In addition to selling drugs in Korea, he also exported to Japan and smuggled diamonds and other items. In the movie, Jo Jung-suk plays a Seoul prosecutor who wants to bring Lee down, and Bae Doona plays a lobbyist who helps Lee climb the drug dealing rungs to become the top dog.
This twisty thriller follows Jin-seok, who witnesses his brother Yoo-seok's abduction. After 19 days, Yoo-seok returns home one night with no memory of what happened, which leads the family to believe he repressed those horrid memories. Soon after, Jin-seok realizes that both his parents and brother are acting very strange and attempts to seek help but ends up getting kidnapped by his "brother." Jin-seok is then thrown into a confusing murder plot and attempts to clear his name while battling whatever has gotten hold of his parents and brother. Creepy AF? We think so.
This stunning period film from Squid Game director Hwang Dong-Hyuk is set during the Qing invasion of Korea's Joseon dynasty in 1636. When King Injo refuses to accept the Qing emperor's rule, the Chinese army forces the king and his court to retreat to an isolated fortress in the middle of winter. As enemy forces surround the castle, King Injo deals with a political struggle inside, as influential ministers attempt to sway their leader in his response to the invaders. This tense war epic also boasts an all-star cast including Park Hae-il, Kim Byung-hun, Kim Yoon-seok, and Park Hee-soon.
This movie tells the story of a married, middle-class couple. The husband, Jang Tae-ju, is a respected college professor, while his wife, Oh Su-yeon, is an esteemed curator of a famous art gallery. The story follows the pair as they aim to achieve their upper-echelon goals: Jang Tae-ju wants to have a political career and Oh Su-yeo wants to become the director of her gallery. Together, the two hope to gain acceptance into high society and are prepared to do anything it'll take to get there.
This dystopian thriller from Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho takes place in 2194, after humans have escaped an Earth rendered inhospitable due to climate change to live on man-made shelters in space. The previously united shelters have devolved into a decades-long civil war, and talented mercenary Jung-yi fights on behalf of the Allied Forces to afford her daughter's cancer treatment. When Jung-yi falls into a coma during a mission, the corporation Kronoid uses her consciousness to construct an army of AI-assisted soldiers, under the project name "Jung_E."
This slick Korean thriller on Netflix follows the titular Bok-soon (Crash Course in Romance's Jeon Do-yeon), a top-class assassin who balances her successful career with her private life, as the mother to 15-year-old Jae-young (Kim Si-a). After decades at the top of Korea's hidden hitman industry, Bok-soon decides to retire and focus on her relationship with her daughter. However, her final assignment goes awry, putting her in the crosshairs of several of her former co-workers and her formerly devoted boss Cha Min-kyu (Sul Kyung-gu).
This 2022 rom-com is a sexy and hilarious breath of fresh air for viewers who love Korean romances but wish there was a bit more PDA (basically anyone who devoured Business Proposal's kiss scenes). Office worker Ji-woo (Girls Generation's Seohyun) forms a crush on her cute new co-worker Ji-hoo (Imitation's Lee Jun-young) when one day she receives his package containing a human-sized dog collar. Soon she's sucked into the world of BDSM and dominant-submissive partnerships.
If you like movies like Inception, give this 2017 South Korean film a watch. The story centers around investigative journalist Dae-ho whose son is kidnapped with little chance of rescue. Three years pass, and Dae-ho learns of a new form of therapy that allows people to relive important memories through lucid dreams. His friend conducts the therapy on him, allowing Dae-ho to go back to the day his son was kidnapped. Dae-ho finds a new trail of evidence and, accompanied by Detective Song, who was on the case three years ago, sets out on a journey to uncover the truth.
This laugh-out-loud comedy from Squid Game director Hwang Dong-hyuk shows what happens when an elderly grandma gets the chance to relive her 20s. Oh Mal-soon (Na Moon-hee) is a cantankerous 74-year-old widow and lifelong singer who lives with her son and grandkids. When she comes across a mysterious photo studio, Mal-soon is transformed back into her 20-year-old self (played by Shim Eun-kyung). The cranky now-young woman still has old-fashioned tastes, but she still woos over both her grandson (BIA4's Jinyoung) who lets her join his band and a record producer (Sweet Home's Lee Jin-wook) who wants to make her a star.
This 2017 movie is directed by Parasite filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, so you know it's worth a watch. Without revealing too much, here's the plot line: The Mirando Corporation is obsessed with breeding super pigs and sends them to farmers around the world to be raised. For 10 years, Mija has been raising Okja in the mountains of South Korea; one day, Okja is crowned the "best super pig" by the corporation and is scheduled to be taken to New York City. Devastated, Mija sets out on a journey to save her friend and in the process exposes the evildoings of The Mirando Corporation. This movie boasts a powerful ensemble cast with the likes of Tilda Swinton, Lily Collins, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
"The Korean thirst for movies about government and corporate malfeasance continues unabated in Pandora," wrote The Hollywood Reporter. When an earthquake strikes a small Korean town that houses a rundown nuclear power plant, it causes an explosion that quickly affects Jae-hyeok, who lives in the town, and his lover Yeon-joo, who works at the plant. The situation spirals out of control, and it's up to Jae-hyeok and his coworkers to return to the nuclear power plant to save everyone.
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