7 Highly Rated Korean Movies You Must Watch

If you love to watch Korean movies then you must have gone through this pick of mine. These are the Top 7 Korean movies I would recommend to all Korean movies lovers.

1. Parasite

Parasite is a 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller film directed by Bong Joon-ho, who co-wrote the screenplay with Han Jin-won. The film, starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Jang Hye-jin, and Lee Jung-eun, follows a poor family who scheme to become employed by a wealthy family and infiltrate their household by posing as unrelated, highly qualified individuals. Parasite premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2019, where it became the first South Korean film to win the Palme d'Or. It was then released in South Korea by CJ Entertainment on 30 May 2019. The film was considered by many critics to be the best film of 2019. It grossed over $258 million worldwide on a production budget of about $15.5 million.

2. Miracle in Cell No. 7

Miracle in Cell No. 7 is a 2013 South Korean comedy-drama film starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Kal So-won, and Park Shin-hye. The film is about a mentally challenged man wrongfully imprisoned for murder, who builds friendships with the hardened criminals in his cell, who in return help him see his daughter again by smuggling her into the prison. The movie is based on the real-life story of a man who was tortured and pleaded guilty under duress to the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl on September 27, 1972, in Chuncheon before being finally exonerated in November 2008. Its early working title was December 23.

3. A Taxi Driver

A Taxi Driver is a 2017 South Korean historical action drama film directed by Jang Hoon and written by Eom Yu-na, with Song Kang-ho starring in the title role, alongside Thomas Kretschmann. Based on a real-life story, the film centers on a taxi driver from Seoul who unintentionally becomes involved in the events of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. It is based on German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter's interactions with driver Kim Sa-bok; however, as Kim's identity and real name were unknown at the time the film was made (Hinzpeter only knew him as "Kim Sa-bok"), most elements regarding his life and the events that happened to him outside of Gwangju are fictional.

4. Train to Busan

Train to Busan is a 2016 South Korean action horror film directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, and Kim Eui-sung. The film mostly takes place on a high-speed train from Seoul to Busan as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out in the country and threatens the safety of the passengers. The film premiered in the Midnight Screenings section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on 13 May. On 7 August, the film set a record as the first Korean film of 2016 to break the audience record of over 10 million theatergoers. The film serves as a reunion for Gong Yoo and Jung Yu-mi, who both starred in the 2011 film The Crucible. A standalone sequel, Peninsula, was released in South Korea on July 15, 2020.

5. Ode to My Father

Ode to My Father is a 2014 South Korean drama film directed by Yoon Je-kyoon. Starring Hwang Jung-min and Yunjin Kim, it depicts South Korean history from the 1950s to the present day through the life of an ordinary man, as he experiences events such as the Hungnam evacuation of 1950 during the Korean War, the government's decision to dispatch nurses and miners to West Germany in the 1960s, and the Vietnam War. It is currently the fourth highest-grossing film in the history of South Korean cinema, with 14.2 million tickets sold.

6. The Admiral: Roaring Currents

The Admiral: Roaring Currents or simply The Admiral, is a 2014 South Korean epic action-war film directed and co-written by Kim Han-min. Based on the historical Battle of Myeongnyang, it stars an ensemble cast led by Choi Min-sik as the Korean naval commander Yi Sun-sin. The film was released theatrically in South Korea on July 30, 2014. The film recorded 10 million admissions only 12 days after its premiere and set a record for achieving such a high number of viewers in the shortest amount of time. The movie also surpassed Avatar’s record of 13 million viewers to become the most-watched and highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea with 17.6 million admissions and a worldwide gross of US$138.3 million.

7. Extreme Job

Extreme Job is a 2019 South Korean action comedy film directed by Lee Byeong-heon, starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Lee Hanee, Jin Seon-kyu, Lee Dong-hwi, and Gong Myung. The film was released on January 23, 2019. The film has become a major box office success in South Korea, grossing ₩91.5 billion (US$81.6 million) on a production budget of ₩6.5 billion (US$5.8 million) and surpassing 10 million ticket sales in just 15 days. As of May 2019, Extreme Job is the second most-viewed film in South Korean film history.