30+ Best Korean Thriller Films [Must Watch List]

South Korean films with its complex storylines, experimental aesthetics, and enthralling of making of the films. These 30+ Best Ko...

South Korean films with its complex storylines, experimental aesthetics, and enthralling of making of the films. These 30+ Best Korean films, those were sure to elicit a strong reaction–whether they make you nail-biting, thrill, think, and feel fear.

THE BEST 30+ SOUTH KOREAN THRILLER FILMS [MUST WATCH]

1. PARASITE

Parasite is a 2019 movie directed by Bong Joon Ho. Parasite is the Winner of 92nd Academic Award for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Foreign Film.The first korean  film entered to Oscar and the first non - english film won for Best Film in Oscar. Parasite also got recognition from Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAGA. This film considered as the first most streamed film in the video streaming platforms. The story tells about a wealthy family and a poor family who take impersonating to became rich.

2. FORGOTTEN

Forgotten is a 2017 film directed by  Jang Han Jun.The film starring:Kim Moo-yul,Kang Ha-neul,Na Young-hee in lead roles.
A mind blowing suspense thriller film, one of my favorite. The story revolves, When his abducted brother returns seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, Jin-seok chases after the truth behind the kidnapping.

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3. OLDBOY

My favorite Choi- Min Sik's Oldboy a 2003 film directed by Park Chan Wook. It starring Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung in lead roles.It is based on the Japanese comic of the same name. Oldboy is the second installment of The Vengeance Trilogy, preceded by Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and followed by Lady Vengeance. The story revolves, Oh Dae-su, who is imprisoned in a cell which resembles a hotel room for 15 years without knowing the identity of his captor or his captor's motives. When he is finally released, Dae-su finds himself still trapped in a web of conspiracy and violence.

4. I SAW THE DEVIL

Another Choi Min Sik's film released in 2010, directed by kim jee woon. Starring Choi Min Sik, Lee Byung hun in the lead roles.The film follows NIS agent Kim Soo-hyun (Lee), who embarks on a quest of revenge when his wife is brutally murdered by the psychopathic serial killer Jang Kyung-chul (Choi). The film remade in Hindi as Ek Villain in 2014.

5. MEMORIES OF MURDER

The  film based on a real incident happened in Korea early 1986 to 1991. It was the first serial murders that reported in South Korean Province. Memories of Murdered following the above story released in 2003. This film directed by Oscar award winner Bong Joon Ho and Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyung star as Detective Park and Detective Seo, respectively, two of the detectives trying to solve the crimes. Later the report say's The original serial killer confessed the murders during 1986 to 1991
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6. MONTAGE

Montage is a 2013 South Korean thriller film directed by Jeong Keun-seob, starring Uhm Jung-hwa, Kim Sang-kyung, and Song Young-chang in lead roles. The story revolves, A kidnapper disappeared 15 years ago without a trace. Five days before the case's expires, A few days later, another kidnapping takes place using the same method on a similar target. The movie was officially remade in Hindi as Te3n in 2016.

7. A TALE OF TWO SISTERS

It is a 2003 South Korean thriller film written and directed by Kim Jee-woon.The film starring Im Soo-jung, Moon Geun-young, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-soo in lead roles.The plot revolves  on a recently released patient from a mental institution who returns home with her sister, only to face disturbing events between her stepmother and the ghosts haunting their house all of which are connected to a dark past in the family's history.

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8. MOTHER

Another film of Academic Award winner Bong Joon Ho's Mother released in 2009. It Starring  Kim Hye-Ja and Won Bin. A widow mother,  her mentally disabled son who accused for a murder case. The mother investigate the case individually and find out the real culprit. The Kim Hye Ja's acting was really impressive to me.

9. THE CHASER

The film based on a real character, a serial killer in Korea named Yoo Young Chul. The film released in 2008 and directed by debutant Na Hong Jin. It Starring Kim Yoon Seok and Ha Jung Woo in lead roles.The story revolves, a disgraced police officer and He has just twelve hours to find evidence against the psychopath serial killer, before the bureaucratic Seoul police department are forced to release him to continue his reign of terror.

10. THE MAN FROM NOWHERE

It was Won Bin's last appeared film, The man from nowhere written and directed by Lee Jeong-beom. It was the highest grosser korean  film that released in 2010. The film follows the story of a mysterious and shady man (Won Bin) who embarks on a bloody rampage when the only person who seems to understand him is kidnapped.

11. THE HANDMAIDEN

The film directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo and Cho Jin-woong. The film released in the year 2016. It is inspired by the novel Fingersmith by Welsh writer Sarah Waters, with the setting changed from Victorian era Britain to Korea under Japanese colonial rule.

12. CONFESSION OF MURDERER

It's a 2012 Korean thriller film that directed by Jung Byung-gil, starring Jung Jae-young and Park Si-hoo in lead roles. It is about a police officer who is haunted for failing to capture a serial killer 15 years back, and returns to the case after a novelist publishes the book I Am the Murderer, claiming responsibility for the crimes.

13. NO MERCY

The film features Sol Kyung-gu, Ryoo Seung-bum and directed by Kim Hyeong-jun.It's a 2010 movie tells about, A forensic pathologist attempts to save his daughter, kidnapped by a psychopath serial killer.

14. BEDEVILLED

Bedevilled directed by debutant Jang Cheol-soo who worked as a former assistant director of Kim Ki Duk. Bedevilled released in the year 2010 which features Seo Young-hee, Ji Sung-won in lead roles. The story revolves, Hae Won lives in a city and take a break to visit her old friend. She spent childhood mostly on that remote island village and that makes her in trouble.

15. THE WAILING

It is a 2016  film directed by Na Hong-jin and starring Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee. The film centers on a policeman who investigates a series of mysterious killings and illnesses in a remote Korean hamlet called Gokseong in order to save his daughter.

16. THE HOST

Another Bong Joon-ho's film, starring Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona and Go Ah-sung. The film released in the year 2006. The film concerns a monster kidnapping a man's daughter, and his attempts to rescue her.

17.  TRAIN TO BUSAN

The film mostly takes place on a train to Busan as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out in the country and threatens the safety of the passengers. It's a 2016 film directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, and Ma Dong-seok. The film got well appreciation from over the world.Peninsula, the sequel of Train to Busan to be ready to release in August 2020.

18. COLD EYES

It's a 2013 Korean action thriller film starring Sol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, Han Hyo-joo, Jin Kyung and Lee Junho. A remake of 2007 Hong Kong film Eye in the Sky, the film is about detectives from the surveillance team of a special crime unit who work together to take down a bank robbing organization.

19. SYMPATHY OF LADY VENGEANCE

The film is the third installment in Park Chan Wook's Vengeance Trilogy in 2005, following Sympathy for Mr.Vengeance (2002) and Oldboy (2003). It stars Lee Young-ae as Lee Geum-ja, a woman released from prison after serving the sentence for a murder she did not commit. The film tells her story of revenge against the real murderer.

20.  NEW WORLD

2013  Korean crime drama film written and directed by Park Hoon-jung. Starring Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae, the film is a melodrama revolving around an undercover cop who finds it difficult to play both a cop and a goon.New World is the first entry in a planned trilogy.

21. PERFECT NUMBER

Perfect Number aka Suspect X is a 2012 film directed by Bang Eun-jin. Adapted from Keigo Higashino's novel The Devotion of Suspect X, it centers around a mild-mannered mathematics teacher (Ryoo Seung-bum) who plans the perfect alibi for the woman he secretly loves (Lee Yo-won) when she unexpectedly murders her abusive ex-husband.Cho Jin-woong received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 49th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2013.

22. HOUSE MAID

The story focuses on Eun-yi, played by Jeon Do-yeon, who becomes involved in a destructive love triangle while working as a housemaid for an upper-class family. Other cast members include Lee Jung-jae, Seo Woo and Youn Yuh-jung. The film is a remake of Kim Ki-young's 1960 film of the same name. The Housemaid  released in 2010 and directed by Im Sang-soo.

23. SYMPATHY FOR MR.VENGEANCE

The film revolves a young, deaf man trying to earn enough money for his sister's kidney transplant by holding the daughter of a wealthy man for ransom and the path of vengeance that follows when the plan goes wrong. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance released in  2002  directed and co-written by Park Chan-wook.It is the first film in Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy and is followed by Oldboy (2003) and Lady Vengeance (2005).

24. MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Memoir of a Murderer released in 2017 directed by Won Shin-yun. It is based on a  fiction book by Kim Young Ha. The film stars Sol Kyung-gu and Kim Nam-gil in the lead roles. The film revolves,
A former serial killer who has Alzheimer's disease must protect his beloved daughter from her psychotic boyfriend.

25. A HARD DAY

It's is a 2014 thriller film written and directed by Kim Seong-hun, and starring Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Jin-woong. The film following, A homicide detective (Lee Sun-kyun) accidentally kills a man with his car, then tries to hide the body in his mother's coffin on the day of her funeral.

26. H

A serial killer who preyed on pregnant women has been behind bars for 10 months, when a copycat killer becomes active. Detectives meet with the imprisoned killer and search for clues in an effort to head off the copy cat killer before he kills more.H is a 2002 Korean film. It was written and directed by Lee Jong-hyeok, and stars Yum Jung-ah, Ji Jin-hee, and Cho Seung-woo.

27. THE YELLOW SEA

The film is the reunion of the crew behind The Chaser (2008) movie. The Yellow Sea  is a 2010 thriller film directed by Na Hong-jin and starring Ha Jung-woo and Kim Yoon-seok in the lead roles.The film revolves around a cab driver who agrees to carry out a hit on a professor in exchange for getting his debts paid. He soon becomes a fugitive after the hit goes wrong, and is chased by both the police and the gangster who assigned him the task.

28. MISSING YOU

Missing You is a 2016 revenge thriller film written and directed by Mo Hong-jin.When Hee-Joo (Shim Eun-Kyung) was 7-years-old her father was murdered. Her father worked as a detective and was working on a serial killer case. The killer, Ki-Bum (Kim Sung-Oh), was eventually arrested, but found guilty for only one murder. 15 years later, Ki-Bum is released from prison. Detective Dae-Young (Yoon Je-Moon) worked on the original case with Hee-Joo's father and he has not given up getting a murder conviction for his former partner. Meanwhile, Hee-Joo has waited patiently for Kim-Bum's release.

29. VOICE OF A MURDERER

It is a 2007 crime thriller film written and directed by Park Jin-pyo, starring Sol Kyung-gu and Kim Nam-joo in lead roles. It was the third top-grossing  film of 2007, The story is a fictionalized account of a real-life kidnapping case in 1991.

30. MOSS

It was based on the popular webtoon of the same title by Yoon Tae-ho.Moss  is a 2010 South Korean mystery thriller film directed by Kang Woo-suk. The story revolves, After the death of his estranged father, a young man discovers his father's history of threats and violence toward the locals of the small town where he passed away.

31. THE NEIGHBOUR

It is a South Korean suspense thriller film that released in 2012. Starring Kim Yunjin in the lead role. Moss directed by Kang Woo-suk.The plot revolves, Residents of the Gangsan Mansion live in fear when a serial killer stalks the halls. They suspect one man for the crimes, and a battle erupts to protect the next victim.

32. CHILDREN

The film based on a true story about an unsolved murder case.Children directed by Lee Kyu-Man Starring Park Yong-woo, Ryu Seung-ryong and Sung Dong-il in lead roles.The film is based on the true story of the Frog Boys of Daegu. On March 26, 1991, the local elections are being held. Since it is a school day off, the five boys set off to the nearby mountain and never return.

33. WHITE NIGHT

It is a 2009 South Korean mystery thriller starring Han Suk-kyu, Son Ye-jin and Go Soo. It was based on the Japanese novel Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino.The film directed by Park Shin-woo.The film starts when Kim Si-hoo, a pawnbroker, is found dead in a remote town in a derelict building, the police are divided whether it was a murder or a suicide.

34. CONFESSION OF A MURDERER

A 2012 Korean thriller film directed by Jung Byung-gil, starring Jung Jae-young and Park Si-hoo. It is about a police officer who is haunted for failing to capture a serial killer 15 years back, and returns to the case after a novelist publishes the book I Am the Murderer, claiming responsibility for the crimes.

35. TELL ME SOMETHING

A serial killer is terrorising Seoul and his trademark is to dismember the body, but leave a part of their previous victim mixed in with the remains. Disgraced detective Cho is assigned the case and finds the clues leading him to museum curator Su Yeon, whose beauty blinds men to her mysterious path. Tell me something is a 1999 thriller film directed by Chang Yoon-hyun.Starring Han Suk-kyu and Shim Eun-ha in lead roles.