Best South Korean history movies

May, 1980. Man-seob is a taxi driver in Seoul who lives from hand to mouth, raising his young daughter alone. One day, he hears that there is a foreigner who will pay big money for a drive down to Gwangju city. Not knowing that he’s a German journalist with a hidden agenda, Man-seob takes the job.

When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.

In the Joseon Dynasty, two friends who grew up together — one the master and one the servant — reunite post-war as enemies on opposing sides.

Admiral Yi Sun-sin faces a tough challenge when he is forced to defend his nation with just 13 battleships against 300 Japanese enemy ships in the Battle of Myeongryang.

After being blinded in a coup against the king, Joseon's greatest swordsman goes into hiding, far removed from his city's anguish. But when traffickers kidnap his daughter, he has no choice but to unsheathe his sword once more.

A squad of soldiers fight in the Korean War's crucial Battle of Incheon.

After the death of their father, two siblings are raised by their father's best friend. However, when one gets kidnapped just before her wedding, the other rises against the Manchus.

During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island 'Hashima Island' to mine for coal, attempt to escape.

Kingdom of Goguryeo, ancient Korea, 645. The ruthless Emperor Taizong of Tang invades the country and leads his armies towards the capital, achieving one victory after another, but on his way is the stronghold of Ansi, protected by General Yang Man-chu, who will do everything possible to stop the invasion, even if his troops are outnumbered by thousands of enemies.

Diplomats from the North and South Korean embassies in Somalia attempt a daring joint escape from Mogadishu when the outbreak of civil war leaves them stranded.

South Korea, 1993. An agent of the National Intelligence Service is sent to Beijing to infiltrate a group of North Korean officials with the ultimate goal of obtaining information about their nuclear program.

During the invasion of Normandy the photograph of a slim Korean man in German uniform was found. It transpired that the man had served as a soldier in the Japanese, Russian and German armies. His incredible story inspired director Kang Je-Gyu to create this epic war drama.

In 1987 Korea, under an oppressive military regime, a college student gets killed during a police interrogation involving torture. Government of officials are quick to cover up the death and order the body to be cremated. A prosecutor who is supposed to sign the cremation release, raises questions about a 21-year-old kid dying of a heart attack, and he begins looking into the case for truth. Despite a systematic attempt to silence everyone involved in the case, the truth gets out, causing an eruption of public outrage.

Song Woo-seok is a lawyer with no clients. When his friend's son is falsely accused of a crime and tortured, he takes up the case and the course of his life changes for good.

After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d'état bursts out by DefenseSecurity Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-shin, an obstinate soldier who believes the military should not take political actions, fights against Chun Doo-gwang to stop him. The conflict between the two grows while military leaders are holding their decision and Defense Minister is gone. In the midst of chaos, the spring of Seoul that everyone longed for heads to unexpected direction.

The story of Joseon's tyrant king Yeonsan who exploits the populace for his own carnal pleasures, his seemingly loyal retainer who controls him and all court dealings, and a woman who seeks vengeance.

In 1925 Korea, Japanese rulers demand the last remaining tiger be killed. The tiger easily defeats his pursuers until a legendary hunter takes him on.

Though it places his own life in danger, a look-alike commoner secretly takes the place of a poisoned king to save his country from falling into chaos.

Ancient Korea, 17th century. The powerful Khan of the Jurchen tribe of Manchuria, who fights the Ming dinasty to gain China, becomes the first ruler of the Qing dinasty and demands from King In-jo of Joseon to bow before him; but he refuses, being loyal to the Mings. On December 14th, 1636, the Qing horde invades Joseon, so King In-jo and his court shelter in the mountain fortress of Namhan and prepare to defend the kingdom.

While in medieval Korea, a young girl sets out to revenge the betrayal and the death of her mother. But therefore she must face one of the most powerful men and warriors of the Goryeo Dynasty.

In 1592, admiral Yi Sun-sin and his fleet face off against the might of the invading Japanese navy and its formidable warships. As the Korean forces fall into crisis, the admiral resorts to using his secret weapon, the dragon head ships known as geobukseon, in order to change the tide of this epic battle at sea.

Two clowns living in Korea's Chosun Dynasty get arrested for staging a play that satirizes the king. They are dragged to the palace and threatened with execution but are given a chance to save their lives if they can make the king laugh.

The Imjin War reaches its seventh year in December of 1598. Admiral Yi Sun-shin learns that the Wa invaders in Joseon are preparing for a swift withdrawal following the deathbed orders of their leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Determined to destroy the enemy once and for all, Admiral Yi leads an allied fleet of Joseon and Ming ships to mount a blockade and annihilate the Wa army. However, once Ming commander Chen Lin is bribed into lifting the blockade, Wa lord Shimazu Yoshihiro and his Satsuma army sail to the Wa army's rescue at Noryang Strait.

Korean War, September 1950. In order to fight the enemy forces based in the South of the peninsula, General MacArthur orders the start of the Incheon Landing Operation, deploying diversionary attacks in other locations. Without real military forces to spare, 772 very young Korean student soldiers, barely trained, are sent to Jangsari Beach, where they will face a heroic fate and discover the value of friendship. (A sequel to Operation Chromite, released in 2016.)

Under the oppressive Japanese colonial rule, Deok-hye, the last Princess of the declining Joseon Dynasty, is forced to move to Japan. She spends her days missing home, while struggling to maintain dignity as a princess. After a series of failed tries, Deok-hye makes her final attempt to return home with help of her childhood sweetheart, Jang-han.

Ancient Korea, July 4, 1762. The Crown Prince Hyojang, posthumously named Sado, son of King Yeongjo of Joseon, is accused of treason. Thus, the king asks him to commit suicide, but his closest vassals prevent it, so the king orders the prince to get inside a wooden rice chest, where he suffers deprivation of food and water.

In the turbulent Joseon dynasty, army commander Min-jae watches ambitious Prince Yi Bang-won while becoming entwined with Ga-hee, a vengeful gisaeng. Fate collides as power shifts.

In 1375, China was in chaos between Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. Coryo (an ancient kingdom of Korea then) sent a delegation of many diplomats, soldiers and a silent slave to make peace with the new Chinese government. However, this delegation got charged as spies and sent in exile to a remote desert.

An exceptionally talented face reader becomes entangled in a bloody power struggle between a child king and his uncle who plans to usurp the throne.

On 07 January 1972, the South Korean base in Nah-Trang, Vietnam, receives a radio transmission from a missing platoon presumed dead.

In this true story from 2002, South Korean patrol boats engaged in a deadly battle with North Korean patrol boats who crossed the maritime border known the Northern Limit Line and attacked.

Over a 4 day period, a fierce battle takes place between Korean independence militias and imperialist Japanese forces in Manchuria, China. The militia includes a master swordsman and an expert marksman.

Only one week left until South Korea will go under sovereign default. Han Shi-hyun is a leader of the monetary policy team at the Bank of Korea. and is assigned to a crisis team.

In 1782, King Jeong-jo of Joseon asks detective K to investigate a series of murders related to a case of corruption within the government.

A servant falls in love with a girl whom his master also desires. Although the girl loves the servant, she also longs to improve her station in life.

In 1909, several years after Korea is forced into becoming a Japanese colony, freedom fighters plot the daring assassination of Japan's prime minister during their quest for independence.

Late 18th-century Joseon dynasty. The King is beleaguered and surrounded by traitors of the ruling elite. They plan to assassinate and replace him with a puppet. But the King has some aces up his sleeve that may help him defeat them all.

Refusing to allow fate to decide whom she must marry, Princess Songhwa decides to find her own husband. She seeks the help of a man to interpret her marital harmony with four men she wishes to marry.

In the late Joseon Dynasty, Bongyi Kim Seon-dal is the best conman who sells water from the Taedong River.

Lee Gong-jin, a young tailor, helps the Queen with her dress and both fall in love with each other. However, his success catches the ire of Jo Dol-seok, the royal tailor, who vows retribution.

Two best friends, So-yool and Yeon-hee, dream of becoming the top artists in Seoul together. But their friendship doesn't last long as Yoon-woo, So-yool's first love and songwriter, falls in love with Yeon-hee and her voice. So-yool's feeling of jealousy and inferiority towards Yeon-hee grows by the day, and she eventually makes a drastic decision to bring the two lovers down.

On October 26, 1979, President Park Chung-hee, who had ruled South Korea since 1961, was assassinated by his director of intelligence. The film depicts the events of that night.

When the scholar Jeong Yak-jeon is exiled to Heuksando Island during the Catholic Persecution of 1801, he decides to write a fish-based encyclopaedia.

The citizens of Gwangju lead a relatively peaceful life, until one day the military takes over the city, accusing the residents of conspiracy and claiming that they are communist sympathisers preparing a revolution against the current government. Seeing as the soldiers beat defenceless people, mainly students, to death, the citizens are in for retaliation and form a militia.

Mu Myeong is a Joseon dynasty headhunter who meets and falls in love with lady Ja Yeong who will become the future Empress Myseongseong. A few years later, Ja Yeong enters the royal palace to marry King Gojong. Mu Myeong still having feelings for Ja Yeong and in an attempt to get closer to her becomes her personal body guard.

A triangular relationship between Eo Woo-dong, her husband Lee Dong, and fantasy character Moo-gong, highlights on the first half of the Joseon Dynasty and portrays the contradicted life of the high class people, criticizing the modern day Korean society.

Seo Chang-dae, an ambitious political campaign strategist who ends up having ideological differences with his present client, receives a lucrative offer that will put his loyalty under the microscope.

In a time of political and social unrest in 19th century Korea, uncouth, self-taught painter Jang Seung-up explores his natural talent amidst the repressive world around him.

A well-meaning but politically naive barber gets pulled into the inner circle of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-Hee, with rather baleful consequences for his hapless family. This sharp political satire covers roughly twenty years in South Korean political history, from the viewpoint of the barber's son.

During the reign of King Sejong in the 15th century, the Joseon Dynasty was the embodiment of the perfect state. To the Ming China, the aspiring imperial power, Joseon presented an obstacle to territorial expansion. To protect themselves from war, King Sejong develops a secret weapon to defend their territory and take back their land and supremacy.

Based on the life of the Korean anarchist Park Yeol, the film shows his struggle to counter the massacre of Koreans by the government during the 1923 great Kanto earthquake, focusing on his activities as the leader of the anti-Japanese organization Bulryeongsa and his relationship with Japanese comrade Fumiko Kaneko.

Set in a village right after the Korean War, poor but good-hearted Heo Sam-gwan sets out to win the most beautiful girl in the village, Heo Ok-ran, by selling his blood to earn money. Years later, the two are happily married with three children, but their family undergoes a crisis when Sam-gwan's eldest son doesn't resemble him and rumors spread about the boy's paternity.

During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Japanese Empire seeks to eradicate the Korean language and identity. In retaliation, a small group of Korean patriots try to protect their language by compiling the first Korean language dictionary.

Nam-bok, a middle-aged South Korean farmer is conscripted and assigned a mission to deliver a classified military document that may decide the fate of the war. After losing it while under attack from the enemy, he then faces a teenage North Korean soldier named Yeong-gwang who happens to acquire the secret document on his way to the North.

After the Japanese kidnap two Korean teenagers and take them to a comfort station to join other girls who are serving as sex slaves, only one of them survives. Decades later, the elderly woman tries to reunite with her friend's spirit.

In the household of Lee Gyeong-jin, a high-ranking official of Joseon Kingdom, three sons die from an unidentified horror. A woman pregnant with a child of the third son soon learns of the evil spirit that haunts the house.

Based on a true story, renowned Korean poet, Yun Dong-ju, is detained and abused by the Japanese for participating in the Korean Independence Movement.

When Huh Saek decides to become a male gisaeng, he captivates countless women with his looks and talents but doubts the existence of true love — until he meets a girl with progressive ideas.

Ancient Korea, 1728. Swordsman Kim Ho, guard of King Yeong-jo of Joseon, is demoted and sent to work in Uigeumbu prison. When night falls, the prison is assaulted by the master warrior Do Man-cheol and his powerful henchmen for the purpose of freeing Lee In-jwa, who has been condemned to death for rising up in revolt against the king.

A true historical drama about King Sejong, the greatest ruler in Joseon history who sought to enhance national prosperity and military power through astronomy, and Jang Yeong-sil, the most remarkable scientist.

A gang of clowns is hired by an unpopular king to serve as propagandists who fabricate positive rumors and stage miracles to improve his personal image.

In the 15th century, despite so many accomplishments he has made for the people, King Sejong, his biggest goal is still remaining; the invention of original letters that can be read and written by all the people. But courtiers who want to dominate the knowledge and the power, are against his will and discourage his belief. Frustrated King Sejong hears about a bonze Sinmi a phonogram expert, and secretly brings him in the palace.

During the Joseon Dynasty, lowborn Chae-sun challenges the rule that states only men allowed to sing while navigating devotion to her teacher and the demands of the king's father.

This film tells the story of three young women from South Korea, Japan, and China who were ravaged after becoming comfort women in the Japanese army.

22nd of August, 1945. Japan lost the war and they loaded an 8,000 person Joseon laborer force onto a ship called the Ukisima to take them to the Busan Port. However, the ship sunk into the water due to an unknown blast. This is the story of thousands of Joseon people who dreamed of returning to their families and how they died.

How do these people live, how do they endure the confinement and pain of the country's borders ? Under the splendor of the landscapes we can feel the constant threat of a cold war In the heart of Caucasus. The villagers have learned to live with the sound of reports, while knowing that the next bullet may be for them. Scenes from ordinary life, in a country where the threat of war may never be forgotten: yet a feeling of life prevails: resident forever, forever. This film talk about the current state of the world and humanity with respect to imposed violence, in a set of border areas.