Best of South Korea: War/Military Movies
by d_smojver | created - 23 Dec 2011 | updated - 3 months ago | PublicSouth Korean war and military movies are great, intelligent and well acted! They are so different from one another, but their messages are similar.
Apart from titles on my list, there are several of them which aren't listed on IMDb:
- Haan/Han Gil-soo (2005)
- On the Pitch (Dreams Come True)/Kkoom-eun I-roo-eo-ji-da (2010)
P.S. Thanks to my friend Bero, who helped me alot with this list.
My other lists:
Best of South Korea: Action/Adventure Movies
Best of South Korea: Anime
Best of South Korea: Comedies
Best of South Korea: Crime Movies/Thrillers
Best of South Korea: Drama Movies
Best of South Korea: Horror Movies
Best of South Korea: Romance Movies
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1. Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)
R | 140 min | Action, Drama, War
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.
Director: Kang Je-kyu | Stars: Jang Dong-Gun, Won Bin, Eun-ju Lee, Kong Hyeong-jin
Votes: 41,061 | Gross: $1.11M
2. Joint Security Area (2000)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
After a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Lee Yeong-ae, Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho, Kim Tae-woo
Votes: 34,145
3. Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)
Not Rated | 133 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Soldiers from both sides of the Korean divide live among villagers who know nothing of the war.
Director: Kwang-Hyun Park | Stars: Jeong Jae-yeong, Shin Ha-kyun, Kang Hye-jeong, Ha-ryong Lim
Votes: 7,532
a.k.a. Battle Ground 625
4. My Way (2011)
R | 137 min | Action, Drama, War
In World War II-era Korea, rival runners, one Korean (Jang Dong-gun) and one Japanese (Joe Odagiri), go to war together against the Soviets.
Director: Kang Je-kyu | Stars: Jang Dong-Gun, Joe Odagiri, Bingbing Fan, Kim In-kwon
Votes: 12,612 | Gross: $0.07M
5. The Front Line (2011)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, History
A drama centered on the Korean War's final battle that will determine the border between north and south.
Director: Hun Jang | Stars: Shin Ha-kyun, Go Soo, Ryu Seung-su, Ko Chang-seok
Votes: 7,097 | Gross: $0.01M
6. 71: Into the Fire (2010)
Not Rated | 120 min | Action, Drama, War
The story of student-soldiers trying to protect a middle school during the early days of the Korean War.
Director: John H. Lee | Stars: Cha Seung-won, Kwon Sang-woo, Choi Seung-hyun, Kim Seung-woo
Votes: 5,804
7. The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)
Not Rated | 128 min | Action, Drama, History
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.
Director: Han-min Kim | Stars: Choi Min-sik, Ryu Seung-ryong, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Myung-gon
Votes: 13,039 | Gross: $2.59M
8. Silmido (2003)
Not Rated | 135 min | Action, Drama
Based on a true story of 1968 Korean Republic Army plan to assassinate North Korean president Kim Il-Sung. 31 criminals and death row inmates are recruited into secret training on the ... See full summary »
Director: Kang Woo-suk | Stars: Ahn Sung-ki, Sol Kyung-gu, Huh Joon-ho, Jeong Jae-yeong
Votes: 4,722
9. May 18 (2007)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, History
The story of events leading up to the 1980 Gwangju massacre in South Korea when thousands of students and protesters were killed by armed troops during an anti-government demonstration.
Director: Ji-hoon Kim | Stars: Kim Sang-kyung, Lee Yo-won, Ahn Sung-ki, Kwon Tae-won
Votes: 1,349
10. Northern Limit Line (2015)
Not Rated | 130 min | Drama, War
The movies follows the incident known as the second battle of Yeonpyeong which happened in 2002.
Director: Kim Hak-soon | Stars: Kim Mu-yeol, Jin Goo, Lee Hyun-woo, Lee Chung-Ah
Votes: 1,340 | Gross: $0.32M
11. The Coast Guard (2002)
R | 91 min | Drama, War
A member of Coast Guard Platoon 23, Private Kang monitors a high-infiltration stretch of beach lined with barbed-wire fencing. Driven by the belief that killing a spy is the highest honor, he waits for a chance to prove his worth.
Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Jang Dong-Gun, Kim Jeong-hak, Park Ji-ah, Yoo Hae-jin
Votes: 3,529
12. R-Point (2004)
R | 107 min | Action, Horror, War
During the Vietnam War, a South Korean base receives a radio transmission from a missing squad, presumed dead, and sends a platoon to rescue the lost squad from the R-Point.
Director: Su-chang Kong | Stars: Kam Woo-seong, Son Byung-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Park Won-sang
Votes: 5,825
13. Battle for Incheon: Operation Chromite (2016)
Not Rated | 111 min | Action, Drama, History
A team of spies is sent into Incheon to gain intelligence on North Korean positions ahead of the invasion by UN forces.
Director: John H. Lee | Stars: Liam Neeson, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Beom-su, Jin Se-yeon
Votes: 6,195 | Gross: $1.02M
14. The Battle of Jangsari (2019)
Not Rated | 104 min | Action, Drama, War
A unit of student soldiers on a diversionary mission for the Battle of Incheon during the Korean War in 1950.
Directors: Kyung-taek Kwak, Kim Tae-yong | Stars: Megan Fox, George Eads, Lee Jae-wook, Kim Min-kyu
Votes: 1,851
15. The Guard Post (2008)
121 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of GP506 soldiers have been brutally massacred, leaving only one alive but comatose. A military police investigator has only that night to uncover the facts, but ends up discovering a terrifying truth.
Director: Su-chang Kong | Stars: Chun Ho-jin, Hyun-jae Cho, Lee Young-hoon, Kim Byeong-cheol
Votes: 1,901
16. Phantom: The Submarine (1999)
110 min | Action, Thriller
Korea's first nuclear submarine and a crew with no record of existence embark on a do-or-die mission into the deep waters of the Pacific.
Director: Byung-chun Min | Stars: Choi Min-soo, Jung Woo-sung, Sol Kyung-gu, Byeon-chul Min
Votes: 495
17. A Melody to Remember (2016)
124 min | Action, Drama, War
During the Korean War, Second Lieutenant Sang-Yeol encounters a group of orphans while leading his platoon. Empathizing with their pain, he makes a choir with the children to protect them.
Directors: Lee Han, Lee Jae-Jin, Shin Jae Myung | Stars: Im Si-wan, Ko Ah-sung, Lee Hee-joon, Kim Ah-hyun
Votes: 383 | Gross: $0.04M
18. Spring in My Hometown (1998)
120 min | Drama, War
A story of two 13-year-old boys in a small country village during the last days of the Korean War. Sungmin's father gets a job at US army camp through his daughter's American boyfriend, and... See full summary »
Director: Kwang-Mo Lee | Stars: Lee In, Ahn Sung-ki, Yoo-Jung Bae, Song Wok-suk
Votes: 179
19. The Demilitarized Zone (1965)
62 min | Drama, War
The film exposes the atrocities of war through the eyes of two children who are stranded in the DMZ after the end of the Korean War. The DMZ, strewn with abandoned tanks, dead bodies, land ... See full summary »
Director: Sang-ho Park | Stars: Mi-lyeong Jo, Won Namkung, Bin-a Ju, Yeong-kwan Lee
Votes: 156
20. The Taebaek Mountains (1994)
168 min | Drama
Based on the great river story, (Taebaegsanmaek) The Taebaek Mountains chronicles the lasting generational conflict between proprietors and peasants in South Korea.
Director: Im Kwon-taek | Stars: Dong-joon Choi, Pang Eun-jin, Lee Ho-jae, Shin Hyeon-jun
Votes: 232
21. The Unforgiven (2005)
121 min | Drama
He just wanted to be a good man..
Director: Yoon Jong-bin | Stars: Sung-chun Han, Lim Hyun-sung, Yoon Jong-bin, Hyun-woo Joo
Votes: 390
22. White Badge (1992)
Not Rated | 122 min | War
South Korea, 1979. Han Kiju is an alcoholic novelist who has never recovered from his year long tour as a volunteer soldier in Vietnam. When he's asked to write a book about the Korean ... See full summary »
Director: Jeong Ji-yeong | Stars: Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Kyoung-young, Shim Hye-jin, Do-hun Ahn
Votes: 231
23. In Love and War (2011)
135 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Seol-Hee's South Korean village is forced to serve the occupying North Korean regiment during the Korean War. The story focuses on the complex relationship between Seol-Hee and the North Korean Lieutenant, Kim Jeong-woong.
Director: Geon-yong Park | Stars: Kim Ju-hyuk, Jung Ryeo-won, Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Bo-yeon
Votes: 199
24. A Little Pond (2009)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama, War
During the Korean War, small mountain village is evacuated as retreating American GIs approach.
Director: Sang-woo Lee | Stars: Moon Sung-Keun, Kim Roe-ha, Jeon Hye-jin, Myeong-cheol Shin
Votes: 344
25. Nim-eun-meon-go-sae (2008)
126 min | Drama, Music, Romance
In hot pursuit of the husband that left her to fight in the Vietnam War, a woman becomes the lead singer of a traveling band that she hopes will cross paths with him again.
Director: Joon-ik Lee | Stars: Soo Ae, Jung Jin-young, Wipawee Charoenpura, Albert Lee Harlow II
Votes: 447
26. North Korean Partisan in South Korea (1990)
157 min | War
South Korean production exploring a North Korean perspective of the long, grueling account of the Korean War based on memoirs of Lee Tae, former news agency correspondent who fought for North Korean partisans.
Director: Jeong Ji-yeong | Stars: Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Hye-yeong, Jin-shil Choi, Choi Min-soo
Votes: 154
27. Cheon gun (2005)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
In a historically altered Korea, by 2005 the North and South Korean governments have secretly joined forces to create a nuclear warhead.
Director: Joon-ki Min | Stars: Kim Byeong-chun, Ma Dong-seok, Kil Eun-sung, Kong Hyo-jin
Votes: 617
28. Jayu manse (1946)
51 min | Drama
Tells the story of a Korean resistance fighter leading the fight for freedom from the occupying country of Japan.
Director: In-kyu Choi | Stars: Chang-geun Jeon, Eun-gi Dog, Gye-seon Yu, Yeo-heui Hwang
Votes: 112
29. Blue (2003)
108 min | Action, Drama, War
Two Korean navy men that belong to the elite diving squad compete with each other among rising tensions in their personal and professional lives. Matters come to a head when an incident at ... See full summary »
Director: Jeong-Kuk Lee | Stars: Shin Hyeon-jun, Shin Eun-kyung, Yeong-ho Kim, Kong Hyeong-jin
Votes: 148
30. Field of Honor (1986)
R | 93 min | Drama, War
Korea 1951: After a Chinese attack Dutch mercenary sergeant De Koning is left alone by his army. While trying to survive, he meets a woman who is attempting to save her little brother. The image of the boy in shock changes him.
Directors: Dae-hie Kim, Hans Scheepmaker | Stars: Everett McGill, Ron Brandsteder, Bart Römer, Anis de Jong
Votes: 181
31. Red Scarf (1964)
100 min | Drama, History, War
During the Korean War, pilots of the 10th Fighter Wing of the South Korean Air Force fly their majestic Saber jets in daily dangerous missions against Communist North Korean targets.
Director: Shin Sang-ok | Stars: Choi Eun-hie, Yeong-gyun Shin, Mu-ryong Choi, Eun-jin Han
Votes: 34
32. Soldier's Mementos (2016)
108 min | Drama, War
OH accidentally attended war without know what it really was.
Director: Kim Jae-han | Stars: Maeng Se-chang, Hye-Jung Cho, Kap-sook Seo, Sang-Hoon Lee
Votes: 11
33. Rainy Days (1979)
114 min | Drama, War
A family, ideologically divided but living under the same roof, experience the Korean War as tragedies shake their daily existence.
Director: Yu Hyun-mok | Stars: Jeong-sun Hwang, Dae-kun Lee, Shin-jae Kim, Seok-hun Kim
Votes: 51
34. The Sea Knows (1961)
108 min | Drama, War
A Korean man, forced into service in the Japanese army during WWII, marries his Japanese girlfriend despite everyone's objections. Later, he becomes the sole survivor when the Americans attack.
Director: Kim Ki-young | Stars: Woon-ha Kim, Sang-sa Lee, Ye-chun Lee
Votes: 30
35. Piagol (1955)
110 min | Drama, War
A group of communist guerillas encounter jealousy and rivalry among themselves because of the presence of the female compatriot while one of their members plots to desert their band
Director: Kang-cheon Lee | Stars: Kyeong-hie No, Ye-chun Lee, Jin Kyu Kim, Jang-kang Heo
Votes: 80
36. Burning Mountain (1967)
80 min | Drama, War
In the early 1950s when Korea is still at war, Kyu Bok who escaped from the North Korean People's Army secretly sneaks into a small village in the mountainside. This village has turned into... See full summary »
Director: Kim Soo-yong | Stars: Yeong-gyun Shin, Kum-Bong Do, Jeung-nyeo Ju, Jeong-sun Hwang
Votes: 68
37. Underground Rendezvous (2007)
107 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Set in the 1980s, the eldest son of a poor family decides to move to Seoul to become a teacher. Yet as soon as he reaches the city, his money is stolen and his bags are lost. He manages to ... See full summary »
Director: Kim Jong-jin | Stars: Lee Han-wi, Lim Hyeon-shik, Kim Hyeong-ja, Park Jin-hee
Votes: 86
38. The Seeds of Violence (2017)
82 min | Drama
An Army private fails to expose abuses he suffered from his senior. When every member of his platoon gets passes, the senior starts searching for the culprit who tried to report him.
Director: Taegue Lim | Stars: Lee Gasub, Jae Yoon Jung, Soy, Park Sung-il
Votes: 25
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