What are the best South Korean movies on Netflix? From horror to thrillers, romances, and space epics, there’s a lot to be enjoyed from Netflix’s library of Korean movies. We’ve left it up to the users of Letterboxd to determine the best Korean films on the streaming service.
To determine which movies have ranked higher when the same score is achieved (as there a few movies with a 3.3 rating), we’ve placed the movie that the most viewers have watched as the tiebreaker.
Typically, we would also display the IMDb score but for the k-drama fans out there we’ve used the scores from the Asian movie and TV show database MyDramaList, which is viewed and used by millions of k-drama fans worldwide.
To determine which movies have ranked higher when the same score is achieved, we’ve placed the movie that the most viewers have watched as the tiebreaker.
Here are the best Korean movies on Netflix according to the users of Letterboxd:
10. Love and Leashes (2022)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.2
Director: Park Hyun Jin
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance | Runtime: 117 Minutes
Cast: Seo Hyun, Lee Jun Young, Lee El, Seo Hyun Woo, Kim Han Na
MyDramaList Rating: 8.0
Picture. Love and Leashes – Seed Film
There are plenty of Korean movies and shows adapted from webtoons, but easily one of the best of those has been Love and Leashes. The film caused quite a stir online when the trailer first dropped, as many subscribers were more than intrigued by its BDSM storyline.
Jung Ji Hoo is a competent and popular high-flying employee at work but one day this image threatens to fall apart when a fellow co-worker, Jung Ji Woo, mistakenly receives a package belonging to him and opens it to find a large dog-collar and its accompanying leash inside. What follows is a light-hearted introduction to a BDSM relationship between the two.
9. Steel Rain (2017)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.3
Director: Yang Woo Seok
Genre: Action, Thriller, War | Runtime: 138 Minutes
Cast: Jung Woo Sung, Kwak Do Won, Kim Gab Soo, Kim Eui Suhg, Lee Kyung Young
MyDramaList Rating: 8.0
Picture. Steel Rain – Next Entertainment World
It’s always fascinating when South Korean cinema explores stories involving its controversial Northern neighbor, even more so when it explores the concept of the two nations at war.
Amid a coup, a North Korean agent escapes south with the country’s injured leader in an attempt to keep him alive and prevent a Korean war.
8. Pandora (2016)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.3
Director: Park Jung Woo
Genre: Drama, Thriller | Runtime: 136 Minutes
Cast: Kim Nam Gil, Kim Joo Hyun, Jung Jin Young, Kim Young Ae, Moon Jung Hee
MyDramaList Rating: 8.3
Picture. Pandora – CAC Entertainment
The story of Pandora definitely feels like it was inspired by the events of the Nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima. If there are any fans of the incredible HBO series Chernobyl, then Pandora is 100% worth your time.
When an earthquake hits a Korean village housing a run-down nuclear power plant, a man risks his life to save the country from imminent disaster.
7. Time to Hunt (2020)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.3
Director: Yoon Sung Hyun
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller | Runtime: 134 Minutes
Cast: Lee Je Hoon, Ahn Jae Hong, Choi Woo Shik, ParkJungmj
MyDramaList Rating: 7.9
Picture. Time to Hunt – Sidus Pictures
Some of the best dystopian movies in recent years have been from South Korea. Time to Hunt hasSquid Game actor Park Hae-soo at his cold and calculating best as the assassin Han.
Four young men want to leave their dystopian world behind and go to a distant paradise to execute a money robbery, a daring act that will have unexpected consequences.
6. Space Sweepers (2021)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.3
Director: Jo Sung Hee
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | Runtime: 132 minutes
Cast: Song Joong Ki, Kim Tae Ri, Jin Seon Kyu, Yoo Hae Jin, Park Ye Rin
MyDramaList Rating: 8.4
Picture. Space Sweepers – Bidangil Pictures and Dexter Studios
Acknowledged as the very first South Korean space blockbuster, it was a smash hit with subscribers all around the world, while also making ₩24 billion domestically at the Korean box office.
When the crew of a space junk collector ship called The Victory discovers a humanoid robot named Dorothy that’s known to be a weapon of mass destruction, they get involved in a risky business deal that puts their lives at stake.
5. Night in Paradise (2021)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.4
Director: Park Hoon Jung
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller | Runtime: 132 Minutes
Cast: Uhm Tae Goo, Jeon Yeo Been, Cha Seung Won, Lee Gi Young, Park Ho San
MyDramaList Rating: 8.0
Picture. Night in Paradise – Next Entertainment World
Bloody and dramatic, Night in Paradise is one of the best South Korean gangster films on Netflix.
An assassin named Tae-goo is offered a chance to switch sides with his rival Bukseong gang, headed by Chairman Doh. Tae-goo rejects the offer which results in the murder of his sister and niece. In revenge, Tae-goo brutally kills Chairman Doh and his men and flees to Jeju Island where he meets Jae-yeon, a terminally ill woman. Though, the henchman of the Bukseong gang, Executive Ma is mercilessly hunting Tae-goo to take revenge.
4. The Call (2020)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.6
Director: Lee Chung Hyun
Genre: Horror, Thriller | Runtime: 112 Minutes
Cast: Park Shin Hye, Jeon Jong Seo, Kim Sung Ryung, Lee El, Park Ho San
MyDramaList Rating: 8.3
Picture. The Call – Next Entertainment World
A remake of the 2011 British and Puerto Rican film The Caller, the Korean adaptation was a welcome addition to the Netflix library during the height of the global pandemic. As the only horror title on this list, The Call is definitely worth adding to your watch list.
Connected by phone in the same home but 20 years apart, a serial killer puts another woman’s past and life on the line to change her own fate.
3. Tune in for Love (2019)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.7
Director: Jung Ji Woo
Genre: Drama, Romance | Runtime: 122 Minutes
Cast: Jung Hae In, Kim Go Eun, Park Hae Joon, Kim Gook Hee, Jung Eugene
MyDramaList Rating: 8.1
Picture. Tune in for Love – Netflix
Reviews are heavily mixed over the story, however, many are in still agreement that Tune in for Love is extremely enjoyable and one of the best Korean movies currently on Netflix.
In 1994, on the first day that Yoo Yeul went on air as the new DJ of the popular radio show Music Album, a college girl Mi-su meets Hyun-woo who happens to drop by the bakery she works at. Like the music streaming from the radio, their frequencies slowly come in sync; even when they’re apart, the show brings them together through ebbs and flows of events arising from both pure coincidence and inevitability, until the bitter reality sets in and drives them apart.
2. Forgotten (2017)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.8
Director: Jang Hang Joon
Genre: Drama, Thriller | Runtime: 108 Minutes
Cast: Kang Ha Neul, Kim Mu Yeol, Na Young Hee, Moon Sung Geun, Jung Taek Hyun
MyDramaList Rating: 8.5
Picture. Forgotten. B.A. Entertainment and Baram Pictures
Some of the most underrated content on Netflix are thrillers from South Korea. Jang Hang Joon’s Forgotten will leave you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Seoul, South Korea, 1997. When the young but extremely anxious student Jin-seok, his parents, and his successful older brother Yoo-seok move to a new home, mysterious and frightening events begin to happen around them, unexplained events that threaten to ruin their seemingly happy lives. Unable to understand what is happening, Jin-seok wonders if he is losing his mind.
1. 20th Century Girl (2022)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.0
Director: Bang Woo Ri
Genre: Drama, Romance | Runtime: 119 Minutes
Cast: Kim Yoo Jung, Byun Woo Suk, Park Jung Woo, Roh Yoon Seo, Kim Sung Kyung
MyDramaList Rating: 8.6
Picture. 20th Century Girl. Yong Film
Ranked 8th in the best Netflix Movies according to Letterboxd reviews, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see 20th Century Girl topping the list of best Korean movies. It also continues to prove that some of the most popular content from South Korea is rooted in 90s nostalgia.
Yeon-du asks her best friend Bora to collect all the information she can about Baek Hyun-jin while she is away in the U.S. for heart surgery. Bora decides to get close to Baek’s best friend, Pung Woon-ho first. However, Bora’s clumsy plan unfolds in an unexpected direction. In 1999, a year before the new century, Bora, who turns seventeen, falls into the fever of first love.
What is your favorite South Korean movie on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
