Best South Korean war movies
A curated collection of popular war movies from South Korea.
Break Up The Chain (1971)
Break Up The Chain (1971)
Cheol-Su, an assassin disguised as a patriot, Tae-Ho, a gangster, and Dal-Gun, a spy, are kind of people who can turn their backs from each other for the sake of their own interests. Now they are cooperating to find a golden Buddhist statue. They gets to think about the nation's wellbeing during their search for the statue, and decide to fight for their mother land, returning the statue to Lance.
Farewell to the Duman River (1962)
Farewell to the Duman River (1962)
Patriotic university student Youngwoo and his friends, led by their teacher Lee Sung, along with a British friend bid farewell to their families and become freedom fighters in Manchuria fighting against the Japanese occupation around the Tumen River.
The Continent in Flames (1965)
The Continent in Flames (1965)
The activities of a group of Korean independence fighters in Mongolia, who try to steal a valuable item from the Japanese Army.
71: Into the Fire (2010)
71: Into the Fire (2010)
In August 1950, waiting for UN troops to arrive, the South Korean army assembled to protect Nakdong River. Only 71 student-soldiers are left behind to guard the city of Pohang. Now they are on a mission to defend the country from North Korean troops.
Swing Kids (2018)
Swing Kids (2018)
Rebellious Ki-soo from North Korea is mesmerized by tap dance in prison camps. Ki-soo joins as a team member of a dance team named 'Swing Kids'. Yet suddenly, their dreams about dancing in prison camps are put in danger.
Steel Rain 2: Summit (2020)
Steel Rain 2: Summit (2020)
A futuristic film about a crisis near the brink of war after three leaders are kidnapped by a North Korean nuclear submarine in a coup d’état during a summit between the two Koreas and the United States.
The Coast Guard (2002)
The Coast Guard (2002)
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.
A Melody to Remember (2016)
A Melody to Remember (2016)
Second Lieutenant Han Sang-yeol leads his platoon during the Korean War in the early 1950s. He carries emotional scars and pain within. So when he meets some children from a choir, who have lost everything in the war, Sang-yeol is deeply moved and tries to protect to them.
The Last Witness (1980)
The Last Witness (1980)
Detective Oh goes searching for the murderer of Yang, a small-time brewer bludgeoned to death by a quiet riverside with no witnesses, no apparent motive. As he wanders about the winter landscape of South Jeolla Province and Seoul, he finds himself caught in a story of treachery, rape and murder.
In Love and the War (2011)
In Love and the War (2011)
In June 1950, soon after the start of the Korean War, a troop of North Korean soldiers enter a small South Korean village. Captain Jeong-woong proclaims that they came to liberate the villagers but their true agenda is to ferret out the reactionaries. The villagers and Seol-hee, who is separated from her fiance on her wedding day, offer them heartfelt hospitality and cooperation to avoid falling out of the army's favor. Eventually friendships starts to build up between the soldiers and the villagers.
North and South (1965)
North and South (1965)
Based on a radio drama, this wartime melodrama revolves around a woman caught between two men: her husband, a South Korean lieutenant, and her former lover, a North Korean officer who defects to come find her. The film portrays not only their tragic love triangle but also the empathetic bond that develops between the two men.
A Little Pond (2010)
A Little Pond (2010)
The Korean war does not start well for the US. They are being routed by the North Koreans and In July 1950, the early stage of the Korean War, at the Jugok Village in the middle of the Korean Peninsula, Chang-yee and his friends grow excited over the amateur singing contest knowing nothing about what is going on around them. At the time, the US Army keeps losing and are pushed back to the village, evacuating all villagers to head south. The villagers took refuge like going on a picnic believing that the US Army is protecting them, they just follow their orders moving south bound.
White Badge (1992)
White Badge (1992)
A Vietnam war veteran writes a series of articles about his war experiences for a local newspaper. As he does so, another veteran, drawn by the articles, begins randomly appearing in his life.
Marine Battleground (1963)
Marine Battleground (1963)
A division of marines survive a battle with the Chinese army but find themselves stranded without contact on the wrong side of the front.
Blue (2003)
Blue (2003)
Two friends in the Korean Navy, Lee and Kim are both part of an elite diving squad, specialising in emergency deep sea salvage dives. Lee is straight-laced and takes his duties seriously, while Kim treats the Navy as a lark. When Kang, a diving instructor and Kim's former girlfriend, is posted to the unit, this creates tension between the friends as they compete for Kang's affections. The tension is heightened when Lee is promoted ahead of Kim, creating a rivalry between the two. Kim's gung-ho approach to diving, and the danger he poses for himself (and his fellow divers), leads to further problems. Matters come to a head when an incident at sea causes the sinking of a submarine, requiring the unit to attempt a dangerous salvage rescue of the sunken submarine.
Hurrah! For Freedom (1946)
Hurrah! For Freedom (1946)
Hurrah! For Freedom (aka Viva Freedom) is a 1946 Korean film directed by Choi In-kyu. It was the first film made in the country after achieving independence from Japan. During the country's occupation Choi was only allowed to make Japan-friendly films, but the plot of Hurrah! For Freedom is distinctly different, telling the story of a Korean resistance fighter in 1945.
The Coachman (1961)
The Coachman (1961)
A man tries to raise his two sons and two daughters under some of the most adverse conditions known to man. The father operates a horse-drawn cart, but in a city that is modernizing after the destruction of the Korean War, automobiles are making carts obsolete. The children are experiencing difficulties as well. The eldest son has flunked the bar exam twice and is not hopeful of passing it a third time to become a lawyer. The eldest daughter is mute and married to an abusive husband. The younger daughter tries to pose as a rich university student to move up in life. The youngest son has a penchant for petty theft.
Piagol (1955)
Piagol (1955)
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.
The DMZ (1965)
The DMZ (1965)
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 mines, and unexploded shells, is an exceedingly dangerous place for children. But what most endangers them in the end are not weapons but people.
An Unattached Unit (1993)
An Unattached Unit (1993)
Set in 1951 at the height of the Korean War it tells the story of a group of soldiers who are being replaced in the front line after serving their rotation. But on the way home they find enemy troops are about to make a breakthrough and it is up to them to pull together to save the country.
Miss Staff Sergeant (2010)
Miss Staff Sergeant (2010)
Yu-mi applies to a marine outfit to become their first female member. Finding out about their NO woman-policy, she pushes herself to the extreme and fils a petition. After overcoming many obstacles, she is finally accepted for her outstanding performance. However, conflicts never cease between sergeants and Yu-mi, who’s new to the tradition and culture of the marines. Following the sudden death of a trainee, Sergeant HA, she is appointed to the head of the team. Highly motivated Yu-mi loses her troupe's trust after losing IBS. The team is in danger of dissolution due to the loss of a magazine.
The Taebaek Mountains (1994)
The Taebaek Mountains (1994)
Based on the great river story, The Taebaek Mountains chronicles the lasting generational conflict between proprietors and peasants in South Korea.
Spring in My Hometown (1998)
Spring in My Hometown (1998)
A story about two village boys, Sungmin and Changhee, in the summer of 1952, during the Korean War.
Saulabi (2002)
Saulabi (2002)
In this sweeping swordplay saga from Korea, a dedicated band of warriors from the Baekje Dynasty travel to Japan in hopes of mending the broken Heaven's Sword and restoring Baekje to its former glory. 30 years later, the only surviving warrior Woo-do vows to complete the task by seeking out Kanemaru, the master of swords, and bring the Heaven's Sword back to life. SAULABI is a spectacular Samurai epic with action choreographed by longtime Akira Kurosawa collaborator Eizi Takakura (Samurai Fiction).
Order No. 027 (1986)
Order No. 027 (1986)
A group of elite soldiers is sent across the border to South Korea to destroy a military base.
Flame in Valley (1967)
Flame in Valley (1967)
During the Korean War, a widow living in a village in a mountainous region in the South of the Korean Peninsula that has lost most of its men to the war finds a Communist guerilla gone AWOL hiding in a bamboo grove and develops a relationship with him.
Karuna (1996)
Karuna (1996)
In 1943, Yang Chunsoo, a descendant of a Koryo celadon maker, lives in a small village in the countryside, His younger son, Jongil, makes pottery without his father's approval in order to marry Poonim. When Chungsoo finds this out, he breaks every ceramic piece that his son has made. Poonim, without the money that was supposed to be given by Jongil leaves the village, angry and frustrated. Seven years later, when the Korean war erupts, Jongil returns to the village as an officer of the triumphant communist army. Later his elder brother, Jongsik, returns to the village as a South Korean army officer, Chunsoo stabs himself in the eye in order to stop the two brothers from fighting. The two brothers are, however, executed as scapegoats of an ideology. Twenty years later, Jinhyung, Chunsoo's grandson, takes over his grandfather's pottery business. He then learns about h is ancestor's mysterious past.
Last Sight of Heung-Nam (1984)
Last Sight of Heung-Nam (1984)
A North Korean soldier is severely wounded. He surrenders and is rescued by the South. The North Korean soldier surrendered to meet his father in the South. The soldier's last name is Han. He is 31 years old. His hometown is Heungnam. With those words, the soldier falls into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, the Heungnam Refugees Association sets out to find the father. They find three possible matches.
Abenko Green Beret (1982)
Abenko Green Beret (1982)
Abengo Corps is under the direct control of headquarters of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In order to conceal the Inchon Landing Operation, Abengo is assigned to the Wonsan Landing Operation as a decoy mission. With the operation soon at hand, the members of this operation go on a special vacation to Busan. Among them is Il-gyu. He meets with Bae Su-na, a refugee, and they spend a passionate, touching night of love together. The members perform their duties as ordered. Lieutenant Colonel Koh receives a coded message from the headquarters. Koh realizes that his men are a diversion for the Inchon Landing Operation. Lieutenant Koh is angered and resentful. And Lieutenant Sung is chosen to enter the battle instead of Lieutenant Colonel Koh. During the January 4 Retreat, Lieutenant Sung meets Su-na, who has had Il-gyu's son. Lieutenant Sung helps her out.