The 40 Best Korean Crime/Thriller/Mystery Films of the 21st Century
List activity
341K views
• 376 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
40 titles
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
- DirectorGeun-seop JeongStarsUhm JunghwaKim Sang-kyungSong Young-chang15 years ago, a mother lost her child in a kidnapping case. A similar crime happens again and she won't let him go this time.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsKim Hye-jaWon BinJin GooA mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLee Yeong-aeLee Byung-hunSong Kang-hoAfter 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.
- DirectorJe-gu YunStarsCha Seung-wonSong Yun-ahRyu Seung-ryongSung-ryeol is a detective in charge of violent crimes. He is an upright man, but is having an affair with his colleague's wife, and it is the reason he loses his own daughter in a car accident. Wracked with guilt but unable to explain to his wife, Ji-yeon, what happened on that day and why, he loses her in her grief. Ji-yeon comes home shaken and bloody late one evening, peaking Sung-ryeol's curiosity about his wife's behavior. The next day, Sung-ryeol finds trace evidence that points to his wife while investigating a murder scene. He presumes that his wife is connected to the case, and does all he can to keep her from being identified as a suspect. When an unidentified man shows up claiming to know Ji-yeon is involved and asking for money, the situation is made worse by Ji-yeon refusing to offer Sung-ryeol an explanation or tell him any kind of truth.
- DirectorPang Eun-jinStarsRyu Seung-beomLee Yo-wonCho Jin-woongBrilliant math teacher formulates the perfect cover-up, after his neighbor murders her abusive ex-husband.
- DirectorKyu-maan LeeStarsPark Yong-wooRyu Seung-ryongSung Dong-ilThe film is based on a true case from the early 1990s that is known among Koreans as the "disappearance of the frog children." In 1991, five elementary school students told their parents that they were going to hang out on a nearby mountain to catch frogs. They went missing.
- DirectorKim Byung-seoUi-seok JoStarsSol Kyung-guJung Woo-sungHan Hyo-jooA high-tech police surveillance team attempts to take down a gang of ruthless bank robbers.
- DirectorYoung-Sung SohnStarsHa Jung-wooPark Hee-soonJang HyukElite attorney Kang Seong-Hee goes up against a top prosecutor over a case involving a man accused of killing his wife.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoShin Ha-kyunBae DoonaA recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.
- DirectorByung-woo KimStarsWon-Jin AhnLee Da-witChoi Deok-moonA newsman discovers he's been rigged with a bomb after he has an exclusive interview with a terrorist who blew up a bridge.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsNam-mi KangJeong-nam ChoiHye-Sook GoAfter being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
- DirectorYoung-Joo ByunStarsLee Sun-kyunKim Min-heeJo Sung-haA man searches for his fiancée who vanished without a trace just before their wedding ceremony, only to discover the shocking identity of her.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsKim Yoon-seokHa Jung-wooSeo Yeong-hieA disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
- DirectorKim Seong-hunStarsLee Sun-kyunCho Jin-woongJeong Man-sikAfter trying to cover up a car accident that left a man dead, a crooked homicide detective is stalked by a mysterious man claiming to have witnessed the event.
- DirectorPark Shin-wooStarsHan Suk-kyuSon Ye-jinGo SooA pawnbroker is found murdered in a remote town. Police suspect that he was murdered by an acquaintance, as even the most experienced investigator on the case could identify no signs of resistance. Three people come under suspicion but all of them have perfect alibis and the investigation comes to a standstill. One year later, one of them is found dead and the original murder case becomes even more mysterious. Almost fifteen years pass and the lead inspector, now approaching retirement, reflects on the only case he could not solve in an otherwise successful career. Haunted by a sense of responsibility and guilt that he caused suffering by letting the murder case go unsolved, he decides to re-investigate. His persistent search brings attention to the long forgotten case and reveals a hidden relationship between the victim's son and the neighborhood woman's daughter. As their love grows, more crimes happen. As their sin grows, the inspector's chase comes closer to them.
- DirectorJung Doo HongKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunShin Min-aKim Yeong-cheolThings go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't follow his boss's orders.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoKim Ok-binChoi Hee-jinThrough a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsChris EvansJamie BellTilda SwintonIn a future where a failed climate change experiment has killed all life except for the survivors who boarded the Snowpiercer (a train that travels around the globe), a new class system emerges.
- DirectorHun JangStarsSong Kang-hoGang Dong-wonKo Chang-seokA fired South Korean agent and a deserted North Korean spy meet by chance after six years and start a business partnership, each with the intention of stealing information from the other.
- DirectorRyoo Seung-wanStarsHa Jung-wooHan Suk-kyuRyu Seung-beomJong-seong, a North Korean ghost agent, interrupts an illegal arms sale in Berlin. A notorious North Korean agent tests the loyalties of everyone involved as Jong-Seong prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsLee Yoo-miHa Jung-wooLee Hee-joonWhen the attempt to kill a professor goes wrong, a series of violent events are triggered which force a taxi driver to run for his life.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoByun Hee-BongPark Hae-ilA monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
- DirectorLee Jeong-beomStarsWon BinKim Sae-ronKim Tae-hoonA quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.