Since Parasite‘s incredible popularity, moviegoers have sought more South Korean film production. Unbeknownst to many, South Korea is known for crafting gritty, honest films that accurately represent the harsh realities of life, especially crime movies. It could be the sincerity or the unapologetically exploring the worst aspects of society yet occasionally managing to give viewers hope that makes Korean crime movies so attractive to spectators.
It’s no secret that crime movies are the most engaging to watch. Maybe it’s the way they blend the action with more severe issues like shady politics, racism, and criminal justice system corruption. Or perhaps it’s merely the joy of watching criminal masterminds carry out their master plans. Either way, they all make for fascinating stories. Thus, these are some must-watch South Korean crime thriller movies of the 21st century you can stream right now.
30
‘Confession of Murder’ (2012)
Written and directed by Jung Byung-gil in his first mainstream feature, Confession of Murder is inspired by the Hwaseong serial murders committed by Lee Choon-jae between 1986 and 1994, which also inspired 2003’s Memories of Murder. The action thriller film follows Lee Doo-seok (Park Si-hoo), a fictionalized representation of Choon-jae, who publishes a tell-all book confessing to his crimes from 15 years earlier, which have fallen outside the statute of limitations. While a police officer begins searching for Lee, a new series of murders terrorizes the locals.
Even though several plot points feel a bit absurd and unrealistic, and the narrative falls short of being a complex character drama, Confession of Murder delivers a fast-paced, suspenseful crime thriller with strong performances. The South Korean crime movie succeeds in its well-staged action sequences and a quick succession of problems and solutions, supported by remarkable stunt work, culminating in a thrilling serial killer story with surprising twists. —Maddie P
29
‘Children…’ (2011)
Directed by Lee Gyu-man, Children…revisits the haunting real-life, 1991 case of the Frog Boys of Daegu, where five young boys set out into the mountains to hunt frogs and never returned, becoming one of South Korea’s most infamous unsolved cases. When an ambitious documentary filmmaker teams up with a professor to solve the mystery of the missing children, they begin to suspect one of the boys’ parents is responsible for the group’s disappearance.
A deeply emotional and hard-hitting crime film, Children… is regarded as one of the most intense South Korean thrillers of the 21st century and is often underrated. The film has been acclaimed for its realistic portrayal of the real incident in a compelling, suspenseful narrative, which makes the film linger with the audience. With its gripping pace and convincing cast performance, with edge-of-the-seat mystery, Children… makes for a chilling true crime thriller on the lines of Lost Girls. —Maddie P
28
‘Unstoppable’ (2018)
Starring Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-Seok) of Badland Hunters and directed by Kim Min-ho, Unstoppable follows Dong-Cheol (Lee), an infamous former gangster-turned-seafood distributor who has retired from the mob life and lives a quiet life with his wife. When one day, Dong-Cheol returns home and finds his wife missing, with an ominous note from a human trafficker, he resorts to his old ways and sets out to rescue his wife from the kidnappers.
While it is no Oldboy, Unstoppable makes for a gripping South Korean crime film, joining the ranks of popular assassin films like Kill Boksoon or revenge flicks like Lady Vengeance. The film’s narrative balances the hardcore assassin action with a strong emotional core rooted in Dong-Cheol’s desperate desire to save his wife. Unstoppable thrives in the compelling performance of Don Lee as the gritty, invincible gangster, and his thrilling revenge story about one man on a do-or-die mission and facing his old demons. —Maddie P
27
‘The Drug King’ (2018)
A classic crime story that documents the rise and fall of an ambitious drug lord, The Drug King presents a familiar tale that all lovers of crime cinema can appreciate. Based on a true story, the Netflix original South Korean film follows a small-time drug dealer and smuggler from Busan who, throughout the 1970s, rose to become the head of the biggest drug empire in Japan.
Grounded by the ever-astonishing Song Kang-ho who is flawless in the starring role, The Drug Lord overcomes its pitfalls and somewhat formulaic narrative approach with an ultra-violent and foul-mouthed fervor that imbues it with a comedic slant as well as plenty of dramatic intrigue. At its best, it is a striking and evocative crime epic that brings a vibrant and infectious personality to its age-old central message that crime doesn’t pay. —Ryan Heffernan
26
‘Time to Hunt’ (2020)
One of the more intriguing genre mash-ups in recent years, Time to Hunt blends crime and action thrills with a dystopian near-future setting as it runs as an eye-popping and relentlessly intense heist story. It follows four friends in South Korea where the won has tanked in value who plan to hold up an illegal gambling house to steal its stash of U.S. currency. In the aftermath of the robbery, they find themselves being hunted by a ruthless assassin.
It jam-packs its 134-minute runtime with impressive action set pieces and pulsating thrills, but it is also eager to incorporate a central story of desperate youths driven to extreme measures to scrap their way out of their dead-end environment. As a result, the film perhaps bites off more than it can chew, but the ambitious might of Time to Hunt deserves immense praise, as does its sublime technical craft. —Ryan Heffernan
25
‘Night in Paradise’ (2020)
South Korean neo-noir cinema, regardless of the quality of the final film, deserves immense praise for its eagerness to mix established visual styles with challenging and unique stories to present fresh and vibrant movies. While Night in Paradise isn’t immune to some of the misguided self-indulgence that this marriage of genre and story can bring, it is a crime drama ultimately defined by its strengths more so than its weaknesses.
It follows a mobster hiding out on Jeju island after a violent tragedy who, despite having a target on his back, forms a deep connection with a woman who has lost the will to live. While it is a touch overlong and expands on scenes unnecessarily, Night in Paradise thrives with its assured plotting, its intriguing characters, and its use of violence to be an engrossing gangster film with an offbeat contemplative edge. —Ryan Heffernan
24
‘A Hard Day’ (2014)
Meshing crime thrills with action intensity, A Hard Day thrives as a pulse-raising journey of guilt and deceit complemented by a brilliantly twisted sense of dark humor. Ko (Lee Sun-kyun) is a corrupt detective readying for his mother’s funeral while fretting about his unit being investigated by internal affairs. When he is involved in a hit-and-run incident that kills a homeless man, Ko tries to hide the body in his mother’s coffin, but he is soon targeted by an extortionist who knows what he did.
The film was only a quiet hit upon release, but it quickly garnered a strong reputation through word-of-mouth praise, with audiences and critics alike admiring its relentless thrills and its inflections of comedy. Its constant air of ridiculousness proves to be its greatest strength, with the film thriving as an enjoyable heart-stopper throughout the entirety of its 110-minute runtime. —Ryan Heffernan
23
‘Joint Security Area’ (2000)
A fascinating crime mystery that also flourishes as a scintillating political thriller, Joint Security Area is an entrancing nosedive into the strained diplomatic relationship between North Korea and South Korea. It follows investigator Major Sophie E. Jean (Lee Young-ae) from the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission as she is tasked with looking into the shooting of two North Korean soldiers on the border. While the assailant is quickly identified, his claims that he acted in self-defense prove to be difficult to corroborate against accounts from North Korea that it was a premeditated attack.
Tense, twisty, and with a tight thematic focus on the elusive nature of truth and justice, the film stands as one of Park Chan-wook’s defining highlights, as well as a gripping crime and political thriller. It maintains a quiet contemplative insight that intelligently uses the ever-rising stakes to deliver a complex story with thought-provoking characters and a grounded yet powerful emotional core. —Ryan Heffernan
22
‘Kill Boksoon’ (2023)
Kill Boksoon is a Netflix crime thriller that centers on renowned hitwoman Gil Bok-soon (Jeon Do-Yeon), a single mother who feels distant from her adolescent daughter Gil Jae-young (Kim Si-a) despite being the best at her job.
The movie is an incredibly entertaining action-thriller that more than makes up for its predictable flaws with a ton of fantastic set pieces, compelling domestic drama, and odd humor. Kill Boksoon has been compared to a female version of John Wick, however, with more humor and heartfelt scenes while also being able to criticize many societal concerns.
21
‘The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil’ (2019)
A serial murder case is being investigated in Cheonan, but it leads to nowhere. However, only Tae-suk (Kim Mu-yeol), a police officer, recognizes that all the murders are the work of the same assailant and begins an inquiry. Later, a strange man attacks Dong-soo (Ma Dong-seok), a gang boss, and Tae-suk suspects that this man is the serial killer K (Kim Sungkyu), and Dong-soo becomes K’s only survivor.
Thanks to Park Se-Seung‘s clean and vivid cinematography, the movie is visually appealing and is drenched in neon and dramatic lighting. The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is, for the most part, a fast-paced, exciting crime-thriller with two fascinating leads. Also, it successfully tackles the gangster film clichés and combines the action thriller with the cop story in a novel way, which quickly draws in the audience.
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