If you're a film fan who has made it to 2024 without checking out the thriving world of Korean cinema, now's the time to change that. In the past decade, South Korean entertainment has found breakthrough success in the U.S., with thrilling blockbusters like Train to Busan and Oldboy becoming beloved classics to Parasite and Minari star Youn Yuh-jung taking home Academy Awards. The Korean film wave isn't slowing down any time soon, and South Korea's 2024 releases have included several acclaimed films and box-office hits. Some on the list: Don Lee's latest apocalyptic action flick; an adorable dog-filled romance; a chilling exorcist thriller; and a moving documentary about the matriarchal culture practice of haenyeo diving.
Read on to discover the Korean films coming to U.S. theaters and streaming platforms this year. (And if you're looking to get your feet wet in Korean cinema, check out our recommendations for the best Korean movies on Netflix and the best Korean movies of 2023.)
'Alienoid 2: Return to the Future'
This sequel to the genre-bending 2022 film topped the Korean box office, starting off the year with a high-octane continuation of the war between aliens and humans. When a mysterious time portal opens, Goryeo-era Taoists searching for a legendary sword cross paths with fighters from 2022 hunting an alien imprisoned in a human's body.
'Badland Hunters'
This Netflix action-thriller takes place in a dystopian future, after a massive earthquake levels Seoul. In this lawless wasteland lives Nam San (Don Lee), a notorious huntsman who does what he can to survive. When he makes friends with a teen who is abducted by a barbarous doctor (Lee Hee-joon), the badland hunter becomes determined to rescue her.
'Brave Citizen'
This adaptation of Kim Junghyun's webtoon of the same name finally landed on streaming this year. Former boxing champion turned high school teacher So Si-min (Shin Hye-sun) witnesses incidents of school bullying every day, but she keeps her head down to keep her job. When Han Su-gang (Lee Jun-young) goes too far, Si-min decides to fight school bullying head-on, as a masked pseudo-vigilante.
'Citizen of a Kind'
This action comedy based on a real-life incident follows a housewife (Ra) determined to take down a voice phishing operation after she loses her entire savings. With the help of friends and one of her scammers who agrees to become an informant, she tracks down the masterminds behind the scam ring.
'Dog Days'
This heartwarming comedy featuring Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung follows pet owners who cross paths in a vet's office. It chronicles their relationships to their pets as well as the relationships they form with each other.
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'Escape'
This tense thriller centers on Lim Kyu-nam (Lee), a North Korean sergeant who has recently completed his mandatory decade of military service. Even though he's been honored as a hero, Kyu-nam makes the sudden decision to defect to South Korea, grabbing a chance at a life lived on his terms.
'Exhuma'
This creepy Korean horror movie follows a pair of young shamans (played by Lee and Kim) hired to save a wealthy L.A. family that's being tormented by the "dark shadow of an ancestor," per the film's description. The duo teams up with an exorcist (Choi) and a mortician (Yoo) to exhume the ancestor's grave in a remote Korean village. "The exhumation is carried out, but unleashes a malevolent force buried beneath."
'Hijack 1971'
In this action-thriller based on a true story, an ordinary domestic flight in 1971 South Korea takes a terrifying turn when a stranger (played by Yeo Jin-goo) hijacks the aircraft and directs the pilots to fly towards North Korea.
'The Last of the Sea Women'
Produced by Malala Yousafzai and directed by Sue Kim, this acclaimed documentary peers into the lives of the Haenyeo, a group of specialized female divers on South Korea's Jeju Island who harvest seafood without using oxygen. Kim chronicles the diminishing number of Haenyeo, from the senior fisherwomen in their 70s and 80s to 30-somethings who document the evolution of the cultural practice through social media.
'Mission Cross'
Hwang Jung-min and Yum Jung-ah star as a married couple facing the ultimate test in this action-comedy. Kang-mu (Hwang) is a former spy turned househusband, and his wife Mi-seon (Yum), one of Seoul's most shrewd detectives, has no idea about his past. When a female former colleague seeks Kang-mu's assistance, he tries to help her without Mi-seon finding out, leading to a huge misunderstanding in the middle of a life-threatening mission.
'My Name Is Loh Kiwan'
This emotional drama follows a North Korean defector (Song) who escapes to Belgium and struggles to adjust to the foreign culture as he waits for refugee status. He soon falls for a young Korean woman (Choi) who has lost the will to live.
'Noryang: Deadly Sea'
The final film in Kim Han-min's epic historical war trilogy (following 2014's The Admiral: Roaring Currents and 2022's Hansan: Rising Dragon) sees Kim Yoon-seok step into the role of the famed Admiral Yi Sun-sin. This time, the war hero faces the battle of Noryang, the last major battle of Japan's invasion of Joseon in the late 1500s.
'Officer Black Belt'
This action buddy comedy reunites Black Knight director Jason Kim with star Kim Woo-bin, as the actor depicts the world of "martial arts officers." When he rescues an officer from an assault and temporarily takes up the post, he partners with a dedicated probation officer (played by Kim Sung-kyun) to keep the community safe.
'The Roundup: Punishment'
Another year, another Roundup movie for our inner action stans. This time, Ma Seok-do (Don Lee) and his team have to team with cybercrime experts to take down an online gambling ring based in the Phillippines, run by former Korean Special Forces officer Baek Chang-ki (Kim).
WATCH IT IN THEATERS
'Sleep'
This marital psychological thriller from writer/director Jason Yu finally arrived in the U.S. one year after its acclaimed 2023 debut at Cannes Film Festival. It follows Soo-jin (Train to Busan's Jung Yu-mi) and Hyun-su (Parasite's Lee Sun-kyun, in one of his final roles before his death), a couple expecting their first child and whose lives are rocked when Hyun-su starts exhibiting strange and disturbing behaviors while sleepwalking. Per the film's description, "Despite treatment, Hyun-su’s sleepwalking only intensifies, and Soo-jin begins to feel that her unborn child may be in danger."
'Troll Factory'
In this satirical, documentary-style crime drama, Son Suk-ku plays Yim Sang-jin, a passionate investigative reporter who releases an exposé about the country’s biggest conglomerate. However, after a flood of online comments claim the article is false, a newly-suspended Sang-jin is approached by a man claiming to know the truth behind the trolls. As Sang-jin investigates the "troll factory," it becomes less and less clear, to both the reporter and the viewer, what's true and false.
'Uprising'
This historical epic, co-written and co-produced by acclaimed director Park Chan-wook is "set in the Joseon era, during a tumultuous time in the aftermath of war," per the film's description. "Uprising takes viewers on a gripping journey through the lives of two childhood friends turned adversaries: Cheon-yeong, a slave with remarkable martial prowess who struggles to break free from an unjust servitude, and Jong-ryeo, Cheon-yeong’s master and scion of Joseon’s most influential military family."
'Victory'
This sports comedy takes viewers back to 1999, following a group of determined girls in the small town of Geoje, as best friends Pil-seon (Lee Hyeri) and Mi-na (Park) set out to form a cheerleading team called Millennium Girls.
'Wonderland'
This long-awaited sci-fi romance film follows multiple people living in a world where people can reunite with deceased or comatose loved ones via "advanced virtual reality technology," per Netflix's description. The ensemble includes a mother (Tang Wei) who uses the tech to reconnect with her daughter, and a woman (Bae Suzy) who uses it to communicate with her comatose boyfriend (Park Bo-gum).
'Yumi's Cells: The Movie'
A hit webtoon has been adapted into a full-length animated film for the first time in South Korea. This new adaptation of Lee Dong-eun's webtoon—which originally ran from 2015 to 2020 and was previously adapted into a live-action K-drama in 2021—follows office worker Yumi as she pursues her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. The story is told through the many cells that inhabit her body—think Inside Out but with way more emotions (including a "Writer Cell," a "Hunger Cell," and a "Love Cell.")
