124 Best Movies to Watch In Korean (Page 3)

When life gets tough, especially without money or opportunities, it can be hard to cling onto life. There’s the real temptation to end it all, but what if Death is tired of this last resort? Death’s Game reimagines life after Choi’s suicide as a video game, whose limited lives function like reincarnation into different save points, and whose game over means eternal damnation in hell. With such an interesting premise from the popular webtoon, some of the best actors in Korea, and no way of being able to predict what would happen in Choi’s multiple, varied lives, Death’s Game reinvents plenty of today’s K-Drama tropes while possibly reconceptualizing how we feel about life and death… if it’s able to stick the landing when the second half drops this January.

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Choi Si-won, Go Youn-jung, Jang Seung-jo, Kim Jae-wook, Kim Ji-hun, Kim Kang-hoon, Kim Mi-kyeong, Lee Do-hyun, Lee Jae-wook, Nam Kyung-eup, Oh Jung-se, Park So-dam, Seo In-guk, Sung Hoon, Yoo In-soo

Director: Ha Byung-hoon

More a showcase of various styles of animation than an expansion of Star Wars lore (and all the better for it), Visions finds some of the freshest expression for these tired tropes—rendered in what are easily the best visuals this franchise has ever seen. Across the 18 episodes of its first two seasons, the series communicates the mystical nature of this universe with much more ease than the live-action films do. And even as Visions begins to repeat some of the exact same ideas and story structures in multiple episodes, the repetition also begins to feel like the reinforcement of a universal narrative throughout time and space: there will always be light that will counter the darkness, often coming from the bonds between family and friends.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

A mysterious rotting smell and hard thuds heard from above start the series off on an eerie note. Moon Joo-ran (Kim Tae-hee) is a seemingly perfect housewife, but under the guise of her well-kept home are a secretive husband and a son who possibly resents her (currently unknown) condition. Meanwhile, Chu Sang-eun (Lim Ji-yeon) is trapped in an abusive marriage and dreams of escape. As Joo-ran becomes paranoid about the smell in her backyard and Sang-eun gathers evidence to leave her husband, the two women find a harrowing revelation. Leads Kim and Lim immediately offer memorable, haunting performances, while the setup described above is a captivating start to a psychological thriller that promises a web of secrets and lies.

Genre: Crime, Mystery

Actor: Baek Hyun-joo, Cha Mi-kyeong, Cha Sung-je, Choi Jae-rim, Im Ji-yeon, Kim Sung-oh, Kim Tae-hee, Lim Ji-yeon

Director: Jung Jee-hyun

There are plenty of divorce-related Korean dramas, but Divorce Attorney Shin is a gem among them. Based on the webtoon with the same name, the show is centered on an eccentric lawyer, whose trot-dancing ways and unconventional handling of clients doesn’t detract from his winning cases. Instead of the ruthless and collected attorneys we’ve seen previously, Shin Sung-han has a human side, a side that enables him to empathize with his clients. And like the lawyer, the show does the same, handling multiple cases, without discarding them by the end of the episode, and embracing its nuances in a well-rounded way.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Cho Seung-woo, Han Hye-jin, Jung Moon-sung, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Eun-jae

Rating: TV-MA

After a whole pandemic, rising inflation, and a whole climate crisis the world hasn’t yet resolved, it can be hard to feel hope towards a new day. However, the third collaboration between director Oh Choong-hwan and screenwriter Park Hye-ryun feels like a reminder to keep hope despite life’s circumstances. Castaway Diva has the classic manic pixie dream girl, but you have to admit that Seo Mok-ha’s optimism and survival instincts despite serious life circumstances makes it easy for her to root for. The way she appreciates what modern life has to offer makes it easy to appreciate how much good came up even just within 15 years. And with an unexpected mix of ecology and abuse themes, it stands out from other dramas, even when it gets instantly and unexpectedly serious.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Cha Hak-yeon, Chae Jong-hyeop, Kim Hyo-jin, Kim Joo-heon, Park Eun-bin

Director: Oh Choong-hwan

When the psychometric powers of the main character are only activated when she touches a butt, you know that Behind Your Touch will be as silly and hilarious as the show’s powers. The K-drama gets into ridiculous moments, oftentimes inspired by other dramas from the action, horror, and romance genres, but done in exaggeration for comedic effect. And the cast really gets into the action, with Han Ji-min and Lee Min-ki’s excellent chemistry and timing able to deliver the jokes written by the team. As the first season will end soon, it’s hard to say if the ending will be as good as its start, but so far, Behind Your Touch takes interesting comedic twists of the K-Drama tropes we all know and love.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Han Ji-min, Joo Min-kyung, Jung Yi-rang, Kim Hee-won, Lee Min-ki, Lee Seung-joon, Park Hyeok-kwon, Park No-shik, Park Sung-yeon, Suho, Yang Jae-sung

Director: Kim Sok-yun

The Killing Vote takes the "vote to kill" storyline and pairs an anonymous vigilante with an ambitious yet apathetic officer, creating an intriguing setup that questions how everyday inequalities extend to the justice system. The first episode is quite disturbing as it tackles child pornography, but with this pilot, the series is able to cement an expectation it fulfills in succeeding episodes: this is a severe show that tackles severe cases and severe criminals. Coupled with immersive performances across the board (the star-studded cast includes K-drama staples Park Hae-jin, Park Sung-woong, and Lim Ji-yeon), The Killing Vote is already off to a high-intensity start. If it keeps this up, it very well could be one of 2023's best.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Kim Yu-mi, Lim Ji-yeon, Park Hae-jin, Park Sung-woong, Shin Jung-geun

Director: Park Shin-woo