The 40 most popular 1960s korean movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


The Housemaid
1960 · 1h 52m
country: South Korea
A piano composer's family moves into a new house; when his pregnant wife collapses from working to support the family, he hires a housemaid to help with housework.


The Coachman
1961 · 1h 38m
country: South Korea
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.


Full Ship
1967 · 1h 24m
country: South Korea
A film picturing the lives and adversities of fishermen who live and die in the sea.


Iljimae the Chivalrous Robber
1961 · 2h 17m
country: South Korea
Iljimae's parents were killed due to a conspiracy when he was young. Many years later he became a chivalrous robber, robbing corrupt officials and helping the poor. He eventually manages in taking revenge for his parents' deaths. But the police start to chase him, and he hides himself at a gisaeng's house. The gisaeng was his ex-fiancee. She also lost her parents to a conspiracy. She begs Iljimae to stay with her, but he leaves to do what he has to.


Bound by Chastity Rule
1962 · 1h 41m
country: South Korea
The widow of a nobleman bears a son after having an affair with her servant. The servant and the baby are driven from the home by the woman's irate in-laws when the truth is discovered. Even after the child is grown, no contact is allowed between he and his mother who now denies the events of her past.


Desire
1968
country: South Korea
A doctor is shocked to learn that his girlfriend had formerly been the mistress of a married man.


The Eunuch
1968 · 1h 33m
country: South Korea
A nobleman sends his daughter to the king as a concubine in order to gain personal power and favors from the monarch. Her lover follows her into the palace disguised as a eunuch. They continue to meet in secret until discovered and sentenced to death.


Five Marines
1961 · 1h 58m
country: South Korea
A brigade of five marines are sent on a dangerous mission to capture an enemy stronghold during the Korean War.


Red Scarf
1964 · 1h 46m
country: South Korea
South Korean Air Force pilots engage in perilous missions against Communist North Koreans during the Korean War.


A Man And a Gisaeng
1969 · 1h 26m
country: South Korea
A young man who was fired from his job for being unmanly decides to dress as a woman and work as a gisaeng. He gets proposals from several of his male clients including his former boss, Heo. He earns enough money to clear his gisaeng life and opens his own business with his friend Jeong-hui. Meanwhile his sister tells him that she is getting married. Later he finds out that her future brother in-law is the son of Heo. He doesn't know how to react. But Heo takes the man back to his company.


Love Me Once Again
1968 · 1h 33m
country: South Korea
Hye-yeong had no idea that her lover, Shin-ho, was a married man until Shin-ho's wife and children arrive in town. She leaves him but reappears 8 years later asking him to take responsibilty for their child.


Yongary, Monster from the Deep
1967 · 1h 19m
country: Japan
Earthquakes in central Korea turn out to be the work of Yongary, a prehistoric gasoline-eating reptile that soon goes on a rampage through Seoul.


In So Long
1962 · 1h 30m
country: South Korea
"A Long Goodbye" - Taken in by an elderly woman and raised as her own, a boy spends all his days dreaming of the time when he can be reunited with his lost parents.


A Reluctant Prince
1963 · 2h 7m
country: South Korea
When King Heon-kong falls ill, a power struggle erupts over who will inherit the throne. Tired of all the infighting, the ministers arrange for a branch of the king's family, which had lost all its wealth and was living on remote Ganghwa Island, to inherit. But the heir to the throne is reluctant to leave his island home.


Mounted Bandits
1967
country: Unknown
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the daughter of a British diplomat is kidnapped by bandits. A Japanese commander offers to free some Korean prisoners of war if the Korean Independence Army rescues the woman.


The Martyrs
1965 · 2h 11m
country: South Korea
Out of fourteen ministers taken away by the communist troop, only two come back alive. The mystery behind their survival is at the issue here. Told through one of the survivor's testimony, depicts images of men troubled between the war and the religion. Although laden with anti-Communist notions from the 60's military regime.


Mr. Park
1960 · 2h 18m
country: South Korea
Mr. Park raises his children by repairing charcoal pits. Although ignorant and stubborn, Mr. Park has a good heart. He is displeased, however, with his eldest daughter, Yong-sun (Jo Mi-ryeong), because of her close relationship with Jae-cheon (Hwang hae), who is a scamp in his eyes. He is also unsatisfied with his second daughter, Myeong-sun (Eom Aeng-ran), for liking Ju-sik (Bang Su-il). Only his eldest son, Yong-beom (Kim Jin-gyu), is the apple of his eye, as he approves of his son's wife, Jeom-rye (Kim Hye-jeong). When Yong-beom is sent to a foreign branch office, Mr. Park is against it at first but approves of it, as he knows what it means for his son's future. Eventually, too, he begins to approve of his two daughters' relationships.


Seong Chun-hyang
1961 · 2h 24m
country: South Korea
Chun-hyang, the only daughter of an old gisaeng named Wolmae, falls in love with Lee Mong-nyong and promises to marry him. But Lee leaves for Seoul with his father who's an aristocrat, and the new governor, Byeon Hakdo, covets Chun-hyang because she is the most beautiful girl in town. When Chun-hyang rejects his order to serve him at night, Governor Byeon sends her to jail. In the mean time, Lee passes the state exam and becomes a special undercover agent of the king. He comes back to where Chun-hyang lives to save her and punishes Governor Byeon.
Herb of Desire
Herb of Desire
1968
country: South Korea
Two traditional stories. In the first, a girl marries the bravest man in the village so she can send him into a monster's lair to collect an mystic herb which can save her father's life. In the second story, even death cannot prevent a devoted wife from helping in her husband's success.


Ghost Story
1968
country: South Korea
An omnibus of the story of three women. In the first, a ghost takes revenge on the man who killed her sister. In story two, a woman decides it's payback time for a sexual predator. The final story tells the tale of a woman's opium addiction leading to a gruesome death.


To the Last Day
1960 · 1h 49m
country: South Korea
Captain Kim is grievously wounded in the first days of the war. When the northern troops continue their advance, his wife and small daughters flee south to Taegu, dragging him along in a two-wheel handcart. His wife struggles to keep herself and their surviving daughter alive. Working as a market trader, she meets a kind young man -- who happens to be tall, dark and handsome.
Legends
Legends
1968
country: South Korea
Three traditional Korean folktales. Story 1: The kindness and good deeds of a poor couple earns them a bag of gold from heaven. Story 2: A brave man battles a bloodthirsty ghost. Story 3: A man must choose between devotion to his lover or duty to his parents.


Wife's Confession
1964 · 1h 40m
country: South Korea
The professors' wife lives as abused mentally by her husband. One day the couple goes climbing with a young man, who works for a pharmaceutical company and often visits them on business. While they scales a cliff holding a rope, her husband under them loses his footing and falls down. When they all are about to fall, she cut the rope, so the husband died in a fall. She stands at the bar, but the court decides the case is an emergency evacuation. So she obtains an acquittal, but murderous intent in her mind must work on her.


Korean Alphabet
1967 · 7m
country: Canada
The Korean alphabet, illustrated with animation, spoken, and accompanied by music.


The Devil's Stairway
1964 · 1h 48m
country: South Korea
A chief surgeon kills the nurse with whom he is having an affair after he becomes engaged to be married to the hospital director's daughter. He becomes tormented by her spirit.


Kongjwi and Patjwi
1967 · 1h 11m
country: South Korea
The traditional Korean story of a Cinderella-like little girl. Kongjwi is a good, hard working girl who lives together with her cruel stepmother and the lazy Patjwi. Eventually kindly spirits arrive and assist Kongjwi escape her miserable home life.


The Story of Sim Cheong
1962
country: South Korea
Based on the traditional story of a girl who makes her blind father see by donating 300 bags of rice to Bongwon Temple.


A Drifting Story
1960 · 2h 4m
country: South Korea
This melodrama follows the trials and tribulations of a single mother who dares to love. Hyun Hee (Mun Jeong Suk) makes a living running a coffee house. She has to support her illegitimate daughter and mother, and bear the scorn of those who look down on her. Hyun Hee falls in love with a married writer (Kim Jin Kyu), while another customer (Choi Mu Ryong) holds a torch for her. The romantic triangles that unfold lead to tragic consequences.


Life
1969 · 1h 14m
country: South Korea
The film based on the true story of Kim Gwang-seon, a mineworker who survived a collapse of Gubong Mine in August 22, 1967. The story focuses on the importance of saving a life, and the survivors' will to live.


Seven People in the Cellar
1969 · 1h 37m
country: South Korea
Father An is locked up in a basement by retreating North Korean soldiers while reconstructing his church ruined during the Korean War (1950-1953). The North Koreans hide in the basement with Father An and tries to escape the church by using him as a shield. Captain Choe Dong-ho of the South Korean Army has been chasing the remnants, but he cannot annihilate them because of the safety of Father An. However, thanks to the clever strategy of Captain Choe, the North Koreans are killed and Father An is safely saved.


An Empty Dream
1965 · 1h 40m
country: South Korea
While under the effects of anasthesia in a dentist's office, a young man and woman fantasize a romantic triangle between themselves and the dentist.


Bumpkin Oh-bok
1961 · 2h 17m
country: South Korea
Kind-hearted country bumpkin O-bok leads a simple life working as a long-time farmhand for the rich landlord Soon-young. When Soon-young discovers that his son Jae-seok has fallen for local girl Soon-yi, he protests the relationship and arranges for Soon-yi to be wed to O-bok instead. Despite the initial heartbreak, Soon-yi grows fond of O-bok over time and they have a daughter together named Sook-hee. However, when Jae-seok returns into Soon-yi’s life, she cannot resist his charms and runs away with him, leaving Jae-seok to raise Sook-hee on his own. Years later, Sook-hee is now a grown woman working in the city and in close contact with her father. However, a series of coincidences threaten to forcibly reunite O-bok and Sook-hee with Jae-seok and Soon-young in the most dramatic way possible.


Prince Daewon
1968 · 2h
country: South Korea
When King Cheol-jang dies, the throne passes to his son King Ko-jang but, because he is considered to be too inexperienced, his ambitious uncle rules as regent. The rightful king's wife, the politically brilliant Queen Min, refuses to accept this situation and brings about the uncle's exile in order to secure the throne.
Why a Cuckoo Cries
Why a Cuckoo Cries
1967 · 1h 43m
country: South Korea
The only son of a government official Yun loves Ok-hwa, the daughter of former gisaeng Gye-seon. But his father doesn't feel good about having a daughter of a former gisaeng as his daughter-in-law. He matches him instead with the only daughter of another official. Soon, Ok-hwa dies of lovesickness missing Yun so much. The ghost of her appears to Yun, who betrayed her and married another woman, to make him repent for his fault.


The Barefooted Young
1964 · 1h 56m
country: South Korea
Jo Doo-soo, a member of a gang, comes across and helps Joanna, a college student who is about to have her handbag robbed by the bullies on her way home. Joanna is a diplomat's daughter and living the life of the upper class; whereas, Jo Doo-soo wastes his days serving the gang. Attracted to one another because of their opposite lives, Doo-soo and Joanna quickly fall in love. Being a devout Christian, Joanna believes that if only Doo-soo changed his thoughts about the way he lives, he could be a new person...


When Night Falls at Myeongdong
1964 · 1h 40m
country: South Korea
A beautiful nightclub owner finds herself desired by many men, but she is saving herself for the one man she cannot have .


Elegy of Ren
1969 · 1h 28m
country: South Korea
Simon, a painter, regains the use of his hands thanks to therapy administered by Ren. Later, when Simon is kidnapped by communists and forced to paint a portrait of Stalin, Ren again helps him by assisting in his escape. Simon's wife, however, is less than pleased at their growing friendship and becomes determined to keep them apart.


River of Love
1967 · 1h 32m
country: South Korea
The movie follows a series of twists surrounding a child's paternity after a mother unknowingly becomes pregnant.


Past Loves
1968 · 1h 42m
country: South Korea
During a concert in Japan a singer encounters his childhood sweetheart and their old love is rekindled with new passion. However their love is a problem for the singer because he is already engaged to the daughter of his mentor.


The Public Cemetery Under the Moon
1967 · 1h 27m
country: South Korea
Kisaeng Wol-ha marries Kim Han-su, but soon dies because of a false accusation made up by her mother-in-law and very own servant. Now, the ghost of Wol-ha wants revenge!
The 1960s broke the old rules everywhere at once — the French New Wave, the collapse of the Hollywood Production Code, and new waves across Europe and Japan reshaping what a film could show and say.
South Korean cinema spent the 2000s building a reputation for genre films that refuse to stay in their lane — thrillers that turn into family dramas, revenge stories with slapstick. Parasite's Best Picture win in 2020 confirmed what festival audiences had known for two decades.