Korean History Movies

Sa Bangji was an intersex person who according to historical records lived during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty. Taken in by a kindly benefactor, Sa Bangji lives in a monastery that is one day visited by a young widow, Lee So-sa, who is in mourning following the death of her husband. The pair’s meeting seems predestined, with the erotic attraction between Sa Bangji and Lee So-sa soon evolving into something far more transcendent – and dangerous. While aspects of the film – its stylised depiction of female actors and sex – identify it as a product of its time, Sa Bangji is undeniably a milestone in screen representations of intersex people, a film that refuses to shy away from the horrendous stigmatization faced by its titular character.

In a remote mountain village of 15th-century Joseon, humble headman Heung-do hears a rumor that any village hosting an exiled nobleman will be blessed with abundance and fortune. Hoping to bring prosperity to his impoverished community, he eagerly submits a petition to host one—unaware that his guest is none other than the fallen monarch, deposed boy-king Danjong.

The story of Joseon's tyrant king Yeonsan who exploits the populace for his own carnal pleasures, his seemingly loyal retainer who controls him and all court dealings, and a woman who seeks vengeance.

The populace of a South Korean island rebels against police brutality. The protesters are labeled as communists, and the army is dispatched.

During the invasion of Normandy the photograph of a slim Korean man in German uniform was found. It transpired that the man had served as a soldier in the Japanese, Russian and German armies. His incredible story inspired director Kang Je-Gyu to create this epic war drama.

After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d'état bursts out by Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-shin, an obstinate soldier who believes the military should not take political actions, fights against Chun Doo-gwang to stop him. The conflict between the two grows while military leaders are holding their decision and Defense Minister is gone. In the midst of chaos, the spring of Seoul that everyone longed for heads to unexpected direction.

May, 1980. Man-seob is a taxi driver in Seoul who lives from hand to mouth, raising his young daughter alone. One day, he hears that there is a foreigner who will pay big money for a drive down to Gwangju city. Not knowing that he’s a German journalist with a hidden agenda, Man-seob takes the job.

When hijackers seize a Japanese flight and demand to fly to Pyongyang, a mysterious mastermind hatches a zany scheme to reroute the plane to Seoul.

After the death of their father, two siblings are raised by their father's best friend. However, when one gets kidnapped just before her wedding, the other rises against the Manchus.

South Korea, 1993. An agent of the National Intelligence Service is sent to Beijing to infiltrate a group of North Korean officials with the ultimate goal of obtaining information about their nuclear program.

When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.

A stud in a village living in a rice paddy is like a fellow who lives next door. So, the first night of two people starts, and the clinging rope does not exceed one minute and it is shut up as it is. The story of such a steal spreads in the neighborhood in a moment, and the knot that got to know it decides to leave the neighborhood in shock. The knot that has fallen in disrepair has helped an elderly person who is tired of hunger. In fact, the old man was a legendary old man. Kang will receive special expense training for the elderly. After that, he finds confidence and goes back to town …

Diplomats from the North and South Korean embassies in Somalia attempt a daring joint escape from Mogadishu when the outbreak of civil war leaves them stranded.

In 1925 Korea, Japanese rulers demand the last remaining tiger be killed. The tiger easily defeats his pursuers until a legendary hunter takes him on.

After being blinded in a coup against the king, Joseon's greatest swordsman goes into hiding, far removed from his city's anguish. But when traffickers kidnap his daughter, he has no choice but to unsheathe his sword once more.

Admiral Yi Sun-sin faces a tough challenge when he is forced to defend his nation with just 13 battleships against 300 Japanese enemy ships in the Battle of Myeongryang.

Kingdom of Goguryeo, ancient Korea, 645. The ruthless Emperor Taizong of Tang invades the country and leads his armies towards the capital, achieving one victory after another, but on his way is the stronghold of Ansi, protected by General Yang Man-chu, who will do everything possible to stop the invasion, even if his troops are outnumbered by thousands of enemies.

In 1592, admiral Yi Sun-sin and his fleet face off against the might of the invading Japanese navy and its formidable warships. As the Korean forces fall into crisis, the admiral resorts to using his secret weapon, the dragon head ships known as geobukseon, in order to change the tide of this epic battle at sea.

In the turbulent Joseon dynasty, army commander Min-jae watches ambitious Prince Yi Bang-won while becoming entwined with Ga-hee, a vengeful gisaeng. Fate collides as power shifts.

The son of a Chosun Dynasty general, Kim Du-han finds himself orphaned when the dynasty ends and the Japanese colonize Korea in the early 1900's. He sets out to build a resistance army in this historical drama.

In the Joseon Dynasty, two friends who grew up together — one the master and one the servant — reunite post-war as enemies on opposing sides.

The son of a freedom fighter, Sang-hun is a member of an anti-Japanese resistance group called "Seongjinhoe," composed of students who share a dedication to the cause of liberation. Their spiritual guide is a teacher named Song Un-in. One day, Yeong-ae, whose brother is a detective in the Japanese police force charged with monitoring independence movements, joins their group. Following a series of sporadic incidents, the students gather one night to resolve on an uprising, but are discovered by the police. Young-ae is wrongfully accused of betraying their plans, but she risks her life in order to allow the group members to escape. The morning after, the students of Gwangju rise up against the Japanese government.

A triangular relationship between Eo Woo-dong, her husband Lee Dong, and fantasy character Moo-gong, highlights on the first half of the Joseon Dynasty and portrays the contradicted life of the high class people, criticizing the modern day Korean society.

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.

In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.

In the latter years of the Korean Empire, Lee In Hwa, disguises herself as a man so she can join a group of young men determined to overthrow the colonial government. They fight together with young national activists presided by Hwal Min and supported by Daewon-gun, the Prince Regent, against Min Gyeom Ho and his peers. But Min and his team perform a surprise attack on Hwal Min and his peers.

Based on the traditional story of a girl who makes her blind father see by donating 300 bags of rice to Bongwon Temple.

Ancient Korea, 17th century. The powerful Khan of the Jurchen tribe of Manchuria, who fights the Ming dinasty to gain China, becomes the first ruler of the Qing dinasty and demands from King In-jo of Joseon to bow before him; but he refuses, being loyal to the Mings. On December 14th, 1636, the Qing horde invades Joseon, so King In-jo and his court shelter in the mountain fortress of Namhan and prepare to defend the kingdom.

A historical drama about the life of Prince Yeonsan of Joseon,.

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.

Jeong-ho is castrated by an ambitious minister for loving above his station. The minister also happens to be the father of Ja-ok, the girl Jeong-ho loved. He sends his daughter to the king as a concubine in a bid to gain favor, but the king sees through his motives and the instead forces Ja-ok into the position of a lowly kitchen maid. Jeong-ho sole hope in life is to save his former lover.

A nobleman bribes a maidservant to gain access to the palace and poison the crown prince. Another noble, loyal to the royal family, learns the of the plot and must learn the identity of the would-be assassin before he can succeed in throwing the country into chaos.

When a legendary Go master loses his title to a one-time friend and protégé, he sets out to reclaim it in a high-stakes battle of wits and skill.

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A squad of soldiers fight in the Korean War's crucial Battle of Incheon.

Set in the late 1920s, The Age of Shadows follows the cat-and-mouse game that unfolds between a group of resistance fighters trying to bring in explosives from Shanghai to destroy key Japanese facilities in Seoul, and Japanese agents trying to stop them.

In 1987 Korea under an oppressive military regime, the unlawful interrogation and death of a college student ignite ordinary citizens to fight for the truth and bring about justice.

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.

General Wang-gun marches on the capitol and overthrows the usurper Ku-jin who had slain the last king of the Shilla Dynasty. Wang-gun becomes king and begins a new era in Korean History--the Koryo Dynasty.

The Imjin War reaches its seventh year in December of 1598. Admiral Yi Sun-shin learns that the Wa invaders in Joseon are preparing for a swift withdrawal following the deathbed orders of their leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Determined to destroy the enemy once and for all, Admiral Yi leads an allied fleet of Joseon and Ming ships to mount a blockade and annihilate the Wa army. However, once Ming commander Chen Lin is bribed into lifting the blockade, Wa lord Shimazu Yoshihiro and his Satsuma army sail to the Wa army's rescue at Noryang Strait.