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


Parasite
2019 · 2h 13m · KR
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.


The Handmaiden
2016 · 2h 25m · KR
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sook-hee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.


Train to Busan
2016 · 1h 58m · KR
When a zombie virus pushes Korea into a state of emergency, those trapped on an express train to Busan must fight for their own survival.


Oldboy
2003 · 2h · KR
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.


Peninsula
2020 · 1h 56m · KR
A soldier and his team battle hordes of post-apocalyptic zombies in the wastelands of the Korean Peninsula.


Memories of Murder
2003 · 2h 11m · KR
A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.


The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
2019 · 1h 50m · KR
After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, while Jang Dong-su wants K dead, Jung Tae-suk is determined to bring him to justice. With a deal in place—whoever finds K first will decide his fate—the hunt begins, blurring the lines between crime and law.


Decision to Leave
2022 · 2h 19m · KR
From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.


No Other Choice
2025 · 2h 19m · KR
After being laid off and humiliated by a ruthless job market, a veteran paper mill manager descends into violence in a desperate bid to reclaim his dignity.


Dark Nuns
2025 · 1h 55m · KR
Desperation drives two nuns to perform an exorcism no nun should attempt. With a possessed child at the mercy of evil and the opposition of the Catholic Church, they take on the dangerous forbidden rituals themselves, putting their immortal souls in grave danger. They must confront the terrifying cost of their sacrilegious actions, but one goal remains: the boy must be saved at all costs.


Humint
2026 · 2h · KR
A South Korean agent hunts a drug ring in Russia and goes head-to-head with a North Korean operative — pulling both into peril and tangled secrets.


I Saw the Devil
2010 · 2h 24m · KR
Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. Soo-hyeon, a top-secret agent, decides to track down the murderer himself. He promises himself that he will do everything in his power to take vengeance against the killer, even if it means that he must become a monster himself.


Hidden Face
2024 · 1h 53m · KR
Su-yeon, a cellist in an orchestra led by her fiancé and conductor Sung-jin, disappears one day, leaving behind only a video recording. Sung-jin is devasted over the loss of Su-yeon, but feels a strong attraction to Mi-ju, a cellist who fills in for his fiancée. Then one rainy night, Sung-jin and Mi-ju get swept away by their mutual desires for each other and commit an unforgivable act at Su-yeon's house.


The Witch: Part 2. The Other One
2022 · 2h 17m · KR
A girl wakes up in a huge secret laboratory, then accidentally meets another girl who is trying to protect her house from a gang. The mystery girl overthrows the gang with her unexpected powers, and laboratory staff set out to find her.


Scarlet Innocence
2014 · 1h 51m · KR
A university professor gradually succumbing to blindness is entranced by an obsessive love, in this modern-day adaptation of a classic Korean fairy tale.


Exhuma
2024 · 2h 14m · KR
After tracing the origin of a disturbing supernatural affliction to a wealthy family's ancestral gravesite, a team of paranormal experts relocates the remains—and soon discovers what happens to those who dare to mess with the wrong grave.


Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds
2017 · 2h 19m · KR
Having died unexpectedly, firefighter Ja-hong is taken to the afterlife by 3 afterlife guardians. Only when he passes 7 trials over 49 days and proves he was innocent in human life, he’s able to reincarnate, and his 3 afterlife guardians are by his side to defend him in trial.


Project Wolf Hunting
2022 · 2h 2m · KR
While under heavily armed guard, the dangerous convicts aboard a cargo ship unite in a coordinated escape attempt that soon escalates into a bloody, all-out riot. But as the fugitives continue their brutal campaign of terror, they soon discover that not even the most vicious among them is safe from the horror they unknowingly unleashed from the darkness below deck.


Ninja Assassin
2009 · 1h 39m · US
Ninja Assassin follows Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge.


The Chaser
2008 · 2h 5m · KR
Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp, who's in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting with right now.


Burning
2018 · 2h 28m · KR
Deliveryman Jong-su is out on a job when he runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks if he'd mind looking after her cat while she's away on a trip to Africa. On her return, she introduces to Jong-su an enigmatic young man named Ben, who she met during her trip. One day Ben tells Jong-su about his most unusual hobby.


The Outlaws
2017 · 2h 1m · KR
In Chinatown, law and order is turned upside down when a trio of feral Chinese gangsters arrive, start terrorizing civilians, and usurping territory. The beleaguered local gangsters team up with the police, lead by the badass loose cannon Ma Seok-do, to bring them down. Based on a true story.


The Roundup
2022 · 1h 46m · KR
The 'Beast Cop' Ma Seok-do heads to a foreign country to extradite a suspect, but soon after his arrival, he discovers additional murder cases and hears about a vicious killer who has been committing crimes against tourists for several years.


Joint Security Area
2000 · 1h 48m · KR
Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The lead investigator (Lee Young-ae) receives differing accounts from the two sides.


The Roundup: No Way Out
2023 · 1h 45m · KR
Detective Ma Seok-do changes his affiliation from the Geumcheon Police Station to the Metropolitan Investigation Team, in order to eradicate Japanese gangsters who enter Korea to commit heinous crimes.


Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days
2018 · 2h 21m · KR
As the deceased soul Ja-hong and his three afterlife guardians prepare for their remaining trials for reincarnation, the guardians soon come face to face with the truth of their tragic time on Earth 1,000 years earlier.


The Man from Nowhere
2010 · 1h 59m · KR
A reclusive pawnshop owner goes on a brutal rampage to rescue a young girl kidnapped by a criminal organization.


Forgotten
2017 · 1h 48m · KR
Jin-seok, 21-year-old, moves into a new house with his family. He suffers from a slight schizophrenia but he carries an ordinary life under the warm care of the family. His older brother Yu-seok is a decent college student, a mentor, and role model for Jin-seok. One night, his beloved brother is kidnapped by unidentified assailants before Jin-seok's eye. Jin-seok can’t recognize their faces, but can remember only the VIN that matches with no car. After long silence of 19 days, suddenly Yu-seok returns home, but remembers nothing which had happened in the meantime. And soon Jin-seok feels Yu-seok is a total stranger.


Lady Vengeance
2005 · 1h 55m · KR
Released after being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 13 years, a woman begins executing her elaborate plan of retribution.


Ballerina
2023 · 1h 33m · KR
Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn't protect, an ex-bodyguard sets out to fulfill her dear friend's last wish: sweet revenge.


Mantis
2025 · 1h 53m · KR
The secret society of contract killers falls into chaos, unleashing a new breed of assassins. With old rules in ruins, who dares claim the shadows?


Holy Night: Demon Hunters
2025 · 1h 32m · KR
When a devil-worshipping criminal network plunges Seoul into chaos, the police turn to Holy Night—a trio of supernatural demon hunters—to restore order and defeat the rising evil.


Concrete Utopia
2023 · 2h 10m · KR
The world has been reduced to rubble by a massive earthquake. While no one knows for sure how far the ruins stretch, or what the cause of the earthquake may be, in the heart of Seoul there is only one apartment building left standing. It is called Hwang Gung Apartments. As time passes, outsiders start coming in to Hwang Gung Apartments trying to escape the extreme cold. Before long, the apartment residents are unable to cope with the increasing numbers. Feeling a threat to their very survival, the residents enact a special measure.


Ashfall
2019 · 2h 8m · KR
A group of unlikely heroes from across the Korean peninsula try to save the day after a volcano erupts on the mythical and majestic Baekdu Mountain.


Badland Hunters
2024 · 1h 47m · KR
After a deadly earthquake turns Seoul into a lawless badland, a fearless huntsman springs into action to rescue a teenager abducted by a mad doctor.


The Roundup: Punishment
2024 · 1h 49m · KR
'Monster Cop' Ma Seok-do investigates an illegal online gambling business led by a former STS Baek and an IT genius CEO Chang. Ma proposes an unexpected alliance to Jang and begins hunting down the criminals.


The Flu
2013 · 2h 2m · KR
A case of the flu quickly morphs into a pandemic. As the death toll mounts and the living panic, the government plans extreme measures to contain it.


Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
2002 · 2h 9m · KR
A deaf man and his girlfriend resort to desperate measures in order to fund a kidney transplant for his sister. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.


Hijack 1971
2024 · 1h 40m · KR
In the year 1971, former Korean Air Force fighter pilot Tae-In (Ha Jung-Woo) works as a pilot for a commercial airline. He faces a crisis inside a hijacked flight with the passengers, including Yong-Dae (Yeo Jin-Goo), and his crew members, including Captain Kyu-Sik (Sung Dong-Il) and Flight Attendant Ok-Soon (Chae Soo-Bin).


Thirst
2009 · 2h 14m · KR
A respected priest volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and dies, but a blood transfusion of unknown origin brings him back to life. Now, he’s torn between faith and bloodlust, and has a newfound desire for the wife of a childhood friend.
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.
Thrillers are engineered for tension: the pace, the withholding, the sense that something is closing in. The genre blends freely with crime, horror, and science fiction, and it's where a lot of the sharpest genre craft happens.