Hello everyone and welcome back to another written content by EonTalk. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the top 30 rated Korean movies based on IMDB ratings.
Before getting into the list, I’d just like to clarify the criteria or standard that I used to rank the movies. First, I looked at the list of Korean movies on IMDB by popularity, and compiled the 100 most popular. Then, I organized the films based on the ratings, and took out the movies that had less than 1000 votes, as I feel like a movie should have at least a minimum of 1000 votes to be seen as a valid rating. Therefore, movies such as <Deliver Us from Evil> and <Intruder> were not included, as those are more recent films that did not meet the vote count threshold.
*Sidenote, the list was compiled on August 20th of 2020.
After arranging the 100 movies by ratings, I took the top 30 and researched their box office numbers, the genre, the cast and director, as well as the distribution company responsible for the movies, and I’ll be introducing those top 30 films in this post. I won’t be going over the synopsis of the movies, as we’ve got a lot to go through, so if you would like to get a description of the movie, you can look it up on IMDB and the films should have a synopsis on there.
You can also watch the video version of the content here:
Okay, now that we got that cleared up, let’s get right into the top 30 Korean movies based on IMDB ratings.
#30 (1/4)
The #30 spot is a tie between 4 movies, and the first one is one of the newer films on this list, being released in early 2019, <Extreme Job>. Directed by Lee Byung-Hun, who also directed <What a Man Wants> and <Twenty>, <Extreme Job> was a comedic film that starred the likes of Ryu Seung-Ryong, Lee Ha-Nee, Jin Seon-Kyu, Lee Dong-Hwi, and Gong Myung. The film had a rating of 7.1 with a total of 5000 votes, and recorded 16 million at the box offices. The distribution company of <Extreme Job> was CJ Entertainment.
#30 (2/4)
The other movie tied at #30 is a film released back in 2009, <Thirst>. <Thirst> was directed by one of the most famous Korean directors, Park Chan-Wook, who also directed the likes of <Oldboy>, <The Handmaiden>, <Sympathy for Lady Vengeance>, <Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance>, and <Joint Security Area>, and this drama film starred Song Kang-Ho and Kim Ok-Bin. With a rating of 7.1 on IMDB with 41K votes, <Thirst> had a box office number of 2.2 million, and was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#30 (3/4)
Next, the third movie tied at #30 is the 2018 released mystery action film, <The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion>. This movie was directed by Park Hoon-Jung, who’s responsible for directing films such as <New World>, <VIP>, and <The Tiger>, and the cast members include Kim Da-Mi, Cho Min-Soo, Park Hee-Soon, and Choi Woo-Shik. As with the other #30 films, the IMDB rating was 7.1, and about 5000 people took part in the voting. The box office number was 3.18 million, and was distributed by Warner Bros. Korea.
#30 (4/4)
The final #30 movie is the 2006 released film <The Host>. <The Host> was directed by the one and only Bong Joon-Ho, who also did <Okja>, <Snowpiercer>, <Memories of Murder>, <Mother>, and, of course, <Parasite>. The genre of this film is hard to classify, as with majority of Bong Joon-Ho’s movies, but it can be seen as an action fantasy drama thriller, and the cast members include Song Kang-Ho, Byung Hee-Bong, Park Hae-Il, Bae Doo-Na, and Go Ah-Sung. <The Host> rated 7.1 with 100K votes, and recorded nearly 11 million at the box offices. The film was distributed by Showbox.
#26 (1/2)
Two movies tied at the #26 spot. The first is an action comedy that released back in 2017, <Midnight Runners>. <Midnight Runners> is one of the best action comedies out of Korean cinema, and was directed by Kim Joo-Hwan, who also did <The Divine Fury>. <Midnight Runners> starred the duo of Park Seo-Jun and Kang Ha-Neul, and rated 7.2 on IMDB with about 4000 votes. The box office number of the film was 5.65 million, and was distributed by Lotte Entertainment.
#26 (2/2)
The other #26 film goes to the horror thriller released back in 2003, <A Tale of Two Sisters>. Directed by another famous Korean director, Kim Ji-Woon, who also did <Illang: The Wolf Brigade>, <The Age of Shadows>, <The Good, The Bad, The Weird>, <I Saw the Devil>, and <A Bittersweet Life>, <A Tale of Two Sisters> starred Lim Soo-Jung, Yum Jung-Ah, Kim Gab-Soo, and Moon Geun-Young. This horror film rated 7.2 with about 55K votes, recorded 3.1 million at the box offices, and the distribution company responsible for the film was Chungeorahm Film.
#24
At the #24 spot is the fantasy drama released in 2017, <Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds>. Directed by Kim Yong-Hwa, who also directed the sequel to this film, <Along withe the Gods: The Last 49 Days>, as well as <Mr. Go>, <Take Off>, and <200 Pounds Beauty>, the first of the “Along with the Gods” movies starred Ha Jung-Woo, Cha Tae-Hyun, Ju Ji-Hoon, Kim Hyang-Gi, Kim Dong-Wook, and Ma Dong-Seok aka Don Lee. The film rated 7.3 with 11K votes, recorded 14 million at the box offices, and was distributed by Lotte Entertainment.
#23 (1/2)
The #23 spot is another tie between two movies. First, the mystery thriller released back in 2017, <Forgotten>. <Forgotten> was directed by Jang Hang-Jun, who also directed <Spring Breeze> and <Break Out>, and Kang Ha-Neul and Kim Mu-Yeol were the leads of the movie. The film rated 7.4 on IMDB with 14.6K votes, had 1.38 million people show up at the box office, and the company responsible for the distribution was Megabox Plus M.
#23 (2/2)
The other #23 movie is one of the most globally well-known K-movies, <The Wailing>. This mystery thriller was directed by Na Hong-Jin, the director of <The Chaser> and <The Yellow Sea>, and starred the likes of Kwak Do-Won, Hwang Jung-Min, Kunimura Jun, Chun Woo-Hee, and Kim Hwan-Hee. <The Wailing> also recorded 7.4 on IMDB, had a total of about 47K votes, about 6.9 million box office sales, and was distributed by 20th Century Fox Korea.
#21
Next, the #21 film is the movie regarded as the best of 2018 by many, <Burning>. This drama film was directed by Lee Chang-Dong, the famous director of <Secret Sunshine>, <Oasis>, and <Peppermint Candy>, and starred Yoo Ah-In, Steven Yeun, and Jun Jong-Seo. With a rating of 7.5 and 44K votes, <Burning> recorded 500K at the box offices, and was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#20 (1/5)
The #20 spot is yet another tie between 5 movies, all with an IMDB rating of 7.6. The first is the 2013 crime drama that’s one of my personal favorites, <New World>. Directed by Park Hoon-Jung, the director of the #30 movie, <The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion>, <New World> starred the likes of Lee Jung-Jae, Choi Min-Shik, and Hwang Jung-Min. The film had 19.7 votes, recorded about 4.7 million at the box offices, and was distributed by NEW.
#20 (2/5)
The second #20 movie is the crime thriller released in 2002, <Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance>. This is the first film of the revenge trilogy directed by Park Chan-Wook, the director of the #30 film, <Thirst>, and the cast members include Song Kang-Ho, Shin Ha-Kyun, and Bae Doo-Na. <Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance> had a total of about 61K votes, recorded 340K at the box offices, and was distribution company responsible for the film was CJ Entertainment.
#20 (3/5)
The third #20 film is the action drama released in 2005, <A Bittersweet Life>. Directed by Kim Ji-Woon, the director of the #26 film, <A Tale of Two Sisters>, <A Bittersweet Life> starred Lee Byung-Hun, Kim Young-Chul, and Shin Min-Ah. With 35K votes, and a box office number of 1 million, <A Bittersweet Life> was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#20 (4/5)
Next, the fourth film at the #20 spot is the thriller drama released in 2005, <Sympathy for Lady Vengeance>. This is the second of the revenge trilogy directed by Park Chan-Wook, and featured Lee Young-Ae and Choi Min-Shik. This movie had 70K votes on IMDB, had 3.1 million box office sales, and was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#20 (5/5)
The final #20 movie is one of the most globally recognized Korean movies, the 2016-released action thriller, <Train to Busan>. <Train to Busan>, which had the release of its sequel, <Peninsula>, released this summer, was directed by Yeon Sang-Ho, who also did <Psychokinesis> and <Seoul Station>. Starring the likes of Gong Yoo, Jung Yoo-Mi, Ma Dong-Seok aka Don Lee, Kim Soo-Ahn, Kim Eui-Sung, Choi Woo-Shik, and Ahn So-Hee, this zombie film had about 150K votes, recorded about 11.6 million at the box offices, and was distributed by NEW.
#15
We’re now halfway through the list! The #15 movie goes to the romance drama released in 2018, <Be With You>. Directed by Lee Jang-Hoon, <Be With You> starred So Ji-Seob and Son Ye-Jin, and rated 7.7 on IMDB and had about 3000 votes. The box office number of this melodrama was 2.6 million and was distributed by Lotte Entertainment.
#14 (1/3)
The #14 position is yet another tie between 3 movies with a rating of 7.8, the first of which is one of the best action crime films out of South Korea, the 2010 movie <The Man from Nowhere>. Directed by Lee Jung-Bum, who also did <Jo Pil-Ho: The Dawning Rage>, <No Tears for the Dead>, and <Cruel Winter Blues>, this badass movie starred Won Bin and Kim Se-Ron, had about 61K votes on IMDB. The box office number was about 6.2 million and was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#14 (2/3)
The other #14 movie is the 2009 released film, <Mother>. The director of <Mother> is the previously mentioned director Bong Joon-Ho, and as I said about his film, <The Host>, the genre of this director’s movies are hard to classify. <Mother> is a mesh of crime, mystery, drama, and thriller, and starred Kim Hye-Ja and Won Bin. With about 49K votes on IMDB, this film had a box office number of about 3 million, and was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#14 (3/3)
The final #14 film is one of my favorite crime thrillers, the 2010 released film <I Saw the Devil>. Directed by the same director of the #20 movie, <A Bittersweet Life>, Kim Ji-Woon, this wonderfully gruesome film starred Lee Byung-Hun and Choi Min-Shik, and had about 100K votes on IMDB. The movie raked in about 1.8 million at the box offices, and was distributed by Showbox.
#11 (1/2)
The #11 movie is a tie between two movies, and the first is the 2017 drama <A Taxi Driver>. Directed by Jang Hoon, the director of <The Front Line>, <Secret Reunion>, and <Rough Cut>, this eye-opening film starred the likes of Song Kang-Ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-Jin, and Ryu Jun-Yeol. The IMDB score of <A Taxi Driver> was 7.9, had 14K votes, recorded 12 million at the box offices, and was distributed by Showbox.
#11 (2/2)
The other #11 film is crime action thriller released in 2008, <The Chaser>. <The Chaser> was directed by Na Hong-Jin, the director of the #23 film, <The Wailing>, and starred Kim Yoon-Seok and Ha Jung-Woo. With an IMDB rating of 7.9 with 56K votes, <The Chaser> recorded 5 million at the box offices and was distributed by Showbox.
#9 (1/3)
The #9 spot was shared between 3 movies, all with the score of 8. The first is not only the oldest film on this list, but is also one of the best romcoms out of Korean cinema, <My Sassy Girl>. This romcom was directed by Kwak Jae-Yong, who’s other directorial works include <Time Renegades> and <The Classic>, and starred the young Jun Ji-Hyun and Cha Tae-Hyun. With roughly 45K votes, <My Sassy Girl> recorded about 4.9 million at the box offices, and was distributed by IM Pictures.
#9 (2/3)
The second #9 film is the 2003 drama, <Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… And Spring>. Directed by Kim Ki-Duk, who also did the likes of <The Net>, <One on One>, <Breath>, <3-Iron>, <The Coast Guard>, and <The Isle>, this film had the cast of Oh Young-Soo, Kim Young-Min, Seo Jae-Kyung, Cha Soo-Ah, and the director himself. With a total votes on IMDB of 75K and a box office number of about 30K, the distribution company was Korea Pictures.
#9 (3/3)
The last #9 film was the 2004 drama, <3-Iron>. This film was directed by the just mentioned Kim Ki-Duk, and starred Lee Seung-Yeon, Jae Hee, and Kwon Hyuk-Ho. <3-Iron> had about 49K votes and a box office number of about 72K, and was distributed by Chungeorahm Film.
#6 (1/3)
Moving along, the #6 spot goes to three movies with an IMDB score of 8.1. The first is the 2011 drama, <Silenced>. Directed by Hwang Dong-Hyuk, the director of <The Fortress>, <Miss Granny>, and <My Father>, <Silenced> starred the likes of Gong Yoo and Jung Yoo-Mi, and had roughly 10K votes with about 4.7 million turning up to the box offices. The film was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#6 (2/3)
Next, the other #6 spot is a classic when it comes to crime mystery thrillers, the 2003 released <Memories of Murder>. Directed by the legend, Bong Joon-Ho, <Memories of Murder> starred Song Kang-Ho and Kim Sang-Kyung, and had a total of about 128K votes with a box office number of 5.3 million. The distribution company responsible for this film was Sidus.
# 6 (3/3)
The final #6 film is the beautifully shot thriller drama released in 2016, <The Handmaiden>. Directed by the previously mentioned Park Chan-Wook, <The Handmaiden> starred the likes of Kim Min-Hee, Kim Tae-Ri, Ha Jung-Woo, and Cho Jin-Woong. The film had a total of about 104K votes, recorded about 4.3 million at the box offices, and was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#3
And now, the top 3. The #3 film goes to one of the most emotional comedic dramas out of Korean cinema, the 2013 released <Miracle in Cell No. 7>. Directed by Lee Hwan-Kyung, who also directed <Champ> and <Lump of Sugar>, <Miracle in Cell No. 7> is ironically both a great comedic film, as well as an emotional one. The cast members includes Ryu Seung-Ryong, Park Shin-Hye, Gal So-Won, Oh Dal-Soo, Park Won-Sang, Kim Jung-Tae, Jung Man-Shik, and Kim Ki-Chun, and recorded an IMDB score of 8.2 with 15K votes. This movie recorded a total of 12.8 million at the box offices, and was distributed by NEW.
#2
The #2 Korean movie based on IMDB ratings goes to one of the most well-recognized older Korean films, <Oldboy>. This is the third film of the revenge trilogy by Park Chan-Wook, and starred Choi Min-Shik, Yoo Ji-Tae, and Kang Hye-Jung. <Oldboy> has one of the best twists amongst Korean movies, and the genre of this film is hard to pinpoint. I’d say it’s a mix of mystery, action, drama, crime, and thriller. The movie scored 8.4 on IMDB with about 500K votes, and had a box office number of about 3.3 million. The film was distributed by CJ Entertainment.
#1
And now, the #1 film. The #1 Korean movie based on IMDB ratings goes to the most recently released film on this list, you guessed it, <Parasite>. Directed by the winner of Best Directing at the Oscars this year, Bong Joon-Ho, who had a total of 4 movies on this list, <Parasite> is such a hard movie to label a genre for; thriller, comedy, mystery, drama, are all elements found in <Parasite>, and this masterpiece starred the cast members Song Kang-Ho, Lee Seon-Kyun, Jo Yeo-Jung, Choi Woo-Shik, Park So-Dam, Lee Jung-Eun, and Jang Hye-Jin. With the best IMDB rating of 8.6 amongst Korean movies, with a total votes of 460K, <Parasite> was able to bring in over 10 million box office sales. The film was distributed by, you guessed it again, CJ Entertainment.
Conclusion
And that concludes today’s post on the top rated Korean movies based on IMDB scores. This was a long one, so I sincerely do appreciate everyone that read til the end, and if you have requests for future of Korean movie-related content, please let me know by commenting down below. Also, join the EonTalk Patreon if you would like to really show me your support in the content I make, and also the EonTalk Telegram group to further discuss with other Korean movie lovers. Once again, thank you to everyone that watched til the end, and I’ll see you guys in the next one!
Check out the Video Version:
Disclaimer
Please keep in mind this review is composed of solely my own opinions, and should be taken with a grain of salt. I am in no way a professional writer, nor have I majored or studied journalism. This is for informative entertainment purpose only, representing my personal views. I do not own the images and/or videos used in the review. No copyright infringement intended.