The Korean film industry is full of gems; recently, it was announced that Drishyam will get a Korean remake , this will surely increase people’s interest in Korean movies. While you wait for this film, you should check out some other Korean films and see how the industry differs from Bollywood.
No doubt, everyone has seen Squid Game , but the Korean film industry is mostly known for their K-Dramas. If you want to properly explore Korean culture, you need to watch shows like Put Your Head on My Shoulder , Boys Over Flowers, & The Heirs.
If you are a romantic at heart and a good sensual romance movie is your guilty indulgence, you’ve landed at the right place. No one is untouched by the Korean wave of cute romance combined with piping hot ramyeon and dripping hot oppas. If you want to enjoy it with your significant other or just want to immerse yourself in the experience, Korean romantic movies can be your escapism. Take a break from the romantic Bollywood movies that you have always watched and see the Korean film industry at its hottest.
When we talk about Korean romance, it is not always about slow hand-holding and saranghaeyo. The Korean industry has very well covered the intense and racy genre, with some LGBTQ-themed romances as well. If you want to dive deeper into this addictive world, we’ve got you covered.
Here is a list of the hottest Korean movies of all time for your next binge-watch session. Just don’t forget your ramyeon because we are not responsible for your cravings mid-way through the movie!
Also Read J-Hope Biography
Love and Leashes is one of the best Korean romantic movies on Netflix with Lee Jun-young and Seohyun in the lead. The movie was released in 2022 and was much appreciated by the critics for touching on the taboo topic of BDSM in such a light-hearted way. The movie is based on the webtoon Moral Sense by Gyeol.
Jung Ji-woo, played by Seohyun, works at a multinational company as a PR head. Jung Ji-hoo, played by Lee Jun-young, is a new employee who is competitive and instantly adored by all the females for his good looks. They are both instantly connected by the similarity of their names. But things start to get steamy when one-day Ji-woo opens a parcel for Ji-hoo and finds a collar in it. He manages to cover it up by saying that it belongs to his dog, avoiding an awkward situation.
Eventually, he opens up to Ji-woo about his secret fantasies of being dominated, and while they are on an official trip, he asks her for a contractual S&M relationship. Ji-woo’s curiosity makes her sign the contract, and they both step by step explore the world of S&M together. The movie has successfully maintained the fine line between sensuality and sexuality. The contractual arrangement leads to both of them falling for each other and getting together after some hindrances.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Watch and Download Love and Leashes on Netflix
20th Century Girl is a rom-com movie with a tragic ending that was released in 2022. The movie is set in 1999 and revolves around high schooler Na Bo-ra, played by Kim Yoo-Jung, and her friend Yeon-du, played by Roh Yoon-Seo.This Korean romantic movie will warm your heart. Yeon-du has a heart condition that requires her to be operated on in the States. But she starts having second thoughts when she falls for Hyun-jin, who goes to the same school.
When Bo-ra learns about Hyun-jin, she promises Yeon-du to keep tabs on him for her and to keep her updated on the same. Yeon-du flies to the US for her surgery, while Bo-ra keeps her promise. While she is following Hyun-jin around Bo-ra ends up falling for Hyun-jin’s best friend, Woon-ho. Hyun-jin misinterprets Bo-ra’s closeness with him and asks her out on a date, which she refuses.
When Yeon-du returns after her surgery, it is revealed that all this time she had confused Hyun-jin with Woon-ho and vice versa. When she realizes her mistake, she decides to keep a distance from the real Hyun-jin. But Yeon-du soon learns about what has happened and is willing to let go of her infatuation for Hyun-jin for the sake of her friendship. Hyun-jin leaves for New Zealand for further studies and suddenly stops contacting Bo-ra. Years later, she learns that he died during the time when his emails no longer reached her.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Watch 20th Century Girl on Netflix
Sweet and Sour is a romantic comedy released in 2021 and stars Jang Ki-Yong, Chae Soo-bin, and Krystal Jung. The plot revolves around a couple, Hyuk and Da-eun played by Jang Ki-Yong and Chae Soo-bin , respectively.
The movie starts when Hyuk, an overweight Hepatitis B patient, is admitted to the hospital where Da-eun is employed as a nurse. Both of them bond over the time Hyuk is at the hospital, to the extent that exhausted Da-eun even uses Hyuk’s bed to rest between her shifts. Hyuk falls for Da-eun and decides to visit her and thank her, and eventually, they both fall for each other.
Hyuk wants to lose weight so he can be a perfect match for Da-eun and he can be seen running in the park wearing the matching pair of shoes she got for them. The scene transitions to a slim Hyuk, and they both live together. Soon Hyuk gets a chance to move to a bigger company with better pay and position, but the only problem is the distance between his workplace and Da-eun’s place. But soon, their relationship starts getting sour and a new challenge comes from one of Hyuk’s colleagues who is interested in him.
In the meantime, Da-eun gets pregnant and decides to abort the child. While she is in poor health, Hyuk is confused about his feelings for her. Later it is revealed that the fat Hyuk and the slim Hyuk were never the same people and that both stories took place simultaneously.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Watch Sweet & Sour on Netflix
If you are looking for something different from the usual, this gay love story will definitely take you on a ride for something special and memorable. Wish You was released in 2021 and South Korea’s small step into the popularly growing genre of BLs which is currently dominated by Thailand. It might not match the level of Thai BLs in terms of romantic scenes, but nonetheless, it is a cutesy romance with typical Korean mushy-mushy scenes.
The story revolves around two talented and ambitious young individuals, Kang In-soo and Yoon Sang Yi. In-soo is a singer who dreams of making it big with his talent and indulges in busking on the streets of South Korea. His best friend, Choi Min Seong, records all the performances and uploads them on YouTube. One day, In-soo is offered the opportunity to work with a company for the big break he has always dreamed of. He meets a keyboardist, Yoon Sang Yi, and instantly feels an attraction towards him.
After various events and confusion, the two finally admitted their feelings for each other. After sharing all the sweet romantic moments comes the real struggle of facing society and revealing the relationship to close ones. The story follows their struggles and ups and downs, eventually making their bond stronger, leading to a happy ending.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoSOUb1gwmM
Watch Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart on Netflix
Tune In For Love was released in 2019 and is a romance movie with all the emotions involved, from heartache to desperation to separation to the joy of sweet romance. The movie stars two famous faces of the South Korean industry, Jung Hae-in and Kim Go-eun , who play the character of Hyun-woo and Kim Mi-soo, respectively.
The movie is set around the IMF crisis in the late 1990s. Hyun-woo visits the bakery Mi-soo works at in search of tofu, as he is straight out of jail. It is a Korean tradition to eat something made out of soy when released from jail. Eventually, Hyun-woo starts working at the same bakery as Mi-soo and Eun-ja. Hyun-woo and Mi-soo share chemistry, but soon things start going downhill when a group of Hyun-woo’s so-called friends visit him, and they indulge in a fight with a stranger. This leads to Hyun-woo being jailed once again, and they both go out of touch.
By the time Mi-soo starts working at a newsletter editing company, Hyun-woo is working as a furniture mover. They both cross paths once again, but destiny has some other plans, and they struggle to keep in touch every time. Fast forward to 5 years, Mi-soo is happily working at a book publishing job, and Hyun-woo is working with a video editing start-up. They once again cross paths as Hyun-woo’s company is just above Mi-soo’s company.
This time they decide to stay and get into a romantic relationship. To know more about Hyun-woo and help him with his haunting past Mi-soo learns about his friend who died and for whom he was sentenced to jail. This upsets Hyun-woo, and he leaves, leading to yet another separation of the couple. But soon, he realizes his mistake, and Mi-soo is gone by that time. The movie has a happy ending when destiny brings them together one last time.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Watch Tune In For Love on Netflix
Nothing Serious is a rom-com released in 2021 and was among the top 10 Korean movies of the time. The movie has Son Seok-goo and Jeon Jong-Seo as the lead. The movie perfectly balances the cliches of traditional rom-com with modern-day dating style.
With no luck in love, 28 years old Ja-young decides to stay away from any more relationships to protect her peace. But she soon realizes that it’s not easy to be single and that she is too lonely in her life. She tries every traditional way to find a partner, so this time, she decides to try a dating app. She comes across 30-year-old Woo-ri, who is a romantic column writer but is bad at romance in real life.
They both decide to meet up and connect on various personal issues creating a bond between them. They decide to become friends with benefits to keep the seriousness and emotional baggage of a relationship at bay. But like in every romantic movie, they end up falling for each other but have to figure out their own thoughts and feelings for each other.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Watch Nothing Serious On Amazon Prime Video
The Handmaiden was released in 2016 and is set in the 1930s when South Korea was under the rule of Japan. The cast includes Kim Tae-ri as Sook-Hee, Kim Min-hee as Lady Hideko, Ha Jung-woo as Count Fujiwara, and Cho Jin-Woong as Kouzuki. The movie is a love story revenge thriller with a compelling storyline.
Fujiwara is a conman who poses as a Count to seduce Lady Hideko into marrying him for her wealth. He convinces a pickpocket, Sook-Hee, to join his plan and asks her to pose as Hideko’s handmaiden. Sook-Hee’s job is to praise Fujiwara and try to manipulate Hideko into falling for him. Everything gets complicated when Hideko and Sook-Hee fall for each other. Fujiwara comes up with another evil plan when he realizes that he can’t seduce Hideko.
Fujiwara convinces Hideko to sign up for a mental asylum but exchange identity with Sook-Hee so Hideko can have the freedom she has always wished for and Fujiwara can have a share of her wealth. But in the end, it is shown that Sook-Hee successfully escapes the asylum, and Hideko kills Fujiwara. Both ladies escape together and live a happily ever after life.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Watch The Handmaiden on Amazon Prime Video
Untold Scandal as the name suggests is a scandalous movie from South Korea with an R-rating. The movie is among Korea’s most economically successful movies The movie is one of the many screen adaptations of the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
The story is set in 19th-century Korea during the Chosun period, where a cynical and manipulative Lady Cho is interested in exploring her sexual life while also maintaining her noble image in front of the world. She starts developing harsh feelings for a 16-year-old innocent girl, Lee So-ok, when she feels her husband getting attracted to her. She calls her infamous womanizer cousin Jo-won to deduce the innocent So-ok.
Jo-won feels like the challenge is not up to his image, as he has eyes on Lady Suk, a widow who has cut herself off from the world since the death of her husband. Lady Cho is aware of his intentions with Lady Suk, so she offers him one night with the latter if he succeeds in impregnating So-ok. The game of revenge and lust gets complicated and dangerous for everyone when Jo-won ends up falling for Lady Suk.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Watch Untold Scandal on Netflix
Always is a coming-of-age romance movie released in 2011. The movie was the opening film of the Busan International Film Festival in 2011. The story follows the lives of two lonely people, Cheol Min played by So Ji-sub , and Ha Jung-hwa played by Han Hyo-Joo .
Jung-hwa is a visually challenged telly marketer who lives alone and is often harassed by her senior at work. Cheol Min is an ex-boxer who currently struggles to make ends meet and works as a water supplier. He takes up the opportunity to work as a night shift security guard, where he meets Jung-hwa. Both of them bond and start dating each other, but Jung-Hwa’s dark past still hinders in the way. He decides to train and become a professional MMA fighter for the sake of their secure future.
Just when they think they have everything sorted, Jung-hwa is asked to get her eyes operated on, which can help her regain her vision. Cheol Min engages in a gambling fight to get quick money for her surgery. He learns that he was responsible for the accident that caused Jung-hwa’s parents’ death and led to her vision loss. Guilt-ridden, he decides to never contact her again and sends her the money for her surgery. Despite not hearing anything from him for a long time, she decides to wait for the love of her life.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Watch Always on Amazon Prime Video
Moonlit Winter is not your regular romance movie. It follows the heartwarming feelings of first love that one carries with them for years, or maybe throughout your lives. The movie was released in 2019 and stars Kim Hee-ae as Yoon-hee and Kim So-hye as Sae-bom in the lead as a mother-daughter duo who live together. What happens when a daughter finds out about her mother’s first love? What if that first love is not a man but a woman?
The story follows the seemingly ordinary and dull lives of Yoon-hee and Sae-bom. Yoon-hee is a divorcee who does not seem to open up to the world, and even her own daughter does not seem to know much about her. One day they receive a handwritten letter addressed to Yoon-hee from Japan written by someone named Jun. With lots of questions in mind, the duo sets out on a journey to Otaru, Japan.
The journey leads to moments where the mother and daughter discover each other while also re-discovering themselves. It beautifully showcases the beauty of finding a long-lost love and unconditional love while discovering oneself.
Here is the official trailer of the movie:
VIDEO
Suggestion: If you are also a fan of Romantic Movies like me, whether it’s Korean or Bollywood, here are some of the greatest romance films ever made that will make you fall in love with them.
Suggested Post: 10 All-Time Best Romantic Malayalam Movies You Should Watch
