Historical Korean movies
16 titles, most popular first
Themes
The King and the Clown
During the reign of King Yeonsan in the late 15th century, street clowns and tightrope walkers Jangsaeng and Gong-gil flee to Seoul and start a new troupe. When their bold skit poking fun at the king gets them arrested, they are given one chance to escape execution: they must make the tyrant himself laugh.
The Throne
Crown Prince Sado, heir to King Yeongjo, sets out on a plot to kill his own father. The film moves back and forth between the crisis that follows and the long story of how father and son reached this point, from a king fixated on his young son's lessons to a boy who would rather paint and socialize.
The Admiral: Roaring Currents
In 1597, Joseon's navy has been cut down to about a dozen ships after a crushing defeat, and Admiral Yi Sun-sin is restored to command. As a huge Japanese fleet prepares to push toward the capital, he must face an overwhelming enemy at the Myeongnyang Strait.
A Frozen Flower
The Battleship Island
During Japan's occupation of Korea in World War II, more than 400 Koreans are forced into brutal labor on Hashima Island. Pushed to their limits by the harsh conditions, they gamble everything on a bold plan to break out.
12.12: The Day
After President Park Chung-hee is assassinated in October 1979, martial law is declared and Major General Chun Doo-gwang is put in charge of the investigation. As he quietly gathers power, the principled Major General Lee Tae-shin is reluctantly appointed to command the capital's defense, setting the two men on a collision course.
Noryang: Deadly Sea
In 1598, seven years into Japan's invasion of Joseon, Toyotomi Hideyoshi dies after ordering his troops home. Admiral Yi Sun-sin, fighting alongside allies from Ming China, has Konishi Yukinaga's army trapped at Suncheon, and the desperate Konishi tries to bribe a Ming admiral into letting his forces slip away by sea.
Cobweb
Hansan: Rising Dragon
In 1592, as Japanese forces push to conquer Joseon, commander Wakisaka Yasuharu takes charge of the Japanese fleet at Busan, determined to defeat Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his fearsome new turtle ship. Facing doubters among his own admirals, Yi must devise a bold new battle plan to stop the invasion at sea.
The Battle of Jangsari
During the Korean War, a guerrilla battalion of young student volunteers led by army officers is sent to Jangsari Beach. Their job is to stage a decoy landing that fools North Korean forces and clears the way for the Incheon Landing. Meanwhile, an American war reporter covers the conflict and pleads with the world to send help.
The King's Warden
Overthrown by his uncle, Grand Prince Suyang, the teenage king of Joseon is stripped of his title, renamed Prince Nosan and sent into exile. Eom Heung-do, chief of a poor mountain village in Yeongwol, hopes that hosting an exiled nobleman will bring his people good fortune, and his village is chosen to receive Nosan, who arrives with his loyal maid Mae-hwa.
Uprising
Cheon Yeong is a slave with extraordinary fighting skill who longs to escape his unjust bondage, and Jong-ryeo is the master he once served. In a time of chaos under King Seonjo, the two meet again on opposite sides, one as the king's trusted military officer and the other as a volunteer soldier.
Musa
The Book of Fish
Early in King Sunjo's reign, the scholar Jeong Yak-jeon is banished to remote Heuksan Island. Fascinated by sea life, he hopes to record it in a book and asks for help from Chang-dae, a young fisherman who knows the waters well but refuses to work with a convicted man, until Jeong offers to tutor him in return.