As South Korea is the country that has many wars as they were included in World War II and the Vietnam War, many movies are based on that. But there is also inner conflict, which led to tension, and this article will cover all the movies which are related to war. In this list, we will explore top ear movies produced in South Korea. But with the addition to that, North Korean movies will be added too as they have also created movies that are based on war and conflicts. As many movies show war footage, some movies on this list will also show the aftermath they put on the human and to their inner emotions.
10. White Badge
White Badge is a 1992 South Korean war film directed by Chung Ji-young and is based on a book named White Badge: A Novel of Korea by Ahn Jung-Hyo. This movie turns around Korean soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War and what their struggles and experiences were. This film not only shows they give you the flashbacks but also shows the younger generations how brutal the wars are and what the consequences are. This movie was released not long after the country was democratized and also created a sense of nationalism among the people.
9. Sunny
This is the movie that is based on the story of the young woman stuck in an arranged marriage who sets out her journey in Vietnam as his husband is a soldier in the Vietnam War. This is the other Vietnam War based story directed by Lee Joon-Ik and released in 2008. This movie shows the conflict on a whole new perspective and never leaving the seriousness of the war. This young woman Soon-Yi takes on the journey to Vietnam as a Korean singer, and her stage name there is “Sunny”- thus the name of the film, and it gives deep hindsight in the culture if Korea. This movie also has many fight scenes, and Soon-Yi even sings in front of front lines and artillery just to find her husband.
8. My Way
My Way is a beautiful choreographed movie that shows all the major parts of World War II, and this shows what man’s uncertainty can lead from one place to hell and how luck can bring everything together. This movie is directed by Kang Je-Gyu and is a wartime action drama and is based on Korean names Yang Kyoungjong who was allegedly captured by American on D-Day. This movie mains character is forced to join Imperial Japanese Army as a punishment as it is beautifully portrayed by running (you will get to know when you see the movie) and they are ultimately sent to Mongolian war in China, and there he is captured with his friend, and then this leads them to the Soviet Union and again to Germany which led them to be in their army. They ultimately found them on the beach of Normandy where D-Day took place, and they grasped the situation and tried to run away via boat, and they succeeded, and they ultimately reach Korea. As these plots have many settlements around the world and with the addition to that, many World War II depictions plot is kind of disorganized, but it is a great movie to watch to know what happened in the past and how the situation was.
7. Operation Chromite
Operation Chromite is South Korean war based movie released in 2016, which is based on the real-life event of the Battle of Inchon, this movie is also can be traced back to real-life intelligence operation by CIA/US named Operation Trudy Jackson. This movie revolves around the small intelligent force of South Korea lead by the protagonist. This small intelligent force tries to infiltrate North Korea to get valuable information, and they disguise themselves as North Korean troops, and in addition to that, Liam Neeson plays as General Douglas MacArthur, who is U.S command relay and is counting on the unit’s intelligence to execute his landing. Overall, the small group gets into a lot of trouble. But, eventually get all the information about naval mines, placement maps. This movie is a phenomenal movie to watch.
6. Wolmido
Wolmido is a movie that was made in North Korea. This movie shows the other face of the Battle of Incheon, which was fought by North Korea, and this movie was featured in 1982 to create awareness and nationalism among the people. To be particular, Wolmido is the small island near the coast of South Korea approximately 1 kilometer and near Incheon, too, where the war was fought. In this movie, Sir Douglas MacArthur led the battalion of forty thousand people in an amphibious landing. This movie is filled with drama and national propaganda. Besides that, this also gives the general people a hindsight view in the North Korea approach to the Korean War.
5. Northern Limit Line
Northern Limit Line is a 2015 South Korean naval thriller movie which is directed and written by Kim Haksoon and is based on the real-life events of the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong. This movie tells how intense and fierce full this battle was. In this period, the war was going on the one part of the country, and the other part South Korea was amidst in the World Cup 2002 between Japan and South Korea. The plot or the real-life story goes on like this: North Korea navy send three fishing boat as spies to South Korea to get all the necessary details. They were captured by South Korea but released, and these spies reached to their country and gave necessary information. Later on, South Korea was informed that they were going to be attacked by North Korea, and this led to major scale war, which led to a back and forth again and again. Whereas South Korea won against Japan in FIFA 2002, and at the end of the movie, it is shown that sailors are cheering as their country won. This is a great piece of work that portrays the courage and fighting spirit of the navy crew.
4. The Long Way Home
This movie is a subtle light-hearted war movie that ultimately leads to friendship. This movie was debut in 2015, which is written and directed by Cheon Sung-il. This is a comedic film that has a middle-aged man named Nam-bok, who is a farmer and a soldier. This man is assigned a mission to deliver classified documents from one place to another, which can decide the future of this war. But he ultimately loses the document when he was attacked by the enemies. Later on, he found that other soldiers named Yeong-Hwang, who happens to have that document, and as this movie is moved forward, they turned from enemies to friends. This movie shows how exceptional things can happen in war and also shows the bond of friendship.
3. In Love and War
This South Korean movie starring Kim Joonhyuk and Jung Kreowon was debuted in 2011 and is a comedy/drama/war genre-based movie directed by Park Geon-yong. This movie is also a subtle little hearten take on the movie like The Long Way Home (which is included in this list). This movie also captures the beauty of a typical common family and how they live their lives. This movie plot is based on the war setting when North Korea troops enter the remote area of South Korea, and they enter a small village. In order to survive, villagers provide great hospitality to these troops, which are considered as an enemy. As a secret agenda North Korean commander search a southern girl.
2. 71: Into the Fire
71: Into the Fire is one of the greatest Korean War movies, which is based on real life-based events, and this movie is directed by John H. Lee and was debuted in 2010. This movie is a tribute to those 71 student soldiers who died in the war. This movie doesn’t lose a single mark in losing the gravity of the story and is portrayed beautifully. This movie is set in 1950 around the period of the Battle of P’ohang-dong in which 71 under trained and under armed student-soldiers of South Korea fought against the enemy, and most were killed. For 11 hours, they fought the battle to defend P’ohang girls with a strategic approach. Without leaking much plot of this great movie, we will say this is a great movie to watch.
1. Taegukgi
Taegukgi considered one of the greatest films not in the war genre but in the Korean cinema too. This is a South Korean wartime action drama film. Starring Jang Dong-gun and Won Bin. This movie is highly budgeted, highly produced, and with war scenes, which seems like you are present at that particular place on the same day and time. Taegukgi portrays a perfect image of how serious and deadly it can be and also at the same time, shows the sense of brotherhood. This film is one of the biggest hits in Korean film history, attracting up to 11.74 million people to theaters. The plot of this movie is mesmerizing and never thought of before. This movie goes back to 1950 at the Korean wars this movie shows the war scene which took place in Korea’s history from 1950-53. In this movie, two brothers fight each other as one being from the South Korean army and other from the North Korean army. This movie also holds a significant place in the heart of all peoples in Korea, as this movie showed the resonance of war and the devastating effects of it over the whole country.
