Korean cinema has been on the rise for years now, ever since some of the most prominent directors working in the country, like Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, and Kim Ki-duk, among many others, began to circulate their work among the international film festivals. The success of Parasite when it came out, landing it many prestigious accolades, furthered the popularity even more of Korean movies and entertainment when it was already rising. But before there were movies like Parasite that made waves in mainstream entertainment, some of the biggest movies to come out of Korea were crime movies.

Like Japanese and Chinese gangster movies, Korean crime movies take on similar themes and subjects in contemporary society. Violence is depicted in a way that is calculated and full of purpose, rather than senselessly throwing fists and guns around. But one theme rises above the rest: the idea of vengeance for personal fulfillment, whether it’s from a personal wrong or avenging an entire community. These can be seen not only in the movies of Park Chan-wook, but across many different directors and decades as well. That said, these are the best Korean crime movies ranked.

12 The Housemaid

Maid cleans bathtub
Mirovision

The 2010 version of The Housemaid was adapted from the classic Korean movie of the same name from Kim Ki-young. This version features veteran actress Jeon Do-yeon in the leading role of Eun-yi, a woman who becomes a maid for a wealthy family. Her main task is to watch over the family’s daughter, as the mother is heavily pregnant, but Eun-yi begins to engage in a sexual relationship with the father, Hoon, portrayed by Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae. Their actions will lead to devastating, yet shocking consequences throughout the movie, turning the drama towards violent twists.

11 The Man From Nowhere

Kim Sae-ron in The Man from Nowhere
CJ Entertainment

The Man From Nowhere, directed by Lee Jeong-bom, was one of the most popular films in South Korea during the year of its release. Won Bin stars in the movie as Cha Tae-sik, who runs a local pawn shop and sparks a friendship with a young girl from the neighborhood. When Tae-sik accidentally gets pawned goods that belong to a crime boss, the mob kidnaps the young girl because they know he is fond of her. Now forced to find out her whereabouts before it is too late, Tae-sik is willing to do whatever it takes to get her back.

10 Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Shin Ha-kyun and Bae Doona in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
CJ Entertainment

The first in Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is one of the bloodiest of the three movies in the trilogy. Shin Ha-kyun portrays the protagonist, Ryu, who is deaf and mute. Laid off from his factory job, he becomes desperate when he needs to pay for his sick sister’s treatment. Urged by his anarchist girlfriend (Bae Doona) to kidnap the daughter of the factory owner (Song Kang-ho) in exchange for a ransom, he does so, but accidentally ends up creating a cycle of vengeance and brutality in the process. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is not for the lighthearted.

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9 Mother

mother and son in Mother
CJ Entertainment

Bong Joon-ho came out with Mother in 2009, returning to the crime drama genre years after the initial release of Memories of Murder. An elderly woman lives with her disabled son in the countryside, making a living by selling herbs and providing acupuncture treatments to anyone who needs them. When her son is the last person to have seen a murdered girl alive, he becomes the prime suspect in the upcoming investigation. However, his mother believes in her son’s innocence and will now work tirelessly to prove that he did not do what he is being accused of.

8 The Chaser

The Chaser by Na Hong-jin
Showbox

Released in 2008, The Chaser is one of the prime examples of contemporary Korean crime movies. It was the directorial debut of Na Hong-jin, who went on to produce movies like The Wailing and The Yellow Sea. In The Chaser, a former ex-detective, now pimp, finds himself on the hunt after two prostitutes go missing. Following a hunch on one of his customers, leads to a game of cat and mouse as more people begin to die and go missing in the process. The Chaser was very popular the year of its release, making it one of the bestselling movies domestically in South Korea.

7 The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil

Gang stands in poorly lit hallway.
Kiwi Media Group

The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil is a remake of a Sylvester Stallone movie starring Ma Dong-seok, Kim Sung-kyu, and Kim Mu-yeol. In the movie, a gangster, cop, and killer are brought into a dangerous dance after the cop begins to suspect that there is a serial killer on the loose. After the crime boss survives an encounter with the killer, the cop tries to approach him to join forces, but that alliance fails. Throughout the movie, the trio's dance becomes more intricate, making the climax quite exciting by the end.

6 The Villainess

Kim Ok-bin in The Villainess

Next World Entertainment

Kim Ok-vin stars in Jung Byung-il’s 2017 movie The Villainess. She portrays Sook-hee, a trained assassin who has been allowed to slightly step away from her duties with the government to take care of her daughter. Unknown to her, they placed a spy next door, but the two fall in love despite him being fully aware that his mission is to watch over her. However, her former mentor from her assassin days remerges with a flair for vengeance and violence, leading her down the path of bloodshed to protect the life she has created.

Related: Little Women: Why the Netflix Korean Drama Is a Must-Watch

5 Lady Vengeance

Woman holds girl while holding gun.
CJ Entertainment

Park Chan-wook’s Lady Vengeance is the third installment in the Vengeance Trilogy and is the only one to feature a woman protagonist. Lee Geum-ja, portrayed by Lee Young-ae, has served jail time for thirteen years after being found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a six-year-old. During her time in prison, she seemed like a model citizen, changing her ways and becoming an orderly citizen of society. However, upon her release from prison, she goes after her actual objective: avenging many school children, including the one she was accused of murdering and tracking down the real perpetrator of the crimes.

4 Night in Paradise

Man and woman ride motorcycle in sunset
Netflix

2021’s Night in Paradise was released on Netflix after appearing at film festivals. A gangster, Tae-goo, is given a golden opportunity to defect: his rival gang offers him a spot with them, but when he declines, his family members are murdered. Angered by this, he kills the leader of the gang and has to leave for Jeju Island, where he hopes to run away to Russia. However, his actions will not go without consequences, as people are now looking for him to enact their revenge. He falls in love with a local woman, who is terminally ill, unfortunately getting her caught in the crossfire.

3 I Saw the Devil

Bloodied man peers over corner.
Peppermint & Company

Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik star in I Saw the Devil, which was directed by Kim Jee-woon. A serial killer (Choi) works as a bus driver, but when he finds a pregnant woman stranded on the side of the road, he murders her. Her fiance (Lee), who works with the police, swears to get revenge against the killer, doing whatever it takes to find out the truth of what happened that night. When he finds the killer, he forces him to swallow a GPS tracker, creating a deadly game that is both tragic and bloody.

2 Oldboy

Oldboy
CJ Entertainment

Oldboy, the second in Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, is one of the best-known Korean movies in the genre. The film stars Choi Min-sik in the leading role of a man who is kidnapped and sealed inside a room for over a decade. When he is finally released, he tries to find out the whereabouts of his daughter, but decides he wants to pursue revenge in the process. He will slash, hack, and punch his way through any scenario to find out the truth of what happened to him and his family, even if it means dying in the process.

1 Memories of Murder

People sitting in a field in Memories of Murder
CJ Entertainment

Memories of Murder is one of Bong Joon-ho’s earlier works, but it might be the crown jewel of his career so far. Based on an actual South Korean serial killer, who was only caught years after the making of the movie, Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyun portray two detectives who are tracking down the killer before he strikes again. It is an emotional journey to watch the police and detectives try to figure out the culprit, and all of this combined is captured masterfully through the acting, story, and visuals. Memories of Murder would become the movie that put Bong on the larger map of international cinema.