The Best New Korean Movies of 2024

(Image credit: CJ E&M)

last updated 2 July 2024

If you're a film fan who has made it to 2024 without checking out the thriving world of Korean cinema, now's the time to change that. In the past decade, South Korean entertainment has found breakthrough success in the U.S., with thrilling blockbusters like Train to Busan and Oldboy becoming beloved classics, to Parasite and Minari star Youn Yuh-jung taking home Academy Awards. The Korean film wave isn't slowing down any time soon, and its 2024 film slate is already chock full of highly-anticipated releases. Some on the list so far: Don Lee's latest apocalyptic action flick; an adorable dog-lovers anthology; a chilling exorcist thriller; and an epic romance between Korean emigrants in Belgium.

Read on to discover the Korean films coming to U.S. theaters and streaming platforms this year. (And if you're looking to get your feet wet in Korean cinema, check out our recommendations for the best Korean movies on Netflix and the best Korean movies of 2023.)

'Noryang: Deadly Sea'

Releases: December 22, 2023 in theaters

Starring: Kim Yoon-seok, Baek Yoon-shik, Jung Jae-young, Heon Joon-ho, and Ahn Bo-hyun

The final film in Kim Han-min's epic historical war trilogy (following 2014's The Admiral: Roaring Currents and 2022's Hansan: Rising Dragon) sees Kim Yoon-seok step into the role of the famed Admiral Yi Sun-sin. This time, the war hero faces the battle of Noryang, the last major battle of Japan's invasion of Joseon in the late 1500s.

Trailer: HERE

'Alienoid 2: Return to the Future'

a person in a blue traditional robe and hairstyle poses with a sword in alienoid

Releases: January 10, 2024 in theaters

Starring: Kim Tae-ri, Ryu Jun-yeol, and Kim Woo-bin

This sequel to the genre-bending 2022 film has already topped the Korean box office, starting off the year with a high-octane continuation of the war between aliens and humans. When a mysterious time portal opens, Goryeo-era Taoists searching for a legendary sword cross paths with fighters from 2022 hunting an alien imprisoned in a human's body.

Trailer: HERE

'Badland Hunters'

Releases: January 26, 2024 on Netflix

Starring: Don Lee (a.k.a. Ma Dong-seok), Lee Hee-joon, Lee Jun-young, Roh Jeong-eui, and Kim Young-sun

This Netflix action-thriller takes place in a dystopian future, after a massive earthquake levels Seoul. In this lawless wasteland lives Nam San (Don Lee), a notorious huntsman who does what he can to survive. When he makes friends with a teen who is abducted by a barbarous doctor (Lee Hee-joon), the badland hunter becomes determined to rescue her.

Trailer: HERE

'Citizen of a Kind'

Releases: January 26, 2024 in theaters

Starring: Ra Mi-ran, Gong Myung, Yeom Hye-ran, Jang Yoon-ju, Ahn Eun-jin, Park Byung-eun, and Lee Moo-saeng

This action comedy based on a real-life incident follows a housewife (Ra) determined to take down a voice phishing operation after she loses her entire savings. With the help of friends and one of her scammers who agrees to become an informant, she tracks down the masterminds behind the scam ring.

Trailer: HERE

'Dog Days'

Releases: February 7, 2024 in theaters

Starring: Youn Yuh-jung, Yoo Hae-jin, Yunjin Kim, Jung Sung-hwa, Kim Seo-hyung, Tang Jun-sang, Lee Hyun-woo, and Daniel Henney

This heartwarming comedy featuring Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung follows pet owners who cross paths in a vet's office. It chronicles their relationships with their pets, as well as the relationships they form with each other.

Trailer: HERE

'Exhuma'

Releases: February 22, 2024 in theaters

Starring: Choi Min-sik, Lee Do-hyun, Kim Go-eun, and Yoo Hae-jin

This creepy Korean horror movie follows a pair of young shamans (played by Lee and Kim) hired to save a wealthy L.A. family that's being tormented by the "dark shadow of an ancestor," per the film's description. The duo teams up with an exorcist (Choi) and a mortician (Yoo) to exhume the ancestor's grave in a remote Korean village. "The exhumation is carried out, but unleashes a malevolent force buried beneath."

Trailer: HERE

'My Name Is Loh Kiwan'

a man (Song Joong-ki as Loh Kiwan) sits in front of a mirror showing the reflection of a white-haired man and black-haired woman at a desk in my name is loh kiwan

Releases: March 1, 2024 on Netflix

Starring: Song Joong-ki, Choi Sung-eun, Cho Han-cheul, Kim Sung-ryoung, Lee Il-hwa, Lee Sang-hee, and Seo Hyun-woo

This emotional drama follows a North Korean defector (Song) who escapes to Belgium and struggles to adjust to the foreign culture as he waits for refugee status. He soon falls for a young Korean woman (Choi) who has lost the will to live.

Trailer: HERE

'The Roundup: Punishment'

Releases: May 3, 2024 in theaters

Starring: Don Lee (a.k.a. Ma Dong-seok), Kim Moo-yul, Park Ji-hwan, and Lee Dong-hwi

Another year, another Roundup movie for our inner action stans. This time, Ma Seok-do (Don Lee) and his team have to team with cybercrime experts to take down an online gambling ring based in the Phillippines, run by former Korean Special Forces officer Baek Chang-ki (Kim).

Trailer: HERE

'Escape'

Releases: July 5, 2024 in theaters

Starring: Lee Je-hoon, Koo Kyo-hwan, and Hong Xa-bin

This tense thriller centers on Lim Kyu-nam (Lee), a North Korean sergeant who has recently completed his mandatory decade of military service. Even though he's been honored as a hero, Kyu-nam makes the sudden decision to defect to South Korea, grabbing a chance at a life lived on his terms.

Trailer: HERE

'Wonderland'

Releases: July 2024 on Netflix

Starring: Tang Wei, Bae Suzy, Park Bo-gum, Jung Yu-mi, and Choi Woo-shik

This highly-anticipated sci-fi romance film follows multiple people living in a world where people can reunite with deceased or comatose loved ones via "advanced virtual reality technology," per Netflix's description. The ensemble includes a mother (Wei) who uses the tech to reconnect with her daughter, and a woman (Bae) who uses it to communicate with her comatose boyfriend (Park).

Trailer: HERE

'Victory'

Releases: August 14, 2024 in theaters

Starring: Lee Hyeri, Park Se-wan, Lee Jung-ha, and Jo Aram

This sports comedy will take viewers back to 1999, following a group of determined girls in the small town of Geoje, as best friends Pil-seon (Lee Hyeri) and Mi-na (Park) set out to form a cheerleading team called Millennium Girls.

Trailer: HERE

'The Flood'

Releases: TBA on Netflix

Starring: Kim Da-mi and Park Hae-soo

This disaster flick is set during the last day on Earth, as a catastrophic flood threatens the entire planet. Itaewon Class's Kim Da-mi stars as An-na, an AI researcher who struggles to survive a tidal surge and rescues a child from a flooded apartment. Meanwhile, a security team member named Hee-joo (played by Squid Game's Park Hee-soo) tries to help Anna and the child.

Trailer: TBA

'Officer Black Belt'

South Korean actor Kim Woo-Bin waves and poses for the media

Releases: TBA on Netflix

Starring: Kim Woo-bin and Kim Sung-kyun

This action buddy comedy will reunite Black Knight director Jason Kim with star Kim Woo-bin, as the actor depicts the world of "martial arts officers." When he rescues an officer from an assault and temporarily takes up the post, he partners with a dedicated probation officer (played by Kim Sung-kyun) to keep the community safe.

Trailer: TBA

'Uprising'

Releases: TBA on Netflix

Starring: Gang Dong-won, Park Jeong-min, Cha Seung-won, Kim Shin-rok, Jin Sun-kyu, and Jung Sung-il

All we know so far about this historical epic, co-written and co-produced by acclaimed director Park Chan-wook is its logline: "Set in the Joseon era, during a tumultuous time in the aftermath of war, Uprising takes viewers on a gripping journey through the lives of two childhood friends turned adversaries: Cheon-yeong, a slave with remarkable martial prowess who struggles to break free from an unjust servitude, and Jong-ryeo, Cheon-yeong’s master and scion of Joseon’s most influential military family."

Trailer: TBA

'Yumi's Cells: The Movie'

Releases: TBA on Viki

A hit webtoon has been adapted into a full-length animated film for the first time in South Korea. This new adaptation of Lee Dong-eun's webtoon—which originally ran from 2015 to 2020 and was previously adapted into a live-action K-drama in 2021—follows office worker Yumi as she pursues her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. The story is told through the many cells that inhabit her body—think Inside Out but with way more emotions (including a "Writer Cell," a "Hunger Cell," and a "Love Cell.")

Trailer: HERE

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Quinci is a Contributing Culture Editor who writes pieces and helps to strategize editorial content across TV, movies, music, theater, and pop culture. She contributes interviews with talent, as well as SEO content, features, and trend stories. She fell in love with storytelling at a young age, and eventually discovered her love for cultural criticism and amplifying awareness for underrepresented storytellers across the arts. She previously served as a weekend editor for Harper’s Bazaar, where she covered breaking news and live events for the brand’s website, and helped run the brand’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Her freelance writing has also appeared in outlets including HuffPost, The A.V. Club, Elle, Vulture, Salon, Teen Vogue, and others. Quinci earned her degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. She was a 2021 Eugene O’Neill Critics Institute fellow, and she is a member of the Television Critics Association. She is currently based in her hometown of Los Angeles. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her studying Korean while watching the latest K-drama, recommending her favorite shows and films to family and friends, or giving a concert performance while sitting in L.A. traffic.