5 Romantic Korean Movies To Watch Now
Take a break from your K-Drama marathon with these movies featuring Korea’s fave plot-driver: love!
Who hasn’t sat through 16 episodes of a K-Drama, followed shortly by another marathon? With us living through the pandemic, spoiling ourselves with not just one but tons of these beautifully produced, feel-good dramas has been the sanity savers for many of us these days.
But, in case you want a bit of a change to your viewing habits, we’ve listed down five romantic Korean movies that are a must-see. They'll each only take roughly 1 to 2 hours of your time, so it's a good breaker before you move on to another K-Drama.
Think of these as palate cleansers. Forbidden, filial, cheesy, romantic, and supernatural, these types of love take centerstage in these films that will surely make you feel all sorts of emotions while watching.
Some will leave you bawling from heartbreak and some might even have you tearing up from laughter. Whatever mood you feel like getting into today, we’ve got you covered. Now, find your best spot in the room and get your popcorn ready!
5 Romantic Korean Movies To Watch Now
5 Romantic Korean Movies To Watch Now
1. Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982
Based from Cho Nam-joo’s 2016 controversial novel of the same title, this 2018 movie stars one of this generation’s favorite leading men, Gong Yoo, and his Train to Busan co-star, Jung Yu-mi. As in the book, this movie tackles the many challenges a woman faces in South Korea: from being born in a patriarchal family, to juggling career and family, to sticking to traditions while trying to embrace the modern world.
1. Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982
Jung Yu-mi’s convincing transformation as different people and Gong Yoo’s portrayal of his character's longing and frustration without uttering a single word are worth watching out for.
2. Tune in For Love or Yoo Yeol’s Music Album
Not a stranger to love stories, Kim Go-eun and Jung Hae-in of Goblin fame reunite in this 2019 romantic melodrama that tackles change and love’s evolution. Though deemed a typical plot as this movie shows the beauty and pain of loving the right person at a wrong time, the actors, as well as the movie soundtrack, breathed new life in the oh-so-familiar storyline.
2. Tune in For Love or Yoo Yeol’s Music Album
Add Jung Hae-in’s boyish charm and Kim Go-eun’s acting prowess and you’re sure to tune in from start to finish.
3. Be With You
What’s a K-movie without a little fantasy? This film is a remake of a 2004 Japanese film of the same title which has Crash Landing on You’s Son Ye-jin and Oh My Venus’ So Ji-sub as main actors. Be With You is a story of love that surpasses even death. The character of Son Ye-jin, unofficially dubbed as the “Melo (drama) Queen” during one of her interviews with Hyun Bin, magically appears from the afterlife and was found sitting in a tunnel by her husband and her son during a heavy downpour.
3. Be With You
This Korean adaptation has got lessons about loving your family while living your best life, and are strategically sandwiched between Son Ye-jin and So Ji-sub’s romantic encounters. You better watch out for that. And oh, the cameo! Keep your eyes peeled for that, too!
4. One Day
Lee Kang-soo, (played by Kim Nam-gil whose breakthrough role was in Queen Seondok) an insurance investigator, is able to see and interact with the spirit of his client, Dan Mi-so, who’s in a coma after a car accident. Through Dan Mi-so’s spirit’s numerous encounters with Lee Kang-soo, she was able to teach him empathy, how to let loose, and live his life as if it were his last.
4. One Day
Just for reference, this film by Lee Yoon-ki will somehow remind you of Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo’s 2005 rom-com movie Just Like Heaven.
5. A Man and a Woman
Expect a masterpiece in every film Gong Yoo stars in. The story revolves around an all-too-familiar plotline of two strangers meeting and falling in love at the wrong time. The two met right after dropping off their kids at a camp in Helsinki, Finland. They reconnect, separate, sneak in a few times, separate again.
5. A Man and a Woman
This might not be something new for some but Gong Yoo’s and Jeon Do-yeon’s (of the movie Secret Sunshine which won her a Best Actress award at the Cannes 60th Film Festival) superb acting abilities have made this familiar story refreshing and extremely relatable.
Photos from IMDb, AsianWiki
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