5 Best Korean Movies Based on True Stories & Events You Should Watch

South Korean movie Parasite has captivated many international audiences. If you are one of them, you might look for more South Korean movies to watch. Many appealing themes have been released, which include South Korean movies based on true stories.

Watching South Korean movies based on true stories might bring you in tears, shock, or inspired you, as many of them has a powerful moral message. Further, we can also learn many issues in South Korea, including tradition, history, social, and political. So, here are the five best Korean movies based on true stories you should watch.

Table of Contents

Best Korean Movies Based on True Stories & Events You Should Watch

1. I Can Speak

Director: Kim Hyun-Seok

Writer: Yoo Seung-Hee, Kim Hyun-Seok

Initial release: 2017

Cast: Na Moon-hee, Lee Je-hoon

I Can Speak is a Korean movie with a slight comedy based on a true story. It tells a story of an old woman named Na Ok Boon (played by Na Moon Hee) who has a strong will to speak English. Then she met a junior civil service officer Park Min-Jae (Lee Je-hoon), who can speak English well. One day, Park Min-Jae found out her reason to be able to speak in English. Since then, he helps and encourages her more than before.

The movie not only catches the audience towards the end but also provides a profound message about women who experienced mental and physical torture. Many of them are too afraid to speak up and hide the wound closely for years. At the end of the movie, we will found out that the title “I CAN SPEAK” is not only stressing about being able to speak in English but also means “I can speak up.”

2. Silenced

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk

Writer: Hwang Dong-hyuk, Gong Ji-young (the Crucible)

Initial release: 2011

Cast: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Kim Hyun-soo, Jung In-seo, Baek Seung-hwan

Silenced is a South Korean movie based on a true event that shocked the nation in 2000. It also made changes to the law in South Korea to protect children from sexual predators. The movie tells about hearing-impaired children who were experienced sexual abuse by the principal and other teachers.

Kang In-ho (Gong Yoo) is a newly appointed art teacher and sign language practitioner at Gwangju Inhwa School. It is a school for the hearing impaired in Gwangju, which was established in 1961. Kang In-ho is the first person who notices something wrong happened to the children.

He was learning the children’s strange behavior and bruises on their bodies. To help the children, he was assisted by Yoo-Jin (Jung Yu-mi), who works at the human rights center. Together, they reveal the acts of sexual abuse committed by the principal and other teachers.

After the movie’s release, it brought public outrage over the weak judiciary system and court rulings for the perpetrators. Further, the public outrage also leading the police to reopen the case and closed the school.

Further, a new law called the Dogani (Silenced) law was passed in late October 2011. The new law eliminates the limitations statute for sex crimes against minors and the disabled. In 2012 one of the perpetrators was sentenced to 12 years. Also, he must wear an electronic anklet for 10 years after being released.

3. A Taxi Driver

Director: Jang Hoon

Writer: Eom Yu-na

Initial release: 2017

Cast: Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Ryu Jun-yeol

A Taxi Driver is a Korean movie based on the true event of the Gwangju Uprising. The event is also known as the Gwangju Democratization Movement that took place in 1980. In this movie, the male lead is Song Kang Ho, who played in Parasite, as a taxi driver in Seoul named Kim Man Seob.

He agreed to drive with a foreign journalist from Germany named Jürgen “Peter” Hinzpeter to Gwangju. In Gwangju, they found themselves trapped in the middle of the chaos. However, while they witness the Gwangju massacre, they try to capture what happens and share it with the world.

Other best Korean movies based on true stories and events

4. Whistle Blower

Director: Lim Soon-ry

Writer: Lee Choon-hyeong

Initial release: 2014

Cast: Park Hae-il, Yoo Yeon-Seok, Lee Kyeong-Yeong

Whistle Blower is a Korean movie based on true events about uncovering the lies of a well-known researcher in South Korea.

One day, a TV news program PD, Yoon Min-choel (Park Hae-Il), plans to investigate the illegal purchase of ovum by the largest sterility clinic in South Korea, ‘The Newman Medical.’ But then he found out that a well-known researcher is involved. He is Lee Jang-hwan (Lee Kyeong-Yeong), who succeeded in cloning human embryonic stem cells.

Just as he considers abandoning the investigation, he gets a call from an anonymous source Shim Min-ho (Yoo Yeon-Seok), who works for Jang-hwan and reveals the truth that there is no stem cell cloning. Moreover, he tells Min-choel that the result of the research was fabricated along with unethical practices. Together, they reveal the truth to the public.

5. The Attorney

Director: Yang Woo-Seok

Writer: Yang Woo-Seok, Yoon Hyun-Ho, Lee Jung-Hwa

Initial release: 2013

Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Kim Young-Ae, Oh Dal-Su, Kwak Do-Won,Im Si-Wan, Lee Sung Min, Jung Woon-Joong, Jo Min-Gi, Lee Hang-Na, Lee Jung-Eun

The Attorney is another Korean movie based on true events. It concerning the human right abused that happened in the early 1980s. The movie tells about a lawyer, Song Woo-Seok, and his legal team that struggles to defend a group of innocent students at court. The students were taken by the authorities. They were accused of false charges and got beaten by the dictatorial military government to make them confess.

The movie was inspired by the true event of the “Burim case” in 1981. Roh Moo-hyun, the 16th President of South Korea, who was still a lawyer, formed a legal team together with Moon Jae-in (the 19th President of South Korea) and Kim Kwang-il defending a group of youth that was arrested by false accusation.

From Korean movies based on true stories above, three are listed in top-grossing Korean movies and passed 10 million viewers. They are A Taxi Driver at #12, The Attorney at #15, Silenced at #89.

So, have you watched these best Korean Movies based on true stories & events? Let us know your opinion on the comment below.