I started watching Korean Movies/Drama more than two years ago. My first K-Movie was Innocent Steps. It was the best romantic movie that I had ever watched and I loved the lead actress’ role. This motivated me to watch some more movies featuring the same actress. I watched them and before I knew I became fan of K-movies. Now, I have watched over 100 K-Movies, some good and some not-so-good.
It is not possible for me to include (and probably for you to follow) in this post, all the good movies I have watched. Hence, this is the First Part of Must-Watch Korean Romantic Movies. The second part will follow shortly.
So here goes the list of first 16 K-Romantic-Movies that I enjoyed watching.
1. A Moment to Remember
| IMDB Rating | 8.2 (2416 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 5 November 2004 |
A career woman Soo-jin who has everything and was born with a silver spoon in her mouth gets dumped by her already-married boyfriend. She tries to get over him and forget. One day she bumps into a poor carpenter, Cheol-soo whose only goal in life is to become an architect, and she becomes attracted to him. They finally fall in love and get happily married. Now that she thinks she found the right one, she has to face the undeniable fact that she has a disease which is erasing her memories…
2. My Sassy Girl
| IMDB Rating | 8.2 (12760 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance, Comedy |
| Release Date | 27 July 2001 |
Based on a series of true stories posted by Ho-sik Kim on the Internet describing his relationship with his girlfriend. These were later transformed into a best-selling book and the movie follows the book closely.
As the film opens we are introduced to Gyeon-woo, a kind-hearted but at times naive college student who seems to keep getting into trouble. On his way home one night he rescues a beautiful but completely smashed young woman. She subsequently causes a scene in the subway, calls him "honey", and then passes out. With the eyes of the other subway passengers upon him, who all believe that she is his girlfriend, he has little choice but to take responsibility for her. Thus begins his relationship with the at-times charming, at-times violent damsel who steals his heart.
Much of the film is structured around the bizarre antics of Gyeon-woo's newfound girlfriend. After she passes out yet again, Gyeon woo looks at her blissful face and promises to himself that he will save her, and right whatever it is that troubles her. This proves to be much more of a challenge than he expects.
3. The Classic
| IMDB Rating | 7.7 (1777 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 30 January 2003 |
Ji-hae and Soo-kyoung are friends attending the same university and both have a crush on Sang-min who is in their drama club. The more clamorous and outgoing of the two, Soo-kyoung, asks Ji-hae to do her a favor - write a love letter to Sang-min. Ji-hae pours out her own feelings for him on paper, but sadly in her friend's name. Touched by the letter, Sang-min is attracted to Soo-kyoung, and Ji-hae, feeling uncomfortable and even guilty, tries to avoid him. And yet by coincidence or by fate she keeps running into him.
Ji-hae has lived alone with her mom since her childhood, when her dad unexpectedly passed away. Her mom is now on a trip abroad, and to wile away her solitude she starts cleaning the attic. There Ji-hae finds a secret box, in which her mom kept the memorabilia of her first love story of some decades past.
4. Windstruck
| IMDB Rating | 7.1 (2243 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance, Comedy |
| Release Date | 3 June 2004 |
A devil-may-care police woman, Kyung-jin, gets to know a kind-hearted high school teacher Myung-woo when she mistakes him for a thief. After an awkward first encounter and a few more coincidences they start to become fond of each other. Although Kyung-jin is one tough girl, Myung-woo is always worried about her because of her recklessness. One day, when Myung-woo tries to help Kyung-jin during her risky pursuit of a criminal, an accident happens which causes Myung-woo not to be with Kyung-jin anymore. After the accident, Kyung-jin feels empty and lonely so she throws herself into perilous situations. However, whenever she falls in danger she feels that a strange but familiar sense in the wind is helping her out.
5. Closer to Heaven
| IMDB Rating | 6.9 (27 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 24 September 2009 |
Ji-soo, a funeral director, happens to oversee the funeral services of Jong-woo’s deceased mother. Being old friends, they are excited by the unexpected reunion, but the reality is more bitter than sweet. Jong-woo is suffering from the incurable Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Ji-soo has been through two painful divorces. Jong-woo lightheartedly asks Ji-soo to just marry him. Ji-soo is surprised by the offer, but it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea to her. She wants to start a new life with the love that is starting to grow inside her, while the fear of losing Jong-woo scares her as well. despite the disapproval of those around her, Ji-soo still goes through with the marriage to Jong-woo. As Jong-woo’s symptoms beginning to worsen with each passing day, Jong-woo gets easily irritable as he begins to lose control over more and more parts of his body. Even though he hurts Ji-soo’s feelings, all she wants is to stay with him and cure his disease.
6. Innocent Steps
| IMDB Rating | 6.9 (311 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 28 April 2005 |
The story starts off with Na Young-Sae injuring his leg during a competition and losing his partner to a rival dancer. After some time, his brother gets a Chinese bride to be his new dance partner. However, Jang Chae-Ryn (played by Moon Geun-Young)who has no dance experience, turns up in place of her sister. Her sister has backed out of the marriage due to the disapproval of her fiance.
After some events, Young-Sae decides to train Chae-Ryn to take part in the national dance competition. As time goes by, they grow closer and develop feelings for each other. As the competition nears, Young-Sae's rival once again tries to steal Young-Sae's partner. All these lead to a horrible loss for YS and to the separation of the couple.
7. April Snow
| IMDB Rating | 6.7 (531 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 7 September 2005 |
A man and a woman meet in the hospital after their respective partners are involved in a car accident. After learning that their spouses have been having an affair, the two begin one of their own.
8. 3-Iron
| IMDB Rating | 8.0 (14708 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance, Silent |
| Release Date | 15 October 2004 |
A young man named Tae-suk, whose only possession is a powerful motorcycle, spends his time riding around the city looking for empty apartments. After finding one, he hangs out for a while, fixing himself something to eat and washing laundry or making small repairs in return. He always tries to leave before the owners get back but he isn’t always successful. In one ostensibly empty mansion he meets the abused wife of a rich man. She joins him.... Kim Ki-duk shot the movie in a very short time and has, in his own unusual way, created a meditation on violence, injustice, and cruelty in which roles are reversed.
9. My Girl and I
| IMDB Rating | 6.8 (433 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 22 December 2005 |
Based on a popular novel, "Crying Out Love in the Centre of the World", "My Girl and I" is a Korean remake of the 2004 Japanese blockbuster.
Two high-school classmates, Su-ho (Cha Tae-hyun) and Su-eun (Song Hye-gyo), know each other since middle school. Su-ho's grades are nothing special and he's somewhat ordinary, but big-hearted. Su-eun, on the contrary, is an object of adoration for all the boys in her school. But the pretty Su-eun has a crush on a boy... and that is Su-ho. Once she starts hanging out with him, jealous stares and enraged fists of other boys greet Su-ho but he is not aware of Su-eun’s love.
Su-eun decides to confess her true feelings and leaves a voice message. Su-ho, hearing her sweet confession, stays up the whole night. Their love gradually begins to bloom. One day, with the complicity of their friends, Su-eun and Su-ho go on a trip all by themselves. During this trip, Su-ho and Su-eun realize that their first love has become the most beautiful love of their lives. Then Su-ho finds out something tragic about the girl he loves ...
10. How to Keep My Love
| IMDB Rating | 6.3 (138 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 16 July 2004 |
Hyun-ju is a 29-year-old woman who believes that she has nothing to show for herself, except a successful relationship with her boyfriend. One day, her boyfriend So-hoon, who is sweet and gentle, goes to a department store to shop for her and ends up stuck in a broken elevator with the famous, gorgeous movie star Da-young, who is soon attracted to him for his easygoing and down-to-earth personality...
11. Il Mare
| IMDB Rating | 7.8 (3000 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 9 September 2000 |
Sung-hyun, who just moved into ' Il mare ' receives a strange letter. The letter is from a young woman in the year 1999, two years from the present. Her predictions about the past are amazingly accurate. Her warning about a flurry of snow on a certain day in January of 1998 and the ensuing flu virus turns out to be true.
Eun-Joo is convinced that her letter has traveled back in time to December of 1997 and starts writing regularly to her newfound pen pal…
12. A Millionaire’s First Love
| IMDB Rating | 7.2 (599 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 9 February 2006 |
Jae Kyung is a spoilt rich kid and a bit of a slacker. He is in his senior year at highschool, but rarely bothers showing up to class. It's not that he has no desire for success; it's just that he knows he doesn't have to study hard in order to get it. On his nineteenth birthday he will become a millionaire, thanks to his late grandfather's inheritance. But, the day before the big pay out, Jae Kyung's family lawyer discovers a hidden clause in the contract. Jae Kyung can only inherit his fortune if he graduates from Boram high School. Where exactly?!
Boram is in a remote part of the Korean countryside, miles from Jae Kyung's cushy little existence. So the pampered city boy has no choice but to up-sticks and move to this small rural community - where his credit card isn't accepted anywhere and he can't even drive his sports car! But, in amongst all the country bumpkins and backward yokels, Jae Kyung meets Eun Hwan in whom he sees something different, something special, something which might possibly inspire him to change his selfish, arrogant ways and become a better person. But there's more...
13. Sad Movie
| IMDB Rating | 7.6 (876 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 21 October 2005 |
The film focuses on the stories about four relationships and their trials, pains, heartaches, and subsequent separations. The plot lines eventually connect in some way, but they remain unrelated for the most part.
14. Seducing Mr. Perfect
| IMDB Rating | 6.5 (283 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance, Comedy |
| Release Date | 7 December 2006 |
Min-joon (Uhm Jung-hwa) is a believer in true love and always very dedicated to her current boyfriend. However, men always break up with her - her latest boyfriend ends their relationship on her boy friend's birthday. Distracted by the latest break-up, she bumps into a car and a man steps out of it - who turns out to be her new boss, Robin Heiden (Daniel Henney). Heiden has very clear ideas about a relationship and love: both are a game of power and Min-Joon seeks advice from him, as she doesn't want to get dumped again. However, when she starts to treat men like Heiden treats women, she realizes that she prefers her older behavior, even if that means that she gets dumped again; she doesn't see love as a game of power and never will. Heiden, who has to deal with his own heartbreak, as he loved a woman so much that she had to shoot him to get the message across that she wasn't interested in him, starts to soften at Min-joon's attitude towards life. He eventually falls in love with her and both get into a real relationship.
One of the unique concepts of the movie is that Robin Heiden speaks only English because he finds Korean hard to speak, while Min-Joon speaks mostly in Korean. The two seem to understand each other perfectly without any outside translation. This was a new style of dialogue for Korean films, and it is partially credited for the film's success.
15. Daisy
| IMDB Rating | 7.3 (1421 Votes) |
| Genre | Drama |
| Release Date | 9 March 2006 |
Daisy is an urban romantic melodrama between a young art painter (Jun Ji-hyun), an Interpol detective and a professional hitman. With a twist that is bound to make its audience think about their own perception about love…
16. Rules of Dating
| IMDB Rating | 6.3 (230 Votes) |
| Genre | Romance |
| Release Date | 10 June 2005 |
The film centers on a dedicated student teacher named Choi Hong (Kang Hye Jeong, from Old Boy) who finds herself being propositioned by English teacher Lee Yu Rim (Park Hae Il, from My Mother, the Mermaid), a man who just so happens to be the person in charge of her class! But this is no innocent flirtation. Not one to mince words, Yu Rim simply asks the unsuspecting Choi Hong to have sex! To make matters even stranger, Yu Rim already has a long-time girlfriend. His wandering eye relates to his beliefs about true love: for him, there is no such thing. In his view, dating is meant solely for sexual gratification.
Choi Hong has a boyfriend of her own, a man she one day hopes to marry. But like Yu Rim, she harbors doubts about relationships, a feeling directly connected to some unpleasant experiences in her past. Surprisingly, Yu Rim's methods actually seem to charm her. But as this unconventional romance takes off, will the two cynics realize what the real purpose of dating is? And what about their significant others? Or the whispers in the teachers' lounge about their behavior? Filled with bawdy humor and fun performances, Rules of Dating is one romantic comedy that's not afraid to break all the rules!
