When it comes to pop culture, South Korea is best known for two things – K-Pop and K-dramas. But besides catchy tunes from the likes of BTS and Twice, as well as hit dramas such as Crash Landing on You, Itaewon Class, and Kingdom, Korea also has another thing to offer: Korean horror movies.
Like Japan, South Korea has mastered the art of making horror films that keep you coming back for more. Even better – many of these films star A-list actors such as Park Seo-joon, Park Min-young, and Park So-dam. We’ve curated a list of 24 Korean horror movies that will send chills down your spine, so turn off the lights, get comfy and put one of these films on. And if you feel like someone’s watching you in the middle of the night, it’s probably nothing…
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Set in a dilapidated training centre, Guimoon: The Lightless Door follows a string of mysterious and inexplicable events that occur within a building.
Back in 1990, an employee at the training centre killed several guests and took his own life. Following the serial killings, the building was shut off and has been abandoned since.
The first person to set foot into the training centre after its abandonment is Do Jin, the director of a research institute. He musters the courage to enter the building with a sole purpose in mind: find out what led to his mother’s death. Alongside Do Jin are 3 university students who pay a visit to the training centre to film a video.
You’ll have to watch the movie to find out who is awaiting behind closed doors – literally and figuratively.
Watch the teaser here:
Video credit: PLAYYMOVIE
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Released back in February 2020, The Closet surprised viewers by being more than just a horror film, weaving in a heartwarming father-daughter relationship amidst the scares.
After the passing of his wife, Sang Woon decides to move into a new home with his daughter, Yi Na, to rebuild their relationship. But his plan to do so is interrupted by Yi Na’s newfound friend – a spirit who lures her into a closet, resulting in her disappearance.
With news of Yi Na’s disappearance spreading across different media outlets, a mysterious man by the name of Kyung Hoon visits Sang Woon to let him know that 32 other children have disappeared in the house and he has been working on the missing cases for close to a decade.
With no one else to turn to for help, Sang Woon agrees to work together with Kyung Hoon to find his daughter.
Catch the teaser here:
Video credit: CJ ENM Movie
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Well, even if horror isn’t something up your alley, it’s hard to give this one a miss when the main cast consists of Park Seo Joon from Itaewon Class and Woo Do Hwan, that good-looking captain from The King: Eternal Monarch.
Park Seo Joon plays Yong Hoo, a successful MMA fighter who doesn’t believe in a higher power after having lost his father in an unfortunate accident when he was younger. But when a wound appears on his palm, Yong Hoo turns to an exorcist, for help, only to find himself embroiled in a fight against evil forces – which is something he didn’t sign up for.
Check out the teaser here:
Video credit: BUCKET STUDIO
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A horror film based on an actual abandoned hospital is as real as it can get.
When a group of six individuals set out to livestream their experience in Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital – which really exists in Gwangju and has been mentioned in CNN’s list of the 10 freakiest places around the world – you can only expect the worst for them.
And when the streaming goes live, strange occurrences start to happen and they soon find themselves too frightened to even move an inch.
Don’t miss out on the teaser:
Video credit: 쇼박스 SHOWBOX
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Set in the Joseon dynasty, The Wrath weaves history and horror to elicit fear from the audience.
With 3 capable sons, the Lee family is known as one of the most reputable and powerful clans around. But their familial prestige crumbles into pieces when 2 out of 3 sons die out of the blue. Now, every ounce of hope and expectation is placed on Myung Kyu, the youngest and now only son in the family.
Driven by the need to give birth to a son, Myung Kyu weds Ok Bun. However, his first night with his wife becomes his last as he, too, loses his life. In the midst of enduring hostile treatment from her in-laws and carrying Myung Kyu’s child, Ok Bun realises that there’s something uncanny about the Lee family.
Catch the teaser here:
Video credit: Shudder
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When Hee Yeon’s son goes missing without a trace, she decides to move into a house in the countryside with her family to cope with the loss. There, she meets a girl who has lost her way in the woods. WIth a voice sounding eerily similar to her son’s, Hee Yeon can’t help but empathise with the little girl and eventually takes her in.
There’s an urban legend in Korea that tells of a creature that’s freakishly good at mimicking voices. And when unusual things start happening around the family, they question if the little girl is even human to begin with.
Watch the teaser here:
Video credit: PLAYYMOVIE
Image credit: Namu Wiki
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Arguably one of the best horror Korean movies, The Wailing takes place in a village called Gokseong. The outbreak of a novel virus throws the society into a state of tumult and chaos, taking away the lives of many.
The virus began to spread like wildfire after the entrance of a Japanese man, who had raped and infected a woman. Thereafter, he kills her entire family.
Jong Goo, a police officer, investigates the correlation between the Japanese man and the unknown disease. What started as a task soon turns into something more significant as his daughter’s life is on the line.
Don’t miss out on the teaser:
Video credit: 20th Century Studios Korea
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The Silenced is set during the Japanese Occupation of Korea.
Park Bo Young plays high school student Joo Ran. She has recently been transferred to a female boarding school in Keijo – present day Seoul – to nurse her frail body back to health.
Everything seems fine until she starts to notice the disappearances of her classmates with each passing day. She’s even more certain that something is amiss when she feels weird bodily changes, such as the inability to control her emotions and increased physical strength.
She and her best friend Yeon Duk try to escape after discovering that the girls in the school – including themselves – are actually test subjects for a newly invented drug by the Japanese. But finding a way out isn’t simple as they stumble upon a Japanese military base at the edge of their school compound.
Check out the teaser here:
Video credit: Lotte Entertainment (International)
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Set in the period after the Korean war, The Piper follows Woo Ryung, a flautist, and his son as they venture into the forest in search of a new home. They come across a village that’s infested with rats said to gorge on human flesh.
Woo Ryung makes a deal with the village head and promises to help him rid the village of vermin in exchange for a cow. But what seems to be a simple job isn’t as straightforward as it seems when the village head is hiding.
Watch the teaser here:
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While a blossoming office romance is common in many K-dramas, it often overshadows the office politics that are playing out in the background. But in The Wicked, that takes a centrestage as backstabbing and sabotaging are brought to a whole new level, surpassing petty politics.
A new employee by the name of Se Young is constantly picked on by her superior, Lee Sun, due to her withdrawn and introverted personality. But as the saying goes, what goes around comes around – Se Young is ready to get her revenge on Lee Sun through wicked ways.
Catch the teaser here:
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When a simple game of hide-and-seek goes terribly wrong, you only have yourself to blame for joining in the fun – but that’s if you voluntarily sign up for it though.
Sung Soo has a successful business and lives a comfortable life in a luxury apartment. However, he has always wondered how his brother is doing and decides to pay him a visit at the rundown apartment he lives in.
Over there, Sung Soo runs into a neighbour, Joo Hee. She’s terrified of Sung Soo’s brother and begs him to talk his brother out of spying on her and her daughter. Baffled by this, Sung Soo decides to scan through the building, only to realise that every unit is marked with different signs that indicate the number and gender of the people residing in them.
These signs eventually find their way right outside of his own apartment and he’s roped into a twisted game of hide-and-seek, Sung Soo has trouble getting a hold of the suspect, who’s most certainly his brother.
Check out the teaser here:
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Jung Mi regularly uploads videos online to earn some extra cash for her and her sister, Se Hee. When she comes across a folder labelled as “forbidden video”, she immediately contacts Se Hee’s boyfriend, Joon Hyuk, to help crack open the encrypted file.
But after watching the video together, Jung Mi and Se Hee’s lives are now a living nightmare, constantly haunted by a presence they can’t even track down.
Don’t miss out on the teaser:
Video credit: BIFAN Official
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Park Min Young is well-known for her roles in hit K-dramas such as Healer and What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim. But back in 2011, she actually starred in her first and only movie, The Cat.
Pet groomer So Yeon takes in a cat named Bidanyi after its owner unexpectedly passes away in an elevator. Not long after, So Yeon’s life is turned upside down. She starts having recurring nightmares of a little girl, and to make matters worse, her best friend Bo Hee is found dead next to a cat she recently adopted.
Baffled by strange occurrences that all seem to be linked to cats, So Yeon teams up with police officer Jun Seok to investigate the case.
Watch the teaser here:
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“Pink Dolls” is a little-known girl group comprised of members Eun Ju, Shin Ji, Je Ni, and Ah Rang. After remaking an unreleased old song titled “White”, the band immediately shot to fame. Unbeknownst to them, the song is cursed, leaving all members dead but one.
Catch the teaser here:
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On a fateful night, Joo Yun’s vehicle stalls on an empty highway and Kyung Chul, a serial killer on the loose, offers her assistance. Days later, Joo Yun is found dead.
Her fiance, Soo Hyun, then vows to hunt down Kyung Chul, even if it means turning into a person like him.
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After experiencing unbearable stress at work in Seoul, Hae Won decides to visit her grandfather’s hometown, a secluded island in South Korea, for a much-needed breather.
During her time there, she manages to catch up with her childhood friend Bok Nam, who seems to be having a rough time on the island where she’s constantly abused by her husband Man Jong and trampled on by other villagers. Despite knowing her plight, Hae Won refuses to help Bok Nam and her daughter Yeon Hee to escape to the city.
Bok Nam eventually musters up the courage to take flight with Yeon Hee when she learns that her daughter is being sexually abused by her father. This attempt is intercepted by Man Jong, which unfortunately resulted in Yeon Hee’s death.
Yeon Hee’s passing proves to be the final straw and Bok Nam is ready to release all that pent-up anger and hatred by inflicting pain onto the ones who did the same to her.
Don’t miss out on the teaser:
Video credit: Far East Films
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International fans may know Song Kang Ho for his role in the movie Parasite, but he’s actually one of the most outstanding actors in Korea, having won awards for films such as The Snowpiercer (2013), Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), and The Taxi Driver (2017). Thirst also saw this actor snagging the Best Actor award in four different award ceremonies.
In this film, Kang Ho plays a selfless Catholic priest who has been serving people faithfully for years. He decides to volunteer for a project that aims at creating a vaccine to eradicate a deadly virus, but ends up contracting it himself. However, he miraculously regains his health after undergoing a blood transfusion.
Words spread fast across town about Sang Hyun’s speedy recovery, but little known to them, a vampire’s blood now flows in him and his desire for humans’ blood and flesh has never been greater.
Watch the teaser here:
Video credit: LookEastFilmFestival
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The brightest students are locked up in a school compound with their teachers, Hwang Chang Ok and Choi So Young. There, they have to answer a question correctly within a time limit or a student trapped in a water tank will drown and die.
They fail their first test, resulting in her death. While scrambling to find a way out of the school, despite being told otherwise, they witness the unnatural deaths of their fellow classmates.
Catch the teaser here:
Video credit: World Film Trailer 2014
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It’s no secret that beauty comes with a price. But no one would’ve expected to get more than what they’ve bargained for after having a procedure done by one of the most famous and successful plastic surgeons in the country, Yoon Hee.
Hyun Soo, the daughter of Yoo Hee, and most of her friends have had their faces done by her mother. But things turn ugly when, one by one, they start to cut up their faces.
She’s horrified by these occurrences and there’s one thing she’s certain about is – all the cases are linked to her mother.
Check out the teaser here:
Video credit: SomosAsia
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Dolls and creepiness – name a more iconic duo.
The Doll Master follows five individuals from different walks of life: Hae Mi, Tae Seong, Young Ha, Jung Ki, and Sun Young. They are cordially invited to a doll museum, run by Choi Jin Wan and Im Jae Won, to have dolls specially made in the image of themselves.
At the museum, Hae Mi keeps coming across Mi Na, a young girl dressed in red. She turns out to be the soul of the doll Hae Mi used to have by her side when she was younger. However, things start to get out of hand when those who came to the museum with Hae Mi meet their untimely ends.
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In 1972, during the Vietnam war, a South Korean military base suddenly receives a radio transmission from a team of 18 men who have presumably all lost their lives in Romeo Point.
Together with his team, Lieutenant Choi Tae In sets off into the dense jungle in an attempt to rescue those who are left stranded in R Point. But one by one, the men in Choi’s team meet with unnatural deaths.
Watch the teaser here:
Video credit: CARLOS APOLO – TRAILERS GEEK
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Bae Su Min, a young teenage girl who suffers from a mental disorder, recently got discharged from a mental institution and returns home to her family. However, life back at home is no longer the same as before with the addition of a new family member, stepmother Eun Joo.
As Su Min constantly witnesses the abuses her little sister Su Yeon endures under their stepmother, her hatred and anger toward Eun Joo escalates. The abuse eventually leads to Su Yeon’s death.
Catch the teaser here:
Video credit: Horror Lover
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Having your desires granted without having to lift a finger sounds tempting, doesn’t it? Wishing Stairs revolves around a mysterious 29th step on a flight of stairs that grants you a wish if you ever come across it.
While Jin Sung and So Hee are good friends in an all-girls school, they are also competitors for a spot at a renowned ballet school in Russia.
After learning about the legend of the mysterious step from Hye Joo, Jin Sung, who’s desperate for the spot, decides to see for herself if her wish will really come true. Unbeknownst to her, comes with a hefty price – the life of So Hee.
Overwhelmed with grief, Hye Joo sets out to find this very step to wish for So Hee’s return. And like the wish before hers, it comes with a consequence – the return of a vengeful spirit.
Don’t miss out on the teaser:
Video credit: CJ ENM
Image credit: Namu Wiki
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If you enjoy horror movies with an element of perturbing mystery, Phone is a must-watch. One of the most well-loved horror Korean movies of all time, the movie revolves around the protagonist Ji Won, who constantly receives anonymous calls.
Ji Won works as a journalist, and her latest article on a pedophilia scandal goes viral. She even receives calls from unknown people who threaten to kill her, which propels her to change her address and contact details.
Now that she has a new home and phone number, Ji Won thinks that her life will return to normal. But she becomes more troubled when she constantly gets calls from an unknown number, and to make matters worse, she begins to see a ghostly figure.
Who is the caller, and what does the person want from Ji Won?
Check out the teaser here:
Video credit: 영화 예고편 365
K-pop, K-beauty, and K-dramas are probably the first few things that pop up when we mention Korea, and horror movies might not even cross your mind. But we dare you to watch a few of these Korean horror movies that will certainly change your mind and leave you wanting for more.
Here are other Korea-related articles worth a read:
Cover image adapted from: IMDb, IMDb, IMDb
Article originally published on 22nd June 2020 by Samantha Chew. Last updated by Yookyung Cha on 14th Oct 2022.
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