12 Latest Korean Action Films Full of Tension!
South Korea is famous for its romance and drama films, but its action films shouldn't be overlooked. Although not many action films are made each year, quite a few South Korean action movies have won numerous awards and enjoy global popularity.
Here is a list of the latest Korean action films for those who enjoy adrenaline-pumping stories. Ready to discover them? Let's find out!
1. I, The Executioner
Year | 2024 |
Genre | Action, Crime, Drama |
Director | Ryu Seung Wan |
Cast | Hwang Jung Min Jung Hae In |
I, The Executioner is a thrilling action drama film from South Korea. It follows the story of solving cases within the South Korean police's criminal investigation unit. This movie is a sequel to Veteran, released in 2015. Once again, director Ryu Seung Wan has been entrusted by CJ Entertainment to direct this film.
After successfully solving the criminal case involving the powerful Sinjin Group in Veteran (2015), police detective Seo Do Cheol (Hwang Jung Min) faces another challenging case. This time, Detective Do Cheol is tracking a serial killer who has terrorized South Korea.
Detective Do Cheol is not alone in this case. He is joined by a young police detective, Park Sun Woo (Jung Hae In), who has just joined his team. Together, they must work to catch the killer and eliminate the criminals involved in the case.
2. The Roundup: Punishment
Year | 2024 |
Genre | Action, Crime, Thriller |
Director | Heo Myeong Haeng |
Cast | Ma Dong Seok Kim Mu Yeol Lee Dong Hwi |
Ma Seok Do, also known as "Monster Cop" (Ma Dong Seok), is back in action! This time, he's up against Baek Chang Ki (Kim Mu Yeol), a ruthless former mercenary who runs an illegal online gambling organisation.
With the help of the Cyber Investigation Team, Ma Seok Do begins to track down Baek Chang Ki and his network. Their investigation takes them to the Philippines, where they discover a connection between a drug trafficking app and an online gambling network.
Baek Chang Ki proves to be a dangerous enemy, using violence and intimidation to maintain his power. He doesn't hesitate to use kidnapping, assault, and murder to eliminate anyone who stands in his way.
To further complicate matters, Baek Chang Ki has the support of Jang Dong Cheol (Lee Dong Hwi), an IT genius who plans to run a similar scheme on a larger scale in Korea. Now, Ma Seok Do and his team must act quickly to stop this threat and protect innocent victims from harm.
3. Badland Hunters
Year | 2024 |
Genre | Action, Adventure, Drama |
Director | Heo Myung Haeng |
Cast | Ma Dong Seok Lee Hee Joon Lee Jun Young Roh Jeong Eui |
Badland Hunters is the sequel to Concrete Utopia. Both movies are set in a post-apocalyptic world following a nuclear war that devastates the globe. In the story, Seoul is now just a big, empty desert that's really hard to live in.
Life becomes even more difficult as residents struggle to find clean water. They resort to filtering dirty water and trading goods to survive.
In one of the surviving districts, a group arrives searching for an 18-year-old girl. Su Na and her grandmother are taken to the city center with promises of a better life. Tragically, on the way, Su Na is separated from her grandmother. While Su Na is taken to a hospital, her grandmother dies.
Luckily, two of Su Na's neighbors from their district, Nam San and Ji Wan, see what happens. They set out to rescue Su Na. It's a tough mission, facing not just hostile forces but also strange mutants. Despite the dangers, they find out the truth about what happened in the hospital where Su Na was held.
4. Citizen of a Kind
Year | 2024 |
Genre | Action, Comedy, Drama |
Director | Park Young Ju |
Cast | Ra Mi Ran Gong Myung Yeom Hye Ran Park Byung Eun Jang Yoon Ju |
Mixing action, drama, and comedy, this film captures the wild journey of a woman who falls victim to a phishing scam.
Deok Hee never expected her life to turn upside down when she lost a large sum of money to a voice scam. Though devastated, she refused to give up. Deok Hee sets out to track down the scammers who stole her money.
During her mission, Deok Hee teams up with Jae Min (Gong Myung), a mysterious young man linked to the scammers but who wants to help her. She also joins Bon Rim (Yum Hye-Ran), her best friend from work, and Sook Ja (Jang Yoon-Ju), another scam victim.
Together, they form an unconventional and daring team, set on taking down the voice scam network and bringing the criminals to justice.
5. Alienoid: The Return to the Future
Year | 2024 |
Genre | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi |
Director | Choi Dong Hoon |
Cast | Ryu Joon Yeol Kim Tae Ri Kim Woo Bin |
"Alienoid: Return to the Future," as you can guess from the title, is all about a thrilling race against time. The heroes have to stop an alien invasion that could wipe out all of humanity. The aliens want to release Haava, a toxic gas from their planet, on Earth, which would be disastrous for our planet.
The key to saving Earth is a special weapon called the Divine Blade. A group of Taoists from ancient Goryeo (a period in Korean history) somehow time-travel to the future. They're on a mission to fight against humans who are under the control of these mean aliens.
This group is awesome. There's Thunder, a secret agent watching over alien prisoners; Lee An, a swordsman from Goryeo who prefers to fight with a gun; and Mureuk, a bit of a clumsy swordsman who, surprisingly, is hosting "The Controller," one of the evil aliens in his body.
They get help from Min Kae In, a regular government worker. Just like the first movie, "Alienoid: Return to the Future" mixes action and comedy, and it's got some amazing CGI that's a treat for the eyes. It's a fun, action-packed adventure with a twist of time travel!
6. Revolver (2024)
Year | 2024 |
Genre | Action, Crime, Drama |
Director | Oh Seung Uk |
Cast | Jeon Do Yeon Ji Chang Wook Lim Ji Yeon |
Ha Soo Young (Jeon Do Yeon), a police officer who gets involved in corruption with her boss, must face the consequences. She agrees to go to prison to cover up her boss's mistakes, hoping for a reward.
However, all those promises are broken when Soo Young is released. The money she was promised while in prison is gone. Disappointment and anger consume her, and she really wanted to find the truth and get back what is rightfully hers.
In her despair, Soo Young meets a mysterious woman named Yoon Sun (Lim Ji Yeon). Yoon Sun offers to help her solve her problems. However, Soo Young soon suspects that Yoon Sun has a hidden agenda connected to Andy (Ji Chang Wook), the man she believes is behind the loss of her money.
7. Finding the King
Year | 2024 |
Genre | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller |
Director | Won Shin Yeon |
Cast | Koo Kyo Hwan Yoo Jae Myung Seo Ju Hyun Park Ye Rin |
It's been a while since we last saw Seo Hyun from SNSD on screen, but the wait is over! Seo Hyun is back in a new film directed by Won Sin Yun called Finding The King. In this movie, she stars alongside Koo Kyo Hwan and Yoo Jae Myung.
The story is set in the 1980s in a village located near the demilitarized zone. One day, the villagers are startled to see a large number of strange objects falling near their homes. Upon closer examination, these objects are identified as robots named Cheol I.
Initially, the villagers are scared of these robots. However, when joint forces from South Korea and the United States arrive to investigate, the villagers decide to protect the robots. This leads to the robots, along with military officer Kim Do Jin (Koo Kyo Hwan), defending the village from an attack by hostile troops.
8. Noryang: Deadly Sea
Year | 2023 |
Genre | Action, Drama, War |
Director | Kim Han Min |
Cast | Kim Yoon Seok Baek Yoon Sik Jung Jae Young Huh Joon Ho |
In 2014, director Kim Han Min released a film called The Admiral: Roaring Currents and followed it up with another war film titled Hansan: Rising Dragon in 2022. In 2023, he continued with a similar theme in a new film, Noryang: Deadly Sea.
This movie explores the history of the Battle of Noryang, the final major battle during the Japanese invasion of Korea from 1592 to 1598.
The film centers around Yi Sun Sin (Kim Yoon Seok), a military commander who successfully drove the Japanese forces out of Joseon following the sudden death of their war leader.
Seizing the opportunity, Sun Sin collaborates with the Ming Dynasty to block the Japanese army's escape route and aims to destroy them.
However, their plan hits a snag when Chen Lin (Jung Jae Young), a governor from the Ming Dynasty, opens the escape route after accepting a bribe from the Japanese. The film leaves us wondering whether Sun Sin's team will ultimately succeed in their mission to defeat the enemy.
9. Unforgivable
Year | 2023 |
Genre | Action, Drama |
Director | Lim Kyoung Ho, So Jun Beum |
Cast | Kim Jung Hyun Park Sung Hyun Gil Hae Yeon |
Many cases of violence in the military have been reported in the media. This inspired directors Lim Kyoung Ho and So Jun Beum to create the film Unforgivable. The story focuses on a junior soldier who is bullied until he dies.
Detective Dong Geun (Kim Jung Hyun) takes on the case to uncover the truth. When he finds the victim's body, he discovers a crumpled note that reveals what really happened. As he digs deeper, the note exposes corruption within one of South Korea's military schools.
The victim, Choi Young Hoon (Yoon Dong Won), was not only verbally and physically abused but also subjected to perverse treatment. He held a grudge against his tormentors. His mother (Gil Hae Yeon) tirelessly seeks justice, hoping Detective Dong Geun's investigation will bring results. So, who's responsible for this horrible act?
10. Usury Academy
Year | 2023 |
Genre | Action, Drama |
Director | Hwang Dong Seok |
Cast | Yoo Sun Ho Kang Mi Na Yoo In Soo |
Dealing with debt is frustrating, isn't it? This is the struggle faced by Kang Jin, the main character in the film Usury Academy starring Yoo Sun Ho. The story revolves around Kang Jin's efforts to pay off a massive debt. He must settle the debt or face relentless pursuit.
One day, Kang Jin accidentally finds an envelope filled with a large sum of money that belongs to a debt collector named Rang (Yoon Byung Hae). He quickly takes the money and uses it. This leads to even more trouble for himself.
You can follow Kang Jin's thrilling story in Usury Academy, released in 2023. The complicated yet exciting plot is very entertaining, especially as Kang Jin's problems with the stolen money escalate. Will Kang Jin be able to fix the mess he created?
11. 12.12: The Day
Year | 2023 |
Genre | Action, Drama, History, Thriller, War |
Director | Kim Sung Su |
Cast | Hwang Jung Min Jung Woo Sung Lee Sung Min Park Hae Joon Kim Sung Kyun |
12.12: The Day is a South Korean historical action drama set in the late 1970s during a military coup. The film stars Hwang Jung Min and Jung Woo Sung, directed by Kim Sung Su.
President Park is the most important person in South Korea. One day, the president is killed, causing chaos in the government. Martial law is declared and creates tension throughout the country. Various military factions fight for control through the coup.
The coup is led by Major General Chun Doo Gwang (Hwang Jung Min) and his followers. Knowing that Doo Gwang is leading the movement, Commander Lee Tae Shin (Jung Woo Sung) tries to stop him because the army should not engage in political actions. This leads to a major conflict and a fight between Tae Shin and Doo Gwang.
12. Believer 2
Year | 2023 |
Genre | Action, Crime, Thriller |
Director | Baek Jong Yeol |
Cast | Cho Jin Woong Cha Seung Won Han Hyo Joo Oh Seung Hoon |
Detective Won Ho (Cho Jin Woong) is on a mission to find and arrest the leader of Asia's largest drug syndicate, known only as Mr. Lee. His next clue leads him to Rak (Oh Seung Hoon), a former drug dealer and member of Mr. Lee's gang. But even Rak doesn't know who Mr. Lee really is.
Rak is also on his own mission to figure out Mr. Lee's identity. He's tracking the activities of Big Knife, a drug boss from China, played by Han Hyo Joo. Rak thinks Big Knife can help him get to Mr. Lee. How will this pursuit end? Will Detective Won Ho and Rak manage to reveal who Mr. Lee is?
To fully enjoy this movie, it's best to watch the first part, 'Believer.' This 114-minute sequel isn't just connected by its story; it also brings back the same cast from the first movie.