Interest in Korean cinema has undoubtedly grown from its cult roots that saw prominent creators like Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook becoming global starlings and favorites among many critics and cinephiles. Films such as Parasite have brought South Korean movies to the forefront of many people's watch lists, with a vast selection of new and old gems to be discovered.

Thankfully, Prime Video has a vast catalog with many popular movies, including a wonderfully diverse selection of Korean films sure to please any filmgoer. To help you sort through the many choices, we will look at the best Korean movies on Prime Video you can watch now.

Updated on Apr. 16th, 2023, by Adam Symchuk: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.

20 No Tears for the Dead (2014)

When a hitman accidentally kills a little girl, he’s consumed by guilt and wants to walk away from the life of crime. But before he’s allowed to quit, he’s sent on one last mission: to kill the girl’s mother. A film with a charged conscience and supercharged action sequences, No Tears for the Dead is cool and brooding in equal measure.

A Compelling Thriller

Right from the bleak and bloody cinematography to the psychologically layered performances, No Tears for the Dead ticks all the boxes for a bonafide action film that’s entertaining as well as engrossing. While the narrative might be a tad bit familiar and predictable, the film’s execution and performances more than make up for that, making it a staple viewing for fans of the action-thriller genre.

19 The Flu (2013)

The Flu is a disaster movie written and directed by Kim Sung-su with the assistance of Lee Yeong-jong for the screenplay. The movie stars Jang Hyuk, Soo Ae, and Park Min-ha. The story begins when a couple of brothers find a container filled with immigrants who have died from an unknown illness. They carry the sole survivor, but they take the disease with them, which begins to spread like wildfire. Soon, the KCDC gets involved in trying to contain a devastating outbreak that is killing people in a matter of hours, just 20 minutes away from Seoul.

Edge-of-Your-Seat Tension

This film could very well be the Korean version of the American film Contagion, even though the events of this film portray a fictional illness much more invasive and lethal than the one depicted in that story. The situation grows in danger exponentially as more people get sick and more government officials get involved. Luck seems to change at the last minute when someone with autoimmune properties in their bloodstream appears, and the government can synthesize a vaccine from their antibodies.

18 How to Steal a Dog (2014)

Based on Barbara O’Connor’s novel of the same name, How to Steal a Dog revolves around Ji-so, a poor young girl who steals wealthy people’s dogs and returns them when they offer her a reward. Despite having a cute and quirky premise, the film offers a lot of insights into the class divide.

Surprisingly Thematically Rich

It also comments on why people are forced to do what they do. In that light, How to Steal a Dog is an adorable mix of childlike innocence and the functioning of the real world, that’s executed in a manner that’s simple, sweet, and heartwarming.

17 A Taxi Driver (2017)

Heavy on emotion and storytelling, this critically acclaimed South Korean drama takes the turbulent 1980 protests and fabricates a tale that is part truth and part fiction. It follows a hapless widowed father and taxi driver whom a foreign journalist hires to travel to Gwangju. What seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime turns into his most terrible mistake as he gets unintentionally embroiled in the student uprising and military protests.

A Humanistic Approach to Unrest

A Taxi Driver is a character-driven movie because it focuses more on compassion over hatred. Directed by Jang Hoon, the movie’s core lies in neorealism. It talks about the urgency that the state was experiencing at the moment by shooting the most mundane details and making ordinary men and women heroes who deserve to be remembered.

16 Me and Me (2020)

Me and Me tells the haunting tale of Soo-hyuk, an elementary school teacher who harbors a jarring secret about his wife, Yi-young. When one of the students’ fathers discovers this secret, he spreads the news to the village people, who brand Yi-young as a threat to their well-being and insist that she should be locked in a cage every night. After a fateful turn of events, both Soo-hyuk and Yi-young are burned alive. Soon after, a detective named Hyeong-goo arrives to get to the bottom of the case, only to uncover unimaginable details.

Deep, Dark, and Disturbing

A mystery that makes you question dreams and reality, Me and Me impressed fans well before it dropped onto Prime Video. Jeong Jin-yeong’s directorial masterpiece embraces surrealism by crafting a moody and mysterious fable about fate, identity, and free will.

15 Midnight (2021)

One of those thrillers with a twist that would have suffered if not for solid direction from Oh-Seung Kwon and a phenomenal cast. Midnight stars Wi Ha-joon (of Squid Game fame) as obsessive killer Do-shik, who targets a deaf woman, Kim Kyung-mi, played by Jin Ki-joo. The entire film is a long-run cat-and-mouse game with Kyung-mi constantly fighting off the determined killer.

Everything You Want From a Thriller

The concept, though nothing original and with some predictable twists, is wonderfully constructed and high-octane. It is one of those movies that goes by fast as one scene flows into the other with such intensity. Fans of crime thrillers will undoubtedly enjoy this one and be cheering through Kyung-mi through its twists and turns.

14 Zombie for Sale (2019)

When a pharmaceutical company accidentally produces a zombie, the Park family finds it and decides to train it to turn a profit. Even though a business based around zombie bites seems like a dead-on-arrival plan, the family forges forward through a series of misfortunes befalling their venture.

A Delightful Blend of Zombie Tropes and Humor

In many ways, the zombie craze has come and gone, with a few standout mash-ups of the genre still causing a stir among the tired tropes and repetition that has made the genre largely stagnant. While Zombie for Sale has flown under the radar, this 2020 Korean comedy is an uproarious watch from start to finish. Backed by a strong cast, this horror-comedy gem is worth checking out on Prime.

13 Hot Blooded (2022)