15 Must-Watch Korean Documentaries
If you enjoy watching K-content, these documentaries based on or about Korea may be ideal for learning more about the country and its people
'In My Love, Don't Cross That River,' helmed by Jin Mo-young, an elderly couple—who have been married for 76 years—are observed experiencing their final days together. Photo courtesy of HanCinema
North Korea: A Day in the Life (2004)
Using a local family and their daily activities, director Pieter Fleury employed potent visual techniques and soundscapes to give viewers a glimpse of North Korea’s everyday affairs.
Seoul Train (2004)
The subject of Seoul Train is South Korean defectors’ perilous trips through or to China. Jim Butterworth and Lisa Sleeth worked together to develop, direct, and shoot the picture.
Arirang (2011)
In his documentary Arirang, Kim Ki-duk explores a depressive episode he underwent that was brought on by an incident that occurred when he was filming the movie Dream.
Two Doors (2012)
The 2009 Yongsan disaster, which claimed the lives of five evictees and one policeman, is documented in Kim il-rhan and Hong Ji-you’s Two Doors. Roughly 25 hours later, they began building a steel watchtower, to which the evictees were forced to ascend to assert their right to remain alive; they descended as dead.
My Love, Don’t Cross That River (2013)
In My Love, Don’t Cross That River, helmed by Jin Mo-young, an elderly couple—who have been married for 76 years—are observed experiencing their final days together. The couple’s mountain village in Hoengseong County, Gangwon province, reportedly served as the documentary’s backdrop.
Bitter Sweet Seoul (2014)
With a skillful mashup of crowdsourced footage packed with real life and real situations, together with snippets of actual events in Korea, filmmaker Park Chan-wook and his brother Chan-kyong reveal the truth about Seoul.
The Drop Box (2015)
In The Drop Box by Brian Tetsuro Ivie, which emphasizes the importance of every child’s life, a pastor who receives a deserted baby on his doorstep in the cold installs a customized drop box to keep abandoned children safe.
The Lovers and the Despot (2016)
This documentary film recounts how North Korean dictator and movie buff Kim Jong-il kidnapped South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee and her ex-husband, director Shin Sang-ok, in 1978 to make them expand the North Korean film industry. Ross Adam and Robert Cannan collaborated on writing and directing the movie.
Spy Nation (2016)
Following his brother’s confession, director Choi Seung-ho tells the tale of a civil servant detained for spying. Following the clues, a journalist questions if the arrest is a crafted spy story by the national information agency.
Save My Seoul (2017)
Jason Y. Lee uses hidden camera footage in his documentary drama to aid two Korean-American brothers in exploring Seoul’s intricate sex trade.
In the Absence (2018)
Director Yi Seung-jun details the 2014 sinking of the MV Sewol, which claimed the lives of 300 people, the majority of whom were students from Danwon High School. The documentary apparently used a variety of video clips and multi-media interactions collected from the sufferers to portray the events.
Forget Me Not (2019)
In Sun Hee Engelstoft’s story, three pregnant single women are at the ‘Aeshuwon’ facility on the island of Jeju. It depicts their suffering as they contemplate whether to keep their child or opt for adoption, a decision strongly influenced by society.
Jeronimo (2019)
A Korean-Cuban taxi driver is encountered by filmmaker Joseph Juhn while in Cuba, through whom he learns of a sizable Korean community in that country and starts looking into the past and present of the community. In the process, he discovers that Jeronimo Lim was the father of the cab driver who joined the Cuban revolution and met Fidel Castro and Che Guevara before retreating to his Korean heritage and sense of self.
Soup and Ideology (2021)
In this documentary by Yang Yong-hi, a lady shares with her daughter her experiences of the Jeju uprising, including how she got involved and why she escaped to Japan. When Alzheimer’s threatens to cause her to lose her memories, 70 years after the massacre, the woman’s daughter and her fiancé take her to Jeju Island.
Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror (2022)
A network of unethical and clandestine online chat groups was extensively used to perpetrate sex crimes in Korea. In Choi Jin-sung’s Cyber Hell, a team of cyber police officers collaborates to tackle this extortion and cybersex trade.
