From moving slice-of-life dramas to gripping crime thrillers, Korean films in 2025 continued to push boundaries with bold storytelling, layered characters and emotional depth that moved us. As the year inches to a close, The Telegraph Online spotlights five standout Korean films that deserve a place on your watchlist — if they aren’t there already.
The World of Love
Written and directed by Yoon Ga-eun, World of Love claims the top spot this year for its emotionally-charged storytelling about ordinary Koreans navigating love, loss and misery. The film, which premiered at TIFF 2025, follows the story of 17-year-old Lee Joo-in (Seo Soo-bin), an enigmatic and popular high school student whose life changes overnight after she blurts out certain words in a moment of anger, abruptly altering her dynamics with her peers.
Starring: Seo Soo-bin, Jang Hye-jin, Kim Jeong-sik, Kang Chae-yoon, Lee Jae-hee, Kim Ye-chang, Go Min-si, Kim Suk-hoon
No Other Choice
Lee Byung-hun’s dark comedy thriller No Other Choice is a biting critique of capitalism and modern work culture. The film revolves around the life of Yoo Man-so, an affluent Seoul-based man, driven by the urge to murder his competitors in a desperate attempt to secure a job and maintain his social status after being laid off.
Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, and Cha Seung-won
My Daughter is a Zombie
Starring Jo Jung-suk, the film revolves around a tiger trainer, Jung-hwan, whose rebellious teenage daughter, Soo-a, gets infected with a zombie virus, leading him to use his animal taming skills to try and "train" her, protecting her from a world hunting the infected while secretly living with his mother in a seaside village.
Starring: Jo Jung-suk, Lee Jung-eun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Yoon Kyung-ho, and Choi Yu-ri
The Ugly
The Ugly, based on the Korean mystery thriller by Yeon Sang-ho, follows the story of Dong-hwan as he investigates the 40-year-old disappearance and presumed murder of his mother, Young-hee, after her remains are found, uncovering a harsh reality of societal cruelty, beauty standards, and hidden truths about her past as a pariah.
Starring: Park Jeong-min, Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Hyun-been, Im Seong-jae, and Han Ji-hyun
The Match
The Match is a biographical sports drama that centres on Korean Go legends Cho Hun‑hyun and Lee Chang‑ho. It depicts their deep mentor‑protégé bond that morphs into an intense rivalry as the brilliant student surpasses the master, leading to epic, high‑stakes matches. The film explores themes of ambition, loyalty, and generational conflict.
Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Yoo Ah-in, Ko Chang-seok, Hyun Bong-sik, Moon Jeong-hee, and Kim Kang-hoon