Movies Like Yu Gwan-Sun

If you liked Yu Gwan-Sun (1959), a drama and history movie directed by Yun Bong-chun, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Harbin (2024)
★ 7.3/10Also history
In 1909, several years after Korea is forced into becoming a Japanese colony, freedom fighters plot the daring assassination of Japan's prime minister during their quest for independence.
2
The Battle: Roar to Victory (2019)
★ 7.5/10Also history
Over a 4 day period, a fierce battle takes place between Korean independence militias and imperialist Japanese forces in Manchuria, China. The militia includes a master swordsman and an expert marksman.
3
Assassination (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings…
4
The Last Princess (2016)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
Under the oppressive Japanese colonial rule, Deok-hye, the last Princess of the declining Joseon Dynasty, is forced to move to Japan. She spends her days missing home, while struggling to maintain dignity as a…
5
My Way (2011)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and history
During the invasion of Normandy the photograph of a slim Korean man in German uniform was found. It transpired that the man had served as a soldier in the Japanese, Russian and German armies. His incredible story…
6
Uprising (2024)
★ 7/10Also drama and history
In the Joseon Dynasty, two friends who grew up together — one the master and one the servant — reunite post-war as enemies on opposing sides.
7
May 18 (2007)
★ 7/10Also drama and history
The citizens of Gwangju lead a relatively peaceful life, until one day the military takes over the city, accusing the residents of conspiracy and claiming that they are communist sympathisers preparing a revolution…
8
The Face Reader (2013)
★ 7/10Also drama and history
An exceptionally talented face reader becomes entangled in a bloody power struggle between a child king and his uncle who plans to usurp the throne.
9
12.12: The Day (2023)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and history
After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d'état bursts out by Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander…
10
The Battleship Island (2017)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island 'Hashima Island' to mine for coal, attempt to escape.
11
War of the Arrows (2011)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and history
After the death of their father, two siblings are raised by their father's best friend. However, when one gets kidnapped just before her wedding, the other rises against the Manchus.
12
Noryang: Deadly Sea (2023)
★ 6.4/10Also history and drama
The Imjin War reaches its seventh year in December of 1598. Admiral Yi Sun-shin learns that the Wa invaders in Joseon are preparing for a swift withdrawal following the deathbed orders of their leader Toyotomi…
13
Remember (2022)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Pil-ju, an Alzheimer's patient in his 80s, who lost all his family during the Japanese colonial era, and devotes his lifelong revenge before his memories disappear, and a young man in his 20s who helps him.
14
Suffragette (2015)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and history
Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State.
15
Fighter in the Wind (2004)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
An account of karate competitor Choi Yeung-Eui who went to Japan after World War II to become a fighter pilot but found a very different path instead. He changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama and went across the country…
16
Panther (1995)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and history
In this sprawling, fictionalized history of the Black Panthers, 1960s Oakland becomes a war zone as the Panthers battle for the right to exist.
17
Operation Chromite (2016)
★ 5.8/10Also history and drama
A squad of soldiers fight in the Korean War's crucial Battle of Incheon.
18
1987: When the Day Comes (2017)
★ 8/10Also drama and history
In 1987 Korea under an oppressive military regime, the unlawful interrogation and death of a college student ignite ordinary citizens to fight for the truth and bring about justice.
19
The Swordsman (2020)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and history
After being blinded in a coup against the king, Joseon's greatest swordsman goes into hiding, far removed from his city's anguish. But when traffickers kidnap his daughter, he has no choice but to unsheathe his sword…
20
Battle of Jangsari (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and history
Korean War, September 1950. In order to fight the enemy forces based in the South of the peninsula, General MacArthur orders the start of the Incheon Landing Operation, deploying diversionary attacks in other…