Top 250 Movies Like Life Is Beautiful
A list of the best movies similar to Life Is Beautiful. If you liked Life Is Beautiful then you may also like: No Breathing, Aimless Bullet, Jane, Keys to the Heart, The Kick and many more great movies featured on this list.
Set in Jeju, the drama revolves around a loving, multi-generation family led by the parents, Yang Byung Tae and Kim Min Jae, and their four children Tae Sub, Ji Hye, Ho Sup, and Cho Rong, as well as assorted grandparents and uncles. The story follows the family's everyday lives and conflicts.
Aimless Bullet
Two brothers—Chul-ho, an accountant with a toothache and a pregnant wife, and Yong-ho, an unemployed ex-soldier wounded in battle—navigate life in post-war Korea.
Jane
Sohyun, a runaway, is left alone after her close friend Jungho disappears. By accident, she gets to know a transgender woman named Jane. She joins Jane and her close-knit community of runaways, who are as comforting and loving as a real family. Sohyun feels happy and at peace. But her happiness does not last long. There is something wrong with Jane’s health.
Keys to the Heart
An older brother is a washed-up boxer. His younger brother is a genius pianist with physical disability. The brothers make up through their mother who is full of stories of her past.
Au Revoir, UFO
In a town where everyone believes in UFOs, a bus driver named Sam lives out his daydreams by making special radio programs for the passengers who ride his bus. A heartwarming story of a physically challenged but outgoing girl named Kate who falls in love with this timid but lovable bus driver.
Chronicle of a Blood Merchant
Set in a village right after the Korean War, poor but good-hearted Heo Sam-gwan sets out to win the most beautiful girl in the village, Heo Ok-ran, by selling his blood to earn money. Years later, the two are happily married with three children, but their family undergoes a crisis when Sam-gwan's eldest son doesn't resemble him and rumors spread about the boy's paternity.
The Coast Guard
A member of Coast Guard Platoon 23, Private Kang monitors a high-infiltration stretch of beach lined with barbed-wire fencing. Driven by the belief that killing a spy is the highest honor, he waits for a chance to prove his worth.
Crocodile
Under the Han River lives Crocodile, a rugged member of the lumpenproletariat who exists from schemes and stealing. His position as a scavenger of society undermines South Korea’s boasts of its newfound economic position as an Asian Tiger. One day, Crocodile finds a girl floating in his river.
Tazza: One Eyed Jack
A young poker player at the top of his game joins a team led by the legendary poker player One-Eyed Jack. While successfully working on a plan to win a huge jackpot, a single mistake puts the entire team in a life-or-death situation.
The Evil Twin
In coma for a decade, the twin So Yeon wakes finally up. But she can't recall many things. Her other twin sister, Hyo Jin, died in the accident that led to So Yeon's coma. Now that So Yeon has gained her consciousness back, strange things start to happen.
Eye For An Eye
The devious brain behind a heist draws a top police detective, on the eve of his retirement, into an elaborate plot of robbery and revenge.
The Chosen: Forbidden Cave
Jin-Myung is a psychiatrist and exorcist. With his assistant, Ji-Kwang, they attempt an exorcism on Geum-Joo. She suffers from a bizarre phenomenon. They then face a powerful existence within Geum-Joo. Extreme horror arises out of her.
Grand Prix
Grand Prix" covers the world of horse racing, centered around the romance between a male horse jockey and a female horse jockey. Seo Joo-Hee (Kim Tae-Hee) is an ambitious equestrian who loses her beloved horse in a racing accident and also injures her arm. Devastated she quits the sport and travels to Jeju Island. On Jeju Island, Seo Joo-Hee meets fellow equestrian Woo-Seok (Yang Dong-Kun), a former winner of the Japan Cup who is also experienced a similar slump as Seo Joo-Hee. With Woo-Seok's help, Seo Joo-Hee becomes inspired to compete for the Grand Prix Chamionship.
Lady Vengeance
Released after being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 13 years, a woman begins executing her elaborate plan of retribution.
Love Phobia
On a sunny day, a boy named Jo-kang meets Ari, a girl in a yellow raincoat, and they become friends. Jo-kang falls helplessly in love with the quirky but attractive Ari, but one day, she suddenly disappears. Ten years pass and Jo-kang, now a high school student, gets a call from Ari and meets her again in a temple. Although they have not seen each other for ten years, they have such a great time together. Then, Ari disappears again. Jo-kang is devastated. Why has she disappeared again? What will become of them?
Maundy Thursday
Yujeong is suicidal, yet she reluctantly goes to prison for volunteer work. There, she meets a prisoner who is waiting for death penalty. The two quickly fall in love despite their differences, yet they do not have much time.
Modern Boy
During the Japanese occupation, a Korean modern boy, who wants to fit in with the Japanese, falls in love with a Korean freedom fighter.
Monstrum
Ancient Korea, 1506. The tyrannical King Yeonsan-gun of Joseon is overthrown by his half-brother Jung-jong, whose reign begins with a blood bath. Over the years, traitors plot against him, sinking the kingdom into chaos. In 1528, frightened rumors come to royal palace, regarding a mysterious creature, known as Monstrum by the peasants.
The Poet and the Boy
A married poet meets a teenage boy working at a donut shop and helplessly develops feelings for him.
The President's Last Bang
On October 26, 1979, President Park Chung-hee, who had ruled South Korea since 1961, was assassinated by his director of intelligence. The film depicts the events of that night.
Private Eye
The story takes place in occupied Korea at the start of the 20th century, where a young student in medicine discovers the murdered body of the son of a government official. Being scared of being accused, he decides to hire Hong Jin-ho (a detective) to help him find the murderer before the police accuse him of the murder.
The Swordsman
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 once more.
Emergency Declaration
While investigating a terroristic threat that goes viral online, Korean authorities discover that a suspect has recently boarded an international flight bound for the United States. When a healthy passenger on the same flight suddenly dies a gruesome death of unknown cause, panic erupts both in-flight and on the ground. With steadily decreasing fuel and international refusals to offer aid, the captain and crew will be forced to take unprecedented emergency measures in an attempt to save the lives of their passengers.
Miracle in Cell No. 7
A story about a mentally ill man wrongfully imprisoned for murder and his relationship with his 6 year old daughter.
The Throne
Ancient Korea, July 4, 1762. The Crown Prince Hyojang, posthumously named Sado, son of King Yeongjo of Joseon, is accused of treason. Thus, the king asks him to commit suicide, but his closest vassals prevent it, so the king orders the prince to get inside a wooden rice chest, where he suffers deprivation of food and water.
Metamorphosis
An evil spirit that changes faces infiltrates one family placing one brother in danger while the other tries to save him.
My Brother
The story of two brothers, growing up in 1970s Korea, who each take two completely different paths. One goes to school to become a doctor, the other becomes a gangster. Their story is told through flashbacks after one of them is murdered.
The Taebaek Mountains
Based on the great river story, The Taebaek Mountains chronicles the lasting generational conflict between proprietors and peasants in South Korea.
The Outlaws
In Chinatown, law and order is turned upside down when a trio of feral Chinese gangsters arrive, start terrorizing civilians, and usurping territory. The beleaguered local gangsters team up with the police, lead by the badass loose cannon Ma Seok-do, to bring them down. Based on a true story.
The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos
After a group of criminals manage to escape while being transported, a skilled task force is assembled to help track and return them to prison.
The Great Battle
Kingdom of Goguryeo, ancient Korea, 645. The ruthless Emperor Taizong of Tang invades the country and leads his armies towards the capital, achieving one victory after another, but on his way is the stronghold of Ansi, protected by General Yang Man-chu, who will do everything possible to stop the invasion, even if his troops are outnumbered by thousands of enemies.
Miss & Mrs. Cops
Once a legendary detective and a new mom, Mi-young, now works a desk job. But when overenthusiastic newbie Ji-hye is assigned to Mi-young's civil complaints team, the two female cops get caught up in a serious criminal case that triggers an action-filled comedic investigation.
The Dude in Me
Dong-hyun is a high school student. One day, he falls from the rooftop and bumps into Pan-soo who is a passerby. Pan-soo is a member of a criminal organization. When the two men wake up in the hospital, they discover that they have switched bodies.
A Dirty Carnival
A small-time thug who collects debts for the local triad is torn between his criminal aspirations and his devotion to family.
Luck-Key
A reverse comedy that tells the story of a perfectionist assassin who falls and hits his head in a sauna, giving him amnesia. When a down-and-out actor switches locker keys with him, they switch lives until the hit-man, who soon becomes an action hero on TV, starts to remember things.
P1H: A New World Begins
The story of boys who are scattered in the past, present, and future to find the star of hope in order to save the Earth which is devastated by a virus spread by a group of evil.
My Wife Is a Gangster 3
When Aryong, the daughter of a triad boss from Hong Kong is accused of killing the boss of a competing triad, she goes into hiding in Korea. Upon arriving, she is guided by a nimble but loyal Gi-chul and his motley crew, who are assigned to protect her until her return.
By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture
An advocate of the concept ‘thoughts create reality’, Chan-woo endeavors to realize his dream of running a high-end nightclub when he finds himself caught in the center of a power game in the criminal underworld.
The Fatal Encounter
Late 18th-century Joseon dynasty. The King is beleaguered and surrounded by traitors of the ruling elite. They plan to assassinate and replace him with a puppet. But the King has some aces up his sleeve that may help him defeat them all.
Jungle Juice
A Korean mobster's bumbling assistants team up with a street-smart hooker to find their employer's missing drug money.
The Influence
To keep their values, characters are at a critical juncture to act upon their promises throughout time.
Mokpo the Harbor
A detective goes undercover and poses as a gangster to infiltrate a powerful criminal organization connected to a large drug deal.
City Of Fathers
Kang-soo is a third-rate street thug in Busan; he's an alcoholic and gambling addict who's always on the run from loan sharks. But when his rebellious teenage son Jong-chul is diagnosed with kidney cancer, he tries to be a real parent for the first time and seeks out Jong-chul's biological father, Tae-suk, a pimp. Tae-suk, however, refuses to help.
Hello Jadoo: The Secret of Jeju Island
'Plum' is dissatisfied with 'Jeon Bok', a Jeju girl who met her mother on a family trip to Jeju Island. Besides, what are those heart-shaped eyes looking at 'Yoonseok'! When Jeon Bok, his best friend, Yun Seok-i, is taken over by Jeon Bok-i, an angry Ja-doo accidentally knocks over the Dolhareubang, and 'Bori', who was sealed with her curse from a long time ago, awakens. The people hit by Bori's Dolhareubang beam turn to stone and harden, and Jadoo and her friends search for a way to restore everyone to their original state... Let's go to Jeju Island! Let's go two! Fantastic adventure of the cheerful hero Jadu! What is the super secret that the fate of Jeju Island is at stake?
Hwang Jin Yi
Although born a daughter of an aristocratic family, Jin-yi discovers the secret behind her birth and enters into a life in a brothel as a gisaeng.
Miss Granny
An unappreciated old granny magically turns 20 years old again and decides to make the most of her newfound youth.
Cheer Up, Mr. Lee
Chul-soo is a man with an intellectual disability. One day, Chul-soo finds out that a young girl, Saet-byul, who is in hospital is his daughter. And soon, Saet-byul sneaks out of the hospital and travels by herself to a faraway city for her friend's birthday. As Chul-soo accompanies Saet-byul's journey, friendship develops between the two.
Best Friend
Daekwon is the team leader of the surveillance team on the verge of getting a demotion. His mission is to be as an unemployed head of a household and monitor the politician's family who's been house arrested right after arrival from abroad for 24 hours a day with his team. Members of the surveillance team, who have moved into the next door disguised as a neighbor, discover secrets one by one, through monitoring all the sounds and behaviors of suspicious family members, from requests for a radio show to midnight rustling noises…
Granny's Got Talent
A national cussing battle audition is the nation's hype. People from all over the country audition in becoming the "Cussing King." However, redundant cussing auditioners cause viewership to drop dramatically. The producer decides to revive the show by introducing a regular looking grandmother...
Man on the Edge
A gangster is chosen to become a shaman. How can he balance his totally opposite life, between beating people and helping people. Then, his boss coincidentally hates shaman.
Take Off
Cha Heon-tae, a Korean-American, was adopted with his sister to American parents. He appears on a Korean television program in search of his mother. Since Heon-tae is a trained alpine skier, he is approached by Coach Bang who wants to recruit members for a new national ski jumping team for the approaching 1998 Winter Olympics.
One on One
On May 9th, a female high school student was brutally murdered. There are 7 suspects and 7 shadows that terrorize them. Who are they and which one of them is you?
The Day I Died: Unclosed Case
The detective Hyun-soo tries to track down a girl who disappeared off of a cliff during a stormy night.
The Boys
"This isn't an investigation! It's rubbish!" In 1999, a murder broke out in a small supermarket in Samrye, Jeollabuk-do. And on that day, there was no truth. Upon the homicide, the police point out three boys living in the neighborhood as the culprits. As a result, the boys become murderers overnight and are imprisoned cluelessly. The following year, a tip reaches the newly appointed veteran detective, Hwang Jun-cheol, prompting him to reopen the case to clear the boys of their charges. However, Detective Hwang is eventually demoted due to the interference of Choi Wu-seong, the detective responsible for the case at the time. 16 years later, the only witness, Yun Mi-suk, and the boys return to find Detective Hwang. Who turned them into murderers? A drama based on a true story about boys who were falsely accused of murder, and detectives determined to catch the real culprit.
Black Money
A prosecutor is falsely accused of sexual assault in a suicide note from a woman that he is convinced was actually murdered. As he investigates her death to clear his name, he realizes that the truth lies in a huge financial scandal.
How to Steal a Dog
A young girl lives in a van with her little brother & her mom. Tired of the embarrassing situation which was promised to be temporary, she decides to try to fix it all on her own. But how to get the money needed first? One day, the girl comes across a flyer offering a reward for a lost dog. Under the mistaken impression that a house could also really cost just that much, she then plots to do exactly that- with the additional help of her best friend, little brother & some others, they'll find a "missing" spoiled pup, return him & get a new home just in time for her birthday! Or at least, that's the plan.. what could go wrong?
Return to Seoul
On an impulse to reconnect with her origins, Freddie, 25, returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born, before being adopted and raised in France. The headstrong young woman starts looking for her biological parents in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions.
The Man Standing Next
In the 1970s, Korea is under the absolute control of the President Park, who controls the KCIA, the organization with an edge over any branch of government. The director of KCIA, KIM Gyu-pyeong, is the seemingly most prospective second-in-command. In the midst of reign of fear, a former KCIA director, PARK Yong-gak who knows all about the government’s obscure operations, exiles to the U.S. where the investigation of ‘Koreagate’ is underway. As the tension escalates, the stifling political maneuvering by the all second-in-command’s unfolds.
My Lovely Angel
A life-changing story of a man who has lived as a loner his entire life. Jae Shik begins to live together with a child with a hearing-visual disability, as they change each other's lives and try to find a way to communicate.
The Face Reader
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.
Take Care of My Cat
The fashionable Hye-joo is focused on her career at a brokerage house. She's making a decent living, but her co-workers look down on her. Tae-hee is sick of living under the thumb of her domineering father. She spends her time doing volunteer work for a poet with cerebral palsy. Sullen Ji-young lives in poverty with her grandparents and struggles to find work. The girls, close friends in high school, find themselves drifting apart as their adult lives begin to take shape.
Salut d'Amour
Sung-Chil works at the Jang-Soo Store which is owned by Jang-Soo. Sung-Chil is stubborn and has a bad temper, but he changes after meeting Geum-Nim. Geun-Nim runs a flower shop and her daughter Min-Jung does not like her meeting Sung-Chil.
Another Way
A woman who looks after her paralyzed mother while holding down a part-time job decides to kill herself. Meanwhile, a man who works as a police officer—and who, as a child, saw his own mother commit suicide—grapples with the meaning of life. The two decide to make a suicide pact.
A Pharisee
Seung-gi has been living under a strict father, blaming himself everytime when a natural but uncontrollable desire surges from inside of him. However, because he can't spurt that desire in reality, every night Seung-gi shares passionate love with a mystery woman in his dreams. He meets Eun-ji ("Viki") a senior from school and gets provoked by her as well as Soo-jeong who he's had a crush on forever.
Feng Shui
Park Jae-sang was a royal geomancer, who helps people designate propitious site for houses, store and even graves under the belief that a grave in a good site will bring future fortune for descendants. But he loses his family because he exposed a conspiracy about crown Prince's grave site. Park Jae-sang plans to make a revenge of his family and learns that there is a much bigger conspiracy about propitious grave site; the place that would make grave owner's son the King of Joseon.
Because I Love You
Lee Hyeong is a talented songwriter. He happens to connect people who are not good with love. Those include Hyeong-Gyeong who wants to become a singer, but she suffers from stage fright. Scully is a high school student. She helps Lee Hyeong's spirit. Chan-Young is a colleague of Lee Hyeong and he likes Hyeong-Gyeong, but in vain.
A Reason to Live
A female producer loses her fiancée in a hit and run accident and stands in the line of conflict.
Perfect Game
The Lotte Giants' Choi Dong-won and the Haitai Tigers' Seon Dong-ryeol are rival pitchers in 1980s baseball. The film reenacts the legendary match of May 16, 1987, which baseball fans today still recall as "the perfect match," when Choi and Sun compete as pitchers for the last time.
The Singer
In the era of corruption, Hak-gyu sings songs and tells stories on the street with his band. One day, Hak-gyu's wife Gan-nan is kidnapped by gangsters and his daughter Cheong loses her eyesight after the incident. He decides to travel in search of his missing wife and learns that corrupted noblemen are behind the mob.
All for Love
A romantic comedy which portrays the most beautiful period in the lives of different couples who have just fallen in love.
Fashion King
A teenaged boy transforms from a ‘fashion terrorist’ to a ‘fashion king’ in order to win the heart of the prettiest girl in school. The story is about high school boy Ki-myung, who has a crush on the prettiest girl in his class and opens his eyes to fashion in order to become the best dressed person in the world.
Set Me Free
The seventeen year old 'Yeong-jae' was safely sent away to the group home 'Isaac's house'. He is old enough to leave now, but doesn't want to go back home to his irresponsible father.
Hello Brother
Nine-year-old Hani is a troublemaker who isn't afraid of anything. A precocious punk, his school friends are all his underlings, and even his family members are under his control. He especially considers his elder brother, HanByul, who often complains of being sick, his greatest target. Until one fateful day, HanByul collapses at home and is rushed to the emergency room and the worst nightmare for any parents becomes a reality - he is diagnosed with cancer. The film is based on a true story.
Excavator
20 years after discharge from the army and now an excavator driver, a former paratrooper who had been mobilized to suppress the May 18th Democratic Uprising in Korea in 1980, happens to find a skull in the ground one day. Driving his excavator, he pays visits to his former superiors one by one and realizes they were all both assailants and victims of the times.
Gyeong-ah's Daughter
Kyung-ah works as a caregiver and lives alone. The only one she can rely on is her daughter, Yeonsu, but it's hard to see her after her independence. Meanwhile, Yeonsu, who was suffering from his ex-boyfriend, argues with him again and heads home. After Yeonsu left, Kyung-ah receives a shocking message.
A Stray Goat
High school student Min-sik moves to a rural village with his family. There he meets Ye-joo, a classmate who became a social outcast after her father was accused of murder.
First Kiss
Song Yeon-Hwa, a reporter of a weekly entertainment magazine, is 27 years old. Though she is almost kissed by her boy friend several times, she has refused without particular reasons. Then she lost her boy friend. Now knowing her shilly-shally is the reason of her lost love, Song Yeon-Hwa loses daily rhythm all in a furry. One day Han Kyeong-Hyeon, who seems to be a playboy, came to work with her as a photographer. Seating next seat Kyeong-Hyeon nags her chattering all kinds of things and wedging in every occasion. Yeon-Hwa, who suffers from aftermath of lost love, submits resignation with a burst due to nagging and scolding of editor-in-chief.
Loser's Adventure
A high school wrestling team's fate is on the line due to their unpopularity and lack of budget. All the students have left the team except for two, who are from a broken family. The coach Sang-kyu lost his job and is making a living as a bus driver. However, he tries continuously to persuade the school principal to let the remaining team members compete in a match for one last time. At last, the principal gives them the chance to compete and the wrestling team only has two weeks to prepare for their final match.
Soldier's Mementos
Jang-gun lives in a remote country, Kkachigol, with his loving mom. His name, Jang-gun, means ‘General’ in Korean which his mother named wishing him to be a great person. But he just want to be a ordinary farmer and his only wish is growing potato well and getting married Kkotbuni someday. One day, Jang-gun receives a draft notice and conscripted into the army even not knowing the meaning of the war.
The Hypnosis
Jin-ho lost his parents in an accident when he was a child, he receives hypnosis to treat his trauma related to the accident. Do-hyun, a college student gets interested in Jin-ho's hypnosis and he tries doing it too.
Who Saw The Dragon's Claws?
Ji-won, a news anchor woman, witnesses Jung Yong-wook, an emerging leader of the ruling party, being terrorized. She sees the incident from car parked on a deserted road as she was enjoying a secret redez-vous with Park In-gyu, the presidential candidate of the opposition party. She barely escapes being killed herself. The country is thrown in turmoil with the news of Jung Yong-wook's alleged suicide, and Park In-gyu urges Ji-won to keep quiet.
Kissing Cousin
A love for a cousin, deeply engraved in childhood. Twelve years later, a stopped heart begins to beat again.
A Break Alone
Gangjae's normal family life is turned upsdie down when he falls for a young yoga teacher. Gangjae has got it all, a loving wife, adorable children, and a high-paying position. But he yearns for something more. When the teacher breaks off the affair, marrying another man, Gangjae longs for her, ten years on.
Old Miss Diary
CHOI Mi-ja, despite being thirty-two years old, is the leader hands down in being rash and naïve. Tired of her mistake filled life and increasing wrinkles, something happens in Mi-ja’s life to end her downward spiral. She meets tall, young, good-looking but rude Producer JI at the TV station where she works as a dubbing artist and falls head over heels for him! Mi-ja’s family finds out and grows in hope to bring Producer JI into the house somehow. But Mi-ja’s rash, naïve behavior is a big problem and her family is also far from normal. The three grannies, widowed father, old bachelor uncle, all short in size and odd in character, there is nothing that can stop them. As the entire family gets into full swing in trying to help Mi-ja get the younger man, the very unique family’s hilarious events begin. Their unpredictable rash challenge, will they be able to succeed?
No Breathing
Two very different restless youths join a swimming competition for love and friendship which is, in fact, a rite of passage to growing up.