Korean cinema, much like your emotional support kimchi, keeps getting better every year. In 2025, the lineup is especially absurd—in the best way. Here’s your guide to the upcoming films that may or may not change your life, but will at least keep your eyes busy and your brain slightly confused in a good way. Korean Movies 2025
Bold New Genres and Mild Identity Crises
Forbidden Fairytale
A civil servant who wants to write children’s books ends up creating 19+ web novels instead.
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: January 8, 2025
Director: Lee Jong-seok
Cast: Park Ji-hyun, Choi Si-won, Sung Dong-il
It’s basically a morality play for people who gave up and got into adult content instead. Somehow still charming.
Pretty Crazy
Genre: Horror, Romantic Comedy
Release Date: 2025
Director: Lee Sang-geun
Cast: Im Yoon-ah, Ahn Bo-hyun, Sung Dong-il, Joo Hyun-young
A man is hired to watch a woman who transforms into a demon at night. This film is the cinematic equivalent of swiping right on someone with anger issues and deciding, “Sure, I can fix that.”
The Great K-Occult Wave That Won’t Die
Dark Nuns
Exorcisms, secrets, and spiritual trauma cloaked in black habits.
Genre: Horror, Occult, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: January 24, 2025
Director: Kwon Hyuk-jae
Cast: Song Hye-kyo, Jeon Yeo-bin, Lee Jin-wook, Moon Woo-jin
This is like The Nun meets The Priests, but with better cheekbones.
Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning
Genre: Occult, Exorcism, Thriller
Release Date: February 21, 2025
Director: Kim Dong-chul
Voice Cast: Nam Do-hyung, Choi Han, Jung Yoo-jung, Kim Yeon-woo
A group of voice-acted exorcists tackle the apocalypse. It’s animated, but don’t worry—your existential dread will still feel very real.
Holy Night: Demon Hunters
Ma Dong-seok punches evil in the face. Again.
Genre: Occult, Action, Thriller
Release Date: April 30, 2025
Director: Lim Dae-hee
Cast: Ma Dong-seok, Seo Hyun, Lee Da-wit, Kyung Soo-jin, Jung Ji-so
This time with candles and demon cults. If you liked him throwing fists before, wait till you see him do it for Jesus.
Award-Winning Faces Being Sad or Complicated
Land of Happiness
Genre: Historical Drama, Political Courtroom
Release Date: 2025
Director: Choo Chang-min
Cast: Jo Jung-suk, Lee Sun-kyun, Yoo Jae-myung, Woo Hyun, Lee Won-jong
A high-stakes military trial unfolds after the 1979 assassination of the president. Jo Jung-suk plays a fiery lawyer thrown into Korea’s most infamous courtroom battle, defending a soldier whose loyalty is tested in a rigged, 16-day political farce. It’s tense, talky, and based on a real event that left the nation permanently altered.
No Other Choice
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Black Comedy
Release Date: 2025
Director: Park Chan-wook
Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yum Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won, Yoo Yeon-seok
A laid-off man spirals into chaos trying to get his job back. Social commentary with a side of absurdity. Basically your 30s, filmed.
Jeong Family Ranch (Working Title)
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 2025
Director: Kim Ji-hyun
Cast: Ryu Seung-ryong, Park Hae-joon
Two brothers who haven’t spoken in 30 years. Expect awkward silences, passive-aggression, and possibly cows.
Adaptations: From Your Phone Screen to The Big Screen
Omniscient Reader: The Prophet Korean Movies 2025
You’ve been reading this web novel for years, and now you’re living in it.
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Post-Apocalypse
Release Date: July 2025
Director: Kim Byung-woo
Original Work: Sing Shong
Cast: Lee Min-ho, Ahn Hyo-seop, Chae Soo-bin, Shin Seung-ho, Nana, Ji-soo
That’s the premise, and yes, it’s as exhausting as it sounds. Also very cool. Korean Movies 2025
My Daughter is a Zombie
Genre: Comedy Horror
Release Date: 2025
Director: Pil Gam-sung
Original Work: Lee Yoon-chang
Cast: Jo Jung-suk, Lee Jung-eun, Jo Yeo-jeong, Yoon Kyung-ho, Choi Yu-ri
Dad-of-the-year meets flesh-eating toddler. Somehow still manages to be funny, which says a lot about Korean humor and also your questionable parenting ideals.
The Old Woman with the Knife
Genre: Action, Thriller
Release Date: May 2025
Director: Min Kyu-dong
Original Work: Gu Byeong-mo
Cast: Lee Hye-young, Kim Sung-chul, Kim Moo-yeol, Yeon Woo-jin, Shin Si-a
A 60-year-old assassin is not done with you. Or herself. Think John Wick, but with menopause.
Number One (Working Title)
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 2025
Director: Kim Tae-yong
Original Work: Uwano Sora
Cast: Choi Woo-shik, Jang Hye-jin, Gong Seung-yeon
A gentle heartbreak about a boy realizing his mother won’t cook forever. Bring tissues and whatever leftover soup you have in the fridge.
5. Thrillers That Want to Ruin Your Day (in a good way)
Somebody
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: March 12, 2025
Director: Kim Yeo-jung, Lee Jung-chan
Cast: Kwak Sun-young, Kwon Yu-ri, Lee Seol, Ki So-yu
A mother notices her daughter acting strange. Stranger than usual. Psychological thriller mode: activated.
The Woman in the White Car
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Release Date: 2025
Director: Ko Hye-jin
Cast: Jung Ryeo-won, Lee Jung-eun
Following her sister’s death, an author dives into a mystery that absolutely no one told her to investigate. But here we are.
The Face
Genre: Mystery, Drama
Release Date: 2025
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Cast: Park Jung-min, Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Hyun-bin, Lim Sung-jae, Han Ji-hyun
A blind artist solves a crime. It’s profound, it’s sad, it’s probably going to get awards. Prepare to feel things.
Snowfall
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: 2025
Director: Hong Ui-jung, Park Sun-woo
Cast: Kim Yoon-seok, Koo Kyo-hwan, Noh Yoon-seo
A train station gets snowed in. People panic. Secrets unravel. It’s basically winter, but filmed.
There you have it: Korean cinema in 2025. Equal parts existential dread, spiritual warfare, supernatural shenanigans, and unresolved family issues—a perfect reflection of life, really.
