Korean films are a great source of entertainment but they can also be a great way to learn the language, especially when they have dialogue-heavy scripts. And you can find tons of them all over the internet, without ever logging into a Netflix account, buying anything on Amazon Prime, paying for DVDs or using any sketchy-looking sites.
Let’s take a look at some great options that cover hundreds of Korean movies available for free and legal viewing online.
This could easily be your main stop for Korean films online. Okay, so some of these movies are only available for viewing with a premium subscription, but many of them can be watched immediately on the site.
Simply filter by region and genre, and click on a movie to see if it’s available—if it is, watch away! You’ll just have to put up with the occasional ad.
You’ll find a huge variety of Korean films on AsianCrush, from romantic comedies to thrillers to documentaries.
If you’re into horror or just weirder stuff, you may want to check out Midnight Pulp, a channel owned by the same distributor as AsianCrush. There’s a lot of overlap between the two sites, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth looking at to see if a film that isn’t available on one might be watchable on the other.
Now, I could continue to stress that varying your film tastes is important. I could yell it as loudly as the guy announcing discount sushi in the food court of my local H Mart. But I know that some of you are here primarily for your belovedPark Chan-wook, and you’ve come to the right place.
Just be aware that only some of his films are available for free viewing. It’s also worth mentioning that you can watch “공동경비구역” (“Joint Security Area”) on AsianCrush—it just doesn’t show up in a search of Park’s name for whatever reason.
AsianCrush films come with English subtitles. There’s a “CC” button on the player, but often the subtitles have been added to the film itself, so they can’t necessarily be turned off.
FilmDoo allows you to rent films online, but it also offers a nice selection of short films for free. Just scroll down in the Korean category and click “Watch for Free” to see the complete list.
One gem is “Bikini Words,” a six-minute documentary that introduces words and phrases used in South Korean factories in the ’70s and ’80s while exposing the problematic working conditions of the times.
This film manages to be surprisingly lighthearted, as it features former workers posing expressively with various costumes and objects.
Films on FilmDoo generally come with subtitles that can be set to English or a different language.
This is the official YouTube channel of the Korean Film Archive, which hosts nearly 200 films that mostly span the second half of the 20th century. Go to the “Videos” section and enjoy!
It follows the trials of a widowed woman who eventually decides to remarry. Unfortunately, as this is an older film, some sound, as well as the intended ending, is missing… but it still weirdly kind of works.
If you’re curious about the suspense/horror film I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Park Chul-soo’s 1995 offering “삼공일 삼공이” (“301, 302”) is also here.
However, I feel the need to include a strong content warning for some difficult subjects, including abuse and eating disorders. It’s not for everyone, and may not be for you—but rest assured, something on the Korean Classic Film channel is sure to be right up your alley
Note: While it may be important to know what you’re getting into, as with the film above, be careful with the synopses on this channel, as they sometimes contain spoilers.
Films here usually come with English captions that can be turned on and off with the “CC” button.
Honestly, Viki is more of a place for dramas than movies. It probably wouldn’t be counted among the very best sites for streaming Korean movies, period. However, when we consider the question of where free Korean movies can be found, it’s definitely worth a look.
This is another subscription site with premium and non-premium options. Most of Viki’s free movie content comes with English subtitles, which can be turned on and off. There’s usually a wide variety of subtitle options for other languages, as well. It also comes with ads, but that’s the case for most of these sites.
You’ll mostly find romances and suspense movies here. Imagine if Korean drama series were Korean movies—that’s what Viki’s free film selection looks like. So this might be a good starting point for drama fans.
“The Man From Nowhere” is an action and crime movie that also pulls at your heartstrings. It’s about a former Army Intelligence spy who chooses to leave his quiet, comfortable life to save a little girl named So Mi, who is kidnapped by druglords looking for stolen heroine they think is in his pawn shop.
If you type in “Korea” or “Korean” on Tubi, you’ll get some Korean films… but also probably some documentaries in English about Korea, along with, say, an English-language film starring the Korean-Canadian actress Sandra Oh.
However, Tubi is pretty good at tracking your browsing habits, so if you look at Korean films for a while and then select the “Foreign Language Films” category, you’ll hopefully find exactly what you want.
While there are ads here, they’re less present than on some other sites.
Content on Tubi generally has non-optional English subtitles.
One cool selection is “여배우들” (“The Actresses”), a mockumentary-type film covering a fashion shoot and starring six real-life Korean actresses. Unlike the selection on Viki, it’s surprisingly low-drama.
There’s the expected competitive tension to create an obligatory plot arc, but much of the movie is just the women sitting around and talking candidly. This is a great resource for learners who want to hear less-scripted Korean and get familiar with some of the talent in the Korean film industry.
Note: While the other resources on this list seem to cater more to an international audience, Tubi typically only works in the U.S. and Canada.
After all the resources above, this YouTube channel might seem a bit silly. But learners need a wide variety of content, and even the most snobbish cinephiles need a break now and then.
No, these videos aren’t going to be winning awards at Sundance anytime soon. But Dingo K-Drama has plenty of skits, short movies and other free content you can use as learning material and to keep up with Korean pop culture. These can eventually help you understand references in feature films and recognize famous entertainers.
OnDemandKorea is a streaming service dedicated exclusively to Korean content, including Korean movies.
A premium membership allows you access to dozens of films, but there are also plenty of free options available. Best of all, it’s easy to tell at a glance which movies are and aren’t free—just look for the “ODK PLUS” logo in the upper left of the associated image to see if you need a premium membership to watch that movie.
Free options include romantic comedy “사랑하기 때문에” (“Because I Love You”) and courtroom/crime thriller-comedy “성난 변호사” (“The Advocate: A Missing Body”).
If you have subtitling preferences, pay particular attention to the “All Subtitles” bar near the top of the screen. You can use the drop-down menu to filter movies so you only see film options with your preferences.
Netflix needs no introduction. It’s where you go when you’re bored. It’s what you use to pass the time. And now, it can also be how you improve your Korean skills.
That’s because Netflix offers plenty of Korean movies. Can’t resist a good zombie flick? To find other Korean movies, all you have to do is search “Korean movies.” From there, you can even select more specific categories, like “Romantic Korean Movies.”
The Korean movies on Netflix all offer English-language subtitles, but some also offer Korean subtitles, giving you the opportunity to read along with the dialogue.
To change the language settings from a computer, just start the movie and adjust your subtitling by hovering over the speech bubble in the lower right-hand corner. To change settings on a Roku or other streaming device, look for “Audio and subtitles” in the program’s information screen.
Once you watch one Korean movie, Netflix will automatically recommend a bunch more, so you may sit down thinking you’ll watch one movie and then suddenly find that you haven’t gotten off the couch in 12 hours but your Korean skills are the best they’ve ever been.
In general, Hulu doesn’t seem to have quite as many foreign-language options as Netflix, but Korean learners are in luck: Hulu does have a few Korean movies, and since it’s one of the more popular and accessible options for streaming movies out there (maybe you already have an account), it’s definitely worth a look.
Older classic films are a huge part of the free content you’ll find online. And luckily, watching Korean movies from different eras comes with its advantages.
By varying the release years of the movies you watch, you can gain a more nuanced understanding of Korean history and culture, which will only add to your language studies and enjoyment of Korean film.
Koreanfilm.org is a fantastic resource for familiarizing yourself with different periods of Korean cinema. You can browse by year or decade, depending on whether you’re looking at more recent films or older ones.
Stay informed and inspired.
If you’re on a mission to find free Korean film content online, you can’t just rely on Netflix throwing recommendations in your face. You’ll need to cultivate your own methods for deciding what to watch.
Learning about different periods of Korean film is just one way to do this. Another is to keep up with indie films and movies in less popular formats—like documentaries, shorts or experimental films.
Familiarize yourself with directors, actors and the movies in their pasts and presents, and you’ll develop preferences and opinions that can become a road map for finding interesting and free Korean films.
All the resources above offer English subtitles in some form. This makes many of the available films beneficial for most levels of learners, as beginners can watch them to get a handle on pronunciation and cadence while more advanced learners can try to understand dialogue line by line.
However, if you’re serious about getting the most out of Korean movies, you may want to consider supplementing with some level-specific content and interactive captions on FluentU.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
FluentU makes it possible to learn with K-pop videos, funny commercials, entertaining web series and more. Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of FluentU videos on offer:
FluentU really takes the grunt work out of learning languages, leaving you with nothing but engaging, effective and efficient learning. It's already hand-picked the best videos for you (which are organized by level and topic), so all you have to do is simply choose any video that strikes your fancy to get started.
Each word in the interactive captions comes with a definition, audio, image, example sentences and more.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.
You can use FluentU’s unique Quiz Mode to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions.
FluentU keeps track of what you're learning, and tells you exactly when it's time for review, giving you a 100% personalized experience.
Review sessions use video context to help embed the words in your memory.
