7 Great Korean Movies for Music Lovers

그것만이 내 세상
(Keys to the Heart)

Used to be the WBC Asia welterweight champion boxer, Jo-ha doesn’t have anywhere to go. Then, he unexpectedly bumps into his mom who abandoned him 17 years ago. Homeless as he is, Jo-ha follows along to his mom’s house, where he finds out he has a younger half brother with Savant syndrome who plays piano flawlessly. 

• 2017 / comedy, drama
• Directed by Choi Sung-hyeon
• Starring Lee Byung-hun, Yoon Yuh-jung, and Park Jeong-min

수상한 그녀
(Miss Granny)

A grandmother Mal-soon in her 70s is in a situation of entering a nursing home by her family. She wanders around the streets and takes a picture at a random studio. The next day, she magically becomes a 20-year-old self. Decided to take advantage of her youth, she renames herself as Doo-ri and becomes a member of a band where her grandson is in part of.

• 2013 / comedy, drama
• Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk
• Starring Shim Eun-kyung, Na Moon-hee, and Park In-hwan

하모니
(Harmony)

Jeong-hye gives birth to her son in prison. She’s been sentenced to 10 years of prison for killing her husband after suffering from domestic violence. Under the Criminal Law, she can only raise her son up to 18 months in a correctional facility and have to give her son up for adoption. With other prisoners who have their own personal stories, a choir is formed in the women’s prison. 

• 2009 / drama
• Directed by Kang Dae-gyu
• Starring Kim Yun-jin, Na Moon-hee, and more

고고70
(Go Go 70s)

The 1970s was a harsh, rigid period when there was a night curfew and the music was strictly regulated by the government. In this era, a musician named Sang-kyu forms a band called ‘Devils’ and comes up to Seoul to succeed. The band Devils gradually becomes popular and stands at the center of nightlife in a club crowded with young people enjoying music all night long.

• 2008 / drama
• Directed by Choi Ho
• Starring Cho Slung-woo and Shin Min-a

호로비츠를 위하여
(For Horowitz)

Jisoo used to have a dream of becoming a pianist, but with not enough money and talent, she became a piano teacher running piano lessons in a small city. One day, a mischievous boy sneaks into the place to steal a metronome. There, Jisoo finds out that a boy has perfect pitch with an amazing talent for playing piano.

• 2006 / drama
• Directed by Kwon Hyeong-jin
• Starring Uhm Jung-hwa, Shin Eui-jae and Park Yong-woo

미녀는 괴로워
(200 Pounds Beauty)

Hannah is a hidden singer who has to hide underground and sing for another beautiful looking singer because of her overweight, unattractive appearance. Heartbroken by her crush, she decides to undergo intense plastic surgery throughout the entire body. The surgery goes successfully and she becomes a singer again, this time without hiding her face.

• 2006 / comedy
• Directed by Kim Yong-hwa
• Starring Kim Ah-joong and Joo Jin-mo

서편제
(Sopyonje)

In the 1960s, pansori, Korean folk music, is no longer favored by the public. There’s a family of three; father (Yu-bong), sister (Song-hwa), and brother (Dong-ho), trying to make a living with pansori in the modern world. Struggling with the burden of life, Dong-ho runs away and Yu-bong makes Song-hwa go blind to put more feeling and sorrow in her voice.

You can watch the movie on Youtube.

• 1993 / drama
• Directed by Im Kwon-taek
• Starring Oh Jeong-hae, Kim Myung-gon, and Kim Kyu-chul