Amazing Korean Biopic Movies Like The Match: Korean movie The Match starring Yoo Ah-in and Lee Byung-hun has left so much to recall on screen. Their intense performances and a plot based on real-life Go masters left us with a vision that was more than a game, but of life, of pride, of hard choices. The reason that this movie was so remarkable, though, was not just its soaring performances or its subdued direction by Kim Hyung-joo, but how human ambition and struggle were handled in the most staid, realistic manner.
If, like me, you’re in the mood for some more stories based on a true one and with well-fleshed out characters you’ll want to live your own life with as much realism, then you’re in the right place. Below are 6 good Korean biopic films to watch if you enjoyed The Match, all of which have a well fleshed out story with a mix of history, character study and good direction.
Amazing Korean Biopic Movies Like The Match
Harbin (하얼빈)
Starring Hyun Bin, who is directed by Woo Min-ho, Harbin is a biographical Korean independence fighter historical thriller about Ahn Jung-geun. Following his metamorphosis from freedom fighter to the national hero that he is now, after the assassination of Ito Hirobumi, regent of the Japanese Empire, out of Japanese occupation in the early 1900s.
Harbin deals with inner turmoil, the agony of war, patriotism, and loss of innocence. Hyun Bin gives an intense and impressive performance in a role that presents Ahn as a revolutionary as well as a man of great inner turmoil. Pacing, dramatic tension, and a regard for historical accuracy make the film engrossing, particularly to anyone who wants to learn about actual Korean history from the perspective of individual tales.

A Taxi Driver (택시운전사)
A Taxi Driver is one of the other hugely popular Korean biopics, in which Song Kang-ho plays Kim Man-seob. He is a regular taxi driver who becomes involuntarily involved in the Gwangju Uprising of 1980. Jang Hoon has directed this 2017 movie, which is based on the real-life story of a Korean driver and a German journalist, who put their lives at risk to reveal the strangulation of the pro-democracy movement.
Song Kang-ho delivers a realistic, bleak, and inspiring performance, and the film generally manages to combine comedy, fear, and hope. If you need a sentimental and ironic movie that will have you sobbing and you applauding the titular character’s courage, you absolutely have to see A Taxi Driver.

The Last Princess (덕혜옹주)
Hur Jin-ho’s The Last Princess, starring Son Ye-jin, who plays the role of Princess Deokhye, who was the last remaining member of the Korean Empire royal family. This movie was one of the biggest hits of 2016, and it tells the story of the princess who was kidnapped as a 13-year-old girl to Japan and forced to stay there until she was permitted to return to Korea.
This movie is as emotionally stressful as The Match, just for completely different reasons. It explores themes of identity, loss, and resistance. Son Ye-jin gives the understated but symbolic performance, she perfectly captures the deep, quiet hurt of a woman determined to retain a little dignified past in her country. It is as commendable as a pitiful journey due to the background, the breathtaking cinematography, and a genuine dramatic story.

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The Drug King (마약왕)
If biopics about crime dramas are your cup of tea, then The Drug King serves up a decent blend. Song Kang-ho plays the eponymous Lee Doo-sam, the Busan drug lord who had prospered there in the 1970s amidst politics and smuggling turmoil. This movie is directed by Woo Min-ho.
This story is about the rise and fall of an imperfect man addicted to ambition and greed for power. It is Song Kang-ho’s charismatic presence that anchors the film, his trajectory from thug-class smuggler to complete drug lord figurehead compelling and repugnant at once. It’s not a stereotypical feel-good bio-pic, though, but one that maps the moral contours of power and desire and self-will to extreme and abnormal lengths.

The Throne (사도)
The Throne is a historical biographical drama by Lee Joon-ik and is about Crown Prince Sado, who was famously sentenced to death by his father, King Yeongjo. The prince in trouble is played by Yoo Ah-in and the dotty king is Song Kang-ho.
The performances in this film are phenomenal. Yoo Ah-in is heartbreakingly great playing a man who never quite lived up to the expectations of his imperial father, and Song Kang-ho delivers a tour-de-force of repressed pain and shame. Where The Match mapped the very complicated relationships between student and teacher, this movie maps equally complicated and smothering relationships between son and father.

Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (동주)
The black-and-white biographical drama starring Kang Ha-neul as the titular poet, this film tells the tale of Yun Dong-ju, the greatest of Korea’s poets, arrested by colonial Japanese police and left to perish in prison.
Directed by Lee Joon-ik, this film is poetic in every sense. It doesn’t rely on big action or drama, but instead focuses on the inner world of a sensitive young man fighting to get his word in during a time when free speech was in danger. Kang Ha-neul gives a gentle, introspective performance that stays with you. If you appreciated movies about personal struggle and emotional subtlety, then Dongju is an essential watch.

Whether through poetry, politics or interpersonal conflict, these Korean biographical films represent life experience with honesty, sensitivity and cinematography sophistication. If you enjoy history-based films that remain full of emotional and dramatic content, then these movies are the perfect follow-up.
Which of these films will you add to your watch list next? Let us know in the comments below!
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