Korean content hit quite hard in 2023, with promising new talents coming to the surface to share the big screen with adept veteran stars, many best award winning Korean movies of 2023 have won the hearts of the worldwide audience. Films such as 12.12 The Day, Rebound, Phantom and many more found their chance to outshine others at international film festivals and then win even bigger and glorious accolades back home in South Korea. Local award ceremonies that hold equivalent significance as the Oscars do in the West offered a levelled playing field to debuting actors and old players of the game who’ve known the rules long enough to bend them to their will.
Here are some of those Korean movies 2023 that heard unending bouts of applause at these many events. We’ve listed as many award wins as possible, but remember, some of these titles have won even more overwhelming number of distinct victories that haven’t been listed down below.
List of Best Award Winning Korean Movies of 2023 That Bagged Multiple Nominations/Victories
Smugglers
Cast: Kim Hye-soo, Yum Jung-ah, Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min, Kim Jong-soo, Go Min-si, Park Kyung-hye, Kim Jae-hwa and others.
About the Movie: Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, this 2023 Korean movie is an action crime flick directed by Ryoo Seung-wan and co-written by Kim Jeong-yeon. With its action set in the 1970s in a peacefully remote village by the sea, this film brings focus onto ‘Hanyeo’ (female divers), who lose their jobs once a chemical plant is established in town. Despite the hardships thrown in their way, they fight their way through.
Chun-ja goes to great lengths to make a living out of this profession, and soon that leads her to the dangerous path of smuggling via sea. As she falls in love with smuggling, she meets new people and a grand opportunity comes a knocking at her door.
Wins/Nominations
Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Film, Best Supporting Actor (Zo In-sung), Best New Actress (Go Min-si), Best Music (Chang Kiha), Nominations: Best Director (Ryoo Seung-wan), Best Actress (Kim Hye-soo, Yum Jung-ah), Best Supporting Actor (Park Jeong-min), Best Screenplay (Ryoo Seung-wan), Best Cinematography and lighting (Choi Young-hwan, Lee Jae-hyeok), Best Art Direction (Lee Hoo-kyoung), Best Film Editing (Lee Gang-hee)
Buil Film Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Kim Jong-soo), Best Supporting Actress (Go Min-si), Best New Actress (Go Min-si), Nominations: Best Actress (Yum Jung-ah), Best Film, Best Director, Best Music, Best Cinematography (Choi Young-hwan), Art/technical Award (Lee Hoo-kyoung)
Grand Bell Awards: Best Director, Best Cinematography, Nominations: Best Film, Best Actress (Yum Jung-ah), Best Supporting Actress (Go Min-si), Best Supporting Actor (Park Jeong-min, Kim Jong-soo), Best Music, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design (Yoon Jung-hee, Kwon Soo-kyung)
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Kim Jong-soo), Technical Award – Art (Lee Hoo-kyoung), Music Award (Chang Kiha)
Chunsa Film Art Awards: Best Actress (Kim Hye-soo), Best Supporting Actor (Kim Jong-soo), Best New Actress (Go Min-si)
Concrete Utopia
Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-joon, Park Bo-young, Kim Sun-young, Park Ji-hu and others.
About the Movie: With a disaster-thriller premise, Um Tae-hwa’s directorial piece is based on the second instalment of Kim Soong-nyung’s webtoon, Pleasant Outcast. It features a massive earthquake-struck Seoul where everything has been annihilated to pieces, except for the one last standing building, Imperial Palace Apartments. As outsiders flock to the place in great numbers to seek shelter, the residents feel threatened and set up a rule book to bar these people from coming in. Despite the dark dystopia taking shape outside, the residents carry on with their lives peacefully inside, until a new conflict turns it all around.
Lee Byung-hun has especially garnered a lot of appreciation for his leading performance in this movie, and the number of victories he’s bagged speak for his contribution. Many critics have marked its storytelling as marred with cliches. Despite all that, the film has worked wonders owing to the praise-worthy performances of the star-studded cast and the interweaved interaction of black comedy with psychological thrills.
Wins/Nominations
Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Director (Um Tae-hwa), Best Actor (Lee Byung-hun), Popular Star Award (Park Bo-young); Nominations: Best Film, Best Actress (Park Bo-young), Best Supporting Actress (Kim Sun-young), Best Screenplay, Best Music, Best Editor, Best Art Direction, Best Lighting, Best Technical Award.
Buil Film Awards: Best Film, Best Actor (Lee Byung-hun), Best Cinematography, Star of the Year Award – Female (Park Bo-young); Nominations: Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Kim Sun-young), Best Screenplay, Best Art Award, Best Music.
Chunsa Film Art Awards: (Nominations) Best Director, Best Actor
Grand Bell Awards: Best Visual Effects (VFX), Best Art Award, Best Sound Effect Award; Nominations: Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Editor
Next Sohee
Cast: Bae Doona, Kim Si-eun, Sim Hee-Seop, Park Woo-young, Yoo Jung-ho, Choi Hee-jin, Jung Hoe-rin and others.
About the Movie: Sohee is a high school student who starts training at a call centre. If the stress of multiple responsibilities wasn’t enough to scar her, the unethical work culture at the organisation pushes her to a tragic end. Eventually, Detective Oh Yoo-jin starts looking into her death. It further reveals a toxic network that merely works in the favour of the capitalistic structure that perpetuates this destructive cycle to no end, hence leading to the systemic creation of the “next Sohee” who has to bear this suffering yet again.
With a minimalistic aesthetic, Next Sohee is a rather slow-paced addition to this list. Yet its elements somehow settle together to fittingly persuade you of its bleak theme, resulting in a 7-minute standing ovation in Cannes.
Wins/Nominations
Baeksang Arts Awards: Best New Actress – Film (Kim Si-eun), Best Screenplay – Film (Jung Joo-ri), Gucci Impact Award; Nominations: Best Actress – Film (Bae Doona), Best Director – Film, Best Film.
Buil Film Awards: Best New Actress (Kim Si-eun), Best Director (Jung Joo-ri), Yu Hyun-mok Film Arts Award (Bae Doona); Nominations: Best Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay.
Grand Bell Awards/Daejong Film Awards: Best New Actress (Kim Si-eun); Nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Screenplay.
Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Screenplay; Nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best New Actress.
Chunsa Film Art Awards: Un Certain Regard Director Award (Jung Joo-ri); Nominations: Best New Actress.
Cobweb (거미집)
Cast: Song Kang-ho, Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se, Jeon Yeo-been, Krystal Jung and others.
About the Movie: Working as a meta film, Cobweb, directed by Kim Jee-woon, is a period black comedy title that’s set in the 1970s when censorship acted as a significantly massive hindrance to creative expressions. Director Kim is obsessed with the idea of reshooting his movie’s ending, a concept that can’t be conceived by the the rest of the cast and crew of the project.
Wins/Nominations
Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Jeon Yeo-been), Best Art Direction (Jung Yi-jin); Nominations: Best Film, Best Director (Kim Jee-woon), Best Actor (Song Kang-ho), Best Supporting Actor (Oh Jung-se), Best Screenplay (Shin Yeon-shick), Best Music (Mowg), Best Cinematography (Kim Ji-yong), Best Lighting (Pak Jun-u), Best Film Editing (Yang Jin-mo).
Grand Bell Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Oh Jung-se); Nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Song Kang-ho), Best Supporting Actress (Jeon Yeo-been), Best Supporting Actress (Krystal Jung), Best Screenplay, Best Music, Best Sound (Choi Tae-won), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing (Yang Jin-mo), Best Art Direction (Jung Yi-jin), Best Costume Design (Choi Eui-young).
Chunsa Film Art Awards: Best Director (Kim Jee-woon), Best Supporting Actress (Krystal Jung); Nominations: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress (Jeon Yeo-been), Best Screenplay.
10th Korean Film Producers Association Awards: Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Music
The Moon (더 문)
Cast: Sol Kyung-gu, Doh Kyung-soo, Kim Hee-ae, Jo Han-chil, Park Byung-eun, Choi Byung-mo and others.
About the Movie: Although the jury is still out on how well the film fared in terms of the narrative and story-building, it’s hard to disagree that The Moon is in fact a visual treat, and this year’s list of its award wins speak for themselves. Set in the close future, South Korea’s two consecutive lunar exploration missions plummet to malfunctions of unique nature. The second human spaceflight becomes prey to a strong solar wind and Sun-woo, an astronaut on board, is left stranded in space, which is when the Naro Space Center falls back to its last saving grace, managing director Kim Jae-guk, in order to bring back Sun-woo to safety.
Wins/Nominations
Grand Bell Awards: All nominations – Best Actor (Doh Kyung-soo), Best Art Direction (Hong Ju-hee), Best Visual Effects (Jin Jong-hyun), Best Sound (Choi Tae-young)
Buil Film Awards: Star of the Year Award (Doh Kyung-soo), Art/Technical Award (Jin Jong-hyun for VFX); Nominations: Best Actor (Doh Kyung-soo), Best Cinematography (Kim Young-ho).
Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Technical Award (Jin Jong-hyun for VFX); Nominations: Best Actor (Doh Kyung-soo), Best Cinematography and Lighting (Kim Young-ho, Hwang Soon-wook)
The Childe (귀공자)
Cast: Kim Seon-ho, Kang Tae-joo, Kim Kang-woo, Go Ara, Lee Ki-young, Heo Joon-seok and others.
About the Movie: Park Hoo-jung’s directorial is a neo-noir action thriller that works as a stepping off point for both leading men of the film – Kim Seon-ho and Kang Tae-joo – making their big screen debuts. Marco Han is an amateur Kopino boxer living in the Philippines, also looking out for his sick mother. At the same time, he’s also troubled by his estranged father’s absence in their lives.
Soon he’s pushed to embark on an unforeseen trip to South Korea in search of his father, where he’s ambushed by an elusive assassin. The building chaos puts him as the central target of many dangerous figures, thus turning his life upside down, with all sense of his past and present stability thrown out the window.
The combination of black comedy with an action-packed thriller really hits the mark, making Kim Seon-ho’s debut film a twisted mode of entertainment.
Wins/Nominations
Blue Dragon Film Awards: All nominations – Best New Actor (Kim Seon-ho and Kang Tae-joo)
Buil Film Awards: Best New Actor: Kim Seon-ho; Nominations: Popular Star Award (Kim Seon-ho, Kim Kang-woo, Kang Tae-joo and Go Ara)
Grand Bell Awards: Best New Actor (Kim Seon-ho)
Hopeless (화란)
Cast: Hong Xa-bin, Song Joong-ki, BIBI, Jung Jae-kwang, Jung Man-sik and others.
About the Movie: Despite the lacking conviction and aspiration to make something big of his life, Yeon-gyu has always held the one hope of escaping his hometown where violence runs rampant. To him, it feels as if the world is conspiring against his happiness and dreams, and the one time he looks out for some adult guidance, his fate ends up leading him to Chi-geon, the town’s thug. As can be anticipated, he, too, joins the same dark world and faces further struggles to come to terms with who he is and who he wishes to be.
The neo-noir crime thriller film has been directed by Kim Chang-hoon, and welcomingly premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, also receiving an invitation to the Busan International Film Festival in 2023.
Wins/Nominations
Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best New Actor (Hong Xa-bin); Nominations: Best New Director (Kim Chang-hoon), Best New Actress (Kim Hyeong-seo), Best Supporting Actor (Song Joong-ki)
Greenhouse (비닐하우스)
Cast: Kim Seo-hyung, Yang Jae-sung, Ahn So-yo, Shin Yeon-sook and others.
About the Movie: Moon-jung’s life is shrouded in darkness of different shades as the only thing keeping her together is the patient wait till the day she can meet her juvenile son, who’s being held at a detention centre. Currently residing at a greenhouse, she’s also living with a psychological disorder and to pass the time, she works as a caregiver for an old couple. She can’t even fall back on therapy sessions for help, and just when you’d think she’d suffered through it all, another tragedy strikes and the dominoes of mishaps keep tumbling down.
Wins/Nominations
Grand Bell Awards: Best Actress (Kim Seo-hyung); Nominations: Best New Director (Lee Sol-hui)
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards: Best Actress (Kim Seo-hyung)
Buil Film Awards: Best Actress
Golden Cinema Film Festival: Best Actress
Blue Dragon Film Awards: All nominations – Best Actress, Best New Actress (An So-yo), Best New Director (Lee Sol-hui).
Road to Boston (1947 보스톤)
Cast: Im Si-wan, Ha Jung-woo, Park Eun-bin, Bae Seong-woo, Kim Sang-ho, Hwang Ja-neung and others.
About the Movie: Adapting real events, the sports biopic revolves around Korean athletes participating in the Boston International Marathon in 1947, which was also the first marathon to be organised since World War II. So far Coach Sohn had been compelled to bear a foreign flag under Japanese oppression, but with nationalistic fervour high in the air after the dire escape of the nation, he gets the first chance to take on the Korean flag with pride as he pushes his trainee, Suh Yun-bok, to clinch the glorious victory.
Wins/Nominations
Grand Bell Awards: All nominations – Best Director (Kang Je-gyu), Best Actor (Im Si-wan), Best Costume Design (Chae Gyeong-hwa)
Past Lives
Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro, Ji Hye-yoon, Choi Won-young and others.
About the Movie: As a Korean-American film directed by Celine Song, who makes her feature debut with this romantic drama, Past Lives‘ victories are still pending. It easily trumps the other films on this list with heavily weighing nominations, many of which are yet to be declared as wins. Song’s extraordinarily affecting debut circles around human tendencies with a kind of humble intimacy that doesn’t add up to something larger than life, rather stays closer to the ground to deal with the simple yet heartfelt ordinariness of human experiences, somehow building a bridge between its romantic trope and an immigrant story.
The film follows Nora and Hae-sung in South Korea where the two childhood friends develop a deep connection, but end up drifting apart upon Nora’s emigration. Years later when they reunite, they’re faced with the difficult questions of life that put together the whole nexus of experiences.
Wins/Nominations
Nominated under several categories (Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Picture – Non-English Language), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama) at the Golden Globe Awards (to be held on January 7, 2024), in addition to already having quite a few accolades already too.
Which of these best Korean movies of 2023 have you watched so far? Let us know your thoughts on them in the comments section below.