5 Most Mind-Bending Korean Thrillers With 80% and Higher RT Scores if You Liked Following

One of the most successful films in Korean cinemas in 2024 was Following – a paranoid thriller with numerous twists and a dynamic plot. It is no secret that Korean directors know how to intrigue and surprise the audience by completely turning the plot upside down.

If you have already seen Following, then these five films are also worth adding to your must-watch list.

1. The Man from Nowhere, 2010

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Tae-sik is the modest owner of a small pawnshop who leads a lonely life. His only contact with the outside world is his ten-year-old neighbor, So-mi.

The girl's mother works as a dancer in a club and is not particularly interested in the child's life. One day, she and her friend decide to rob a drug courier, incurring the wrath of a local crime boss.

The mother and So-mi are soon captured by drug dealers; the protagonist learns what happened from the criminals who came to his pawnshop to take back what is theirs.

Now Tae-sik sets out to find So-mi and is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way.

2. A Hard Day, 2014

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

Detective Ko Gun-su could hardly call his life happy. Not the most honest cop, he is divorced and lives with his daughter and sister. On this fateful day, he was on his way to his mother's funeral.

First, a dog ran out onto the road, not responding to the horn or headlights. The man managed to avoid the dog, but not the man who came out of nowhere. Gun-su panics and tries to cover up the crime, but it is not that easy – the victim turns out to be a dangerous criminal.

3. Silenced, 2011

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Silenced is not only a gripping thriller with unexpected plot twists, but also a brutal social drama.

Kang In-ho is a teacher. He comes to a provincial town to work at a school for the deaf. But his worries about his new job are overshadowed by a terrible fact: Kang In-ho learns that the school administration is abusing the children. Now he has to figure out if he is really willing to protect the kids despite the consequences.

The leading role is played by the star of Train to Busan, Gong Yoo, and the director is Hwang Dong-hyuk – the Korean master who amazed the world with Squid Game.

4. The Chaser, 2008

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

After working for the Seoul police, Joong-ho became a pimp. But in his new business he faces serious problems: his workers disappear without a trace – either they run away, unhappy with the working conditions, or they start working for someone else.

Joong-ho is unaware of the exact reasons until he accidentally finds out that the missing women went to the same client. Joong-ho sends his last worker Kim Mi-jin to the man to find out his address.

Mi-jin claims to be ill and does not want to leave her little daughter alone, but the pimp insists and leaves the woman no choice.

5. Memories of Murder, 2003

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

Park Doo-man is a detective in a small town who has never come across a serial killer in his years of service. But one day, just as he has started investigating a new crime and has compiled the usual list of suspects, Park receives a phone call.

The news about the madman spreads so fast that the detective sees a crowd of onlookers at the crime scene and a tractor driving along the tracks on the wet ground right in front of his eyes – the only hard evidence.

Everything goes wrong, but Park Doo-man claims that he can identify the criminal by his eyes.