Movies like I Came from Busan (2010)
The best movies like I Came from Busan (2010) are Lorelei (2020), Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) and Come Sunday (2018). If I Came from Busan hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHard Hit (2021)7.5/10 from 230 votes
- NewestPortrait of a Family (2026)Released 2026
- In KoreanServe the People (2022)Also in Korean
Lorelei (2020)
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome Run (2013)
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
A disturbed and institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Kindness of Strangers (2019)
Clara and her two sons escape from her abusive husband with little more than their car and plan to start over in New York. After the car towed away, the family meets Alice, who gets them into an emergency shelter. While stealing food at a Russian restaurant called ‘Winter Palace’, Clara meets Marc, who has been given the chance to help the old eatery regain its former glory. The ‘Winter Palace’ soon becomes a place of unexpected encounters between people who are all undergoing some sort of crisis and whom fate has now brought together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Congress (2013)
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParked (2010)
Fred Daly returns to Ireland with nowhere to live but his car. Then dope-smoking 21-year-old Cathal parks beside him, and brightens up his lonely world. Encouraged by Cathal, Fred meets attractive music teacher Jules. Growing closer, these three outsiders are set on a course that will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex of Venice (2015)
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRoad to Paloma (2014)
While Native American Wolf is being pursued by the FBI for having taken the law into his own hands, when his mother was raped and killed on their reservation he crosses paths with Cash, a down and out musician who is coping with the end of his marriage. An unlikely friendship develops, as they ride together towards the Teton mountain range, where Wolf will spread his mothers ashes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisServe the People (2022)
Mu-kwang volunteers to be a kitchen police of Sa-taek, the divisional commander, dreaming of success. One day, Mu-kwang meets Su-ryeon by chance, who is a young and beautiful wife of the commander. Soon, he feels a strong attraction by her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTidal Wave (2009)
On Haeundae Beach, a guilt-ridden fisherman takes care of a woman whose father accidentally got killed. A scientist reunites with his ex-wife and a daughter who doesn't even remember his face. And a poor rescue worker falls in love with a rich city girl. When they all find out a gigantic tsunami will hit the beach, they realize they only have 10 minutes to escape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCan We Get Married? (2024)
Sun-woo and Woo-jung are about to get married. Their rosy future shatters when Sun-woo’s divorced father with bad credit history has a stroke. Sun-woo is left with a huge treatment fee, and his mother insists that Sun-woo’s dad should be selected as a basic livelihood recipient. Can Sun-woo get through this disastrous incident and get married successfully?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
City of Fathers (2009)
Kang-soo is a third-rate street thug in Busan; he's an alcoholic and gambling addict who's always on the run from loan sharks. But when his rebellious teenage son Jong-chul is diagnosed with kidney cancer, he tries to be a real parent for the first time and seeks out Jong-chul's biological father, Tae-suk, a pimp. Tae-suk, however, refuses to help.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Friend (2001)
Despite their different family backgrounds, four friends grew up together in the wearisome years of the 70s. But as time goes by, each of them takes a different life path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCinema Street (2021)
Sun-hwa is a location manager in Busan who scouts locations for film shoots. She's always loved her work and her city. One day, she joins a new project out of the blue. But as soon as she walks through the door, she recognizes the director immediately. It's Do-young, her ex-boyfriend who left her and went to Seoul to fulfill his dream. They were lovers in the past but now Sun-hwa has to face him as a business partner. To make things worse, all he says is "NO!"
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hard Hit (2021)
On his way to work, a bank manager receives an anonymous call claiming there's a bomb under his car seat, and if anyone exits the car, it will explode unless he can pay a ransom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBefore the Summer Passes Away (2007)
So-yeon, who has been studying in Paris for several years, returns to Seoul for summer vacation. She is drawn to Min-hwan, a divorced man whom she met in Paris, but Min-hwan is non-committal and ambiguous about his feelings toward her. Soyeon meets a new guy, Hyun-jae, who is deeply into her, she Soyeon still waits for Min- hwan`s call. She laboriously travels from Seoul to Busan, lugging around her luggage, just so that she can see Min-hwan. After the vacation is over, So-yeon returns to Paris. Even with a full package of beauty and intelligence, So-yeon has no place of her own. In Korea that is familiar but unfamiliar land to her, she spends the summer in bearing her feeling, which is not too hot, yet not negligible. Before the Summer Passes Away is the film about loneliness and longings: it is too shy to roar, too powerful to hide. With minimal narrative, the film shows a close observation on So-yeon`s sense of lose at the edge and her unending desire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Devil's Deal (2023)
Hae-woong an assembly member candidate, is taken out of the running because he became a thorn in the side of a local bigwig, Soon-tae. Hounded by loan sharks, due to defaulting a campaign loan, he decides to get his hands dirty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mothers (2018)
The owner of a student study center gets an awkward request and suddenly faces the prospect of raising her dead husband's teenage son by herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Portrait of a Family (2026)
Baseball player Jung-gu and movie star Nam-mi are a celebrity couple who are blissfully happy in their careers and marriage. One day, a girl named Dong-ju shows up and the couple's lives are instantly destroyed. Seven years later, as Dong-ju gets involved in the death of a middle-school girl, Jung-gu and Nam-mi decide to fight a battle they have no chance of winning.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like I Came from Busan and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Came from Busan?
The closest matches to I Came from Busan are Lorelei (2020), Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) and Come Sunday (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Came from Busan?
Start with Lorelei (2020), the closest match to I Came from Busan.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Came from Busan?
Hard Hit (2021), rated 7.5/10 by 230 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Came from Busan?
Portrait of a Family (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like I Came from Busan?
Yes: Serve the People (2022), Tidal Wave (2009) and Can We Get Married? (2024).
How are movies similar to I Came from Busan chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Came from Busan, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.