Movies like Seoul Emperor (1986)
The best movies like Seoul Emperor (1986) are Winter's Tale (2014), Peter Ibbetson (1935) and A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025). If Seoul Emperor hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020)8.3/10 from 1,097 votes
- NewestA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)Released 2025
- In KoreanWoman Is the Future of Man (2004)Also in Korean
Winter's Tale (2014)
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeter Ibbetson (1935)
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project with the Duke and Duchess of Towers. When Peter and the duchess become great friends, she reveals that she is Mary — but the duke soon suspects his wife of infidelity and challenges Peter to a duel, threatening the pair's second chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWicked (2021)
Ivy Morgan, a college student in New Orleans, falls for Ren Owens, the last person she expected to enter her rigidly controlled life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWoman Is the Future of Man (2004)
As the first snow falls in Seoul, two old friends reunite; one is a successful college professor, and the other, a struggling filmmaker recently returned from the United States. After their reminiscences, they finally decide to go in search of the young woman each had romanced years earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFailan (2001)
After losing both her parents, Failan emmigrates to Korea to seek her only remaining relatives. Once she reaches Korea, she finds out that her relatives have moved to Canada well over a year ago. Desperate to stay and make a living in Korea, Failan is forced to have an arranged marriage through a match-making agency.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisR-Rated Idol Seung-ha's Sex Scandal (2020)
When they were young, Min-joo and Seo-yeon cared for each other and were closer than brothers and sisters. However, she accidentally learns about Seo-yeon's tutor, Woo-hyeon, and because of this man, their 10-year friendship starts to become shaky. Meanwhile, Jeong-soo is hurt in seeing Min-joo like that, and so he distanced himself from Min-joo. Because of Min-joo and Seo-yeon's misunderstanding, Jeong-soo who couldn't care much might just leave so Min-joo tries to break up with the help of Seo-yeon. While in the process of breaking up, Min-joo and Seo-yeon went back to their close relationship. The love of women who have been separated because of man, and the two men's friendship is comically drawn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan in Love (2014)
Tae-il lives a fast life as low level thug. He then learns that he has a terminal illness and not much time left to live. Then, for the first time in his life, he falls in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaundy Thursday (2006)
Yu-jeong is suicidal, yet she reluctantly goes to prison for volunteer work. There, she meets a prisoner who is waiting for death penalty. The two quickly fall in love despite their differences, yet they do not have much time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlind (2017)
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo for the Seesaw (1962)
After leaving his wife, lawyer Jerry Ryan moves from Omaha, Nebraska to New York City to start a new life. While studying for the New York Bar Examination and working to finalize his divorce, Ryan meets dancer Gittel Mosca, and the two begin a cautious courtship. However, Ryan feels that he must come to terms with his failed marriage and overcome his lingering attachment to his ex-wife before he can redefine himself and embrace his budding romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalome (1953)
In the reign of emperor Tiberius, Gallilean prophet John the Baptist preaches against King Herod and Queen Herodias. The latter wants John dead, but Herod fears to harm him due to a prophecy. Enter beautiful Princess Salome, Herod's long-absent stepdaughter. Herodias sees the king's dawning lust for Salome as her means of bending him to her will. But Salome and her lover Claudius are–contrary to Scripture–nearing conversion to the new religion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020)
The final part of the film adaption of the erotic romance novel Gabriel's Inferno written by an anonymous Canadian author under the pen name Sylvain Reynard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisApril Snow (2005)
A man and a woman are brought together after their spouses, who were having an affair, are hospitalized after a car crash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorns (2013)
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this72 (2023)
"In the midst of mourning her husband recently deceased of a heart condition, Ji Yeon encounters Hyung Seok, a desperate man about to end his life by jumping off a bridge. She decides to save him. They spend the next 72 hours together..."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Past Lives (2023)
After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in High School (2004)
A model student transfers to the notorious Jungmoon High School known for its severe corporal punishment by teachers and power struggles between school gangs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Unlike in K-Dramas (2024)
A surprise trip to Seoul reunites Dhea with an old flame, forcing her to face past feelings and question her current relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
My Dear Enemy (2008)
Hee-soo is desperate for money and finds her ex-boyfriend who owes her money. He goes around to various ex-girlfriends to get cash and she trails along to make sure he does not cheat her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Castaway on the Moon (2009)
Mr. Kim is jobless, lost in debt and has been dumped by his girlfriend. He decides to end it all by jumping into the Han River – only to find himself washed up on a small, mid-river island. He soon abandons thoughts of suicide or rescue and begins a new life as a castaway. His antics catch the attention of a young woman whose apartment overlooks the river. Her discovery changes both their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHoliday in Seoul (1956)
A newspaper reporter becomes a witness to a murder and finds himself relentlessly pursued by the killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Deep in My Heart (1967)
Overseas student Zheng Yihua and her native Korean classmate Soo-ok are bosom friends. Suspecting appendicitis, Zheng is rushed to the hospital for an emergency operation performed by Lee Sang-hyun. Soo-ok falls head over heels for the surgeon, who ironically takes a fancy to his patient. The romance turns the friends into foes. An embittered Soo-ok ruins Zheng's reputation with malicious gossips intended for Zhang Zhen, Zheng's father's personal assistant and the daughter's fiancé during his business trip to Korea. The wary mother of Lee demands the girl's parting from his son. Answering her lover's plea, Zheng stays, quietly enduring the scorn rained down on her from the mother. Having had enough of slander and accusations, the foreigner returns home, vowing never to return. Even the blessing from Lee's father fails to change her mind. Lee arrives at the airport, looking forlornly over the runway where the plane takes off.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Single in Seoul (2023)
A writer who praises living a life of single teams up with an editor who is desperate about finding her better half. Would it be possible for the two of them to finish the book?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Beastie Boys (2008)
Two friends are involved in the male escort business. One starts an honest relationship with one of his clients. The other cheats on his girlfriend and has his many scams catch up to him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Seoul Emperor?
The closest matches to Seoul Emperor are Winter's Tale (2014), Peter Ibbetson (1935) and A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Seoul Emperor?
Start with Winter's Tale (2014), the closest match to Seoul Emperor.
What is the highest-rated movie like Seoul Emperor?
Gabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020), rated 8.3/10 by 1,097 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Seoul Emperor?
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Seoul Emperor?
Yes: Woman Is the Future of Man (2004), Failan (2001) and R-Rated Idol Seung-ha's Sex Scandal (2020).
How are movies similar to Seoul Emperor chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Seoul Emperor, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.