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Movies like Escape

Key Features:
Defection, North Korea, South Korea, Military, Political thriller, Risk, Freedom, Survival, Intense
Tone:
serious, suspense-driven, dramatic
Target Audience:
Political thriller enthusiasts, Viewers interested in Korean conflicts, Fans of suspenseful narratives
Emotional Arc:
Tension → Desperation

Escape

2024-07-03
Escape Poster - Find Similar Movies

After completing his required decade of military service and being honored as a hero, a North Korean sergeant makes a sudden shocking attempt to defect to the South, risking life and limb for the chance to finally determine his own destiny.

Genres
Action, Drama, Thriller
Cast
Lee Je-hoon, Koo Kyo-hwan, Hong Xa-bin, Seo Hyun-woo, Lee Sung-wook, Yoo Tae-joo, Jung Jun-won, Jang Young-nam, Song Kang, Esom
Crew
Lee Jong-pil, Kwon Sung-hui, Kim Woo-geun
Rating
7.4(57 votes)
EscapeEscape
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Escape from Mogadishu

Diplomats from the North and South Korean embassies in Somalia attempt a daring joint escape from Mogadishu when the outbreak of civil war leaves them stranded.



The Net
The Net(2016)
7.3

A poor North Korean fisherman finds himself an accidental defector, and is groomed to be a spy by an ambitious South Korean military officer.



Joint Security Area

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides.



Hunt
Hunt(2022)
6.727

After a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy, known as Donglim, who is deeply embedded within their agency. When the spy begins leaking top secret intel that could jeopardize national security, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other.



Secretly, Greatly
6.978

Three elite North Korean sleeper agents live under cover for so long that they believe their cover stories are their real identities. They are shocked when they are ordered to kill one another or face death at the hands of an elite hit team.



The Spy Gone North
7.364

South Korea, 1993. An agent of the National Intelligence Service is sent to Beijing to infiltrate a group of North Korean officials with the ultimate goal of obtaining information about their nuclear program.



Commitment
7.3

The son of a North Korean spy decides to follow in his father's footsteps to protect his little sister.



Secret Reunion
6.373

Two spies share a secret bond, despite their loyalties. A North Korean assassin is sent to Seoul to kill a dissident, but instead he teams up with a South Korean agent in search for revenge.



EXIT
EXIT(2019)
7.6

At his mother's 70th birthday party, Yong-nam runs into Eui-joo, who rejected him in college. When the city is engulfed in toxic gas from a terrorist attack, the two must find a way to escape using all the techniques they learned in their college rock climbing club.



Tunnel
Tunnel(2016)
7.307

A man is on his way home when the poorly constructed tunnel he is driving through collapses, leaving him trapped leaving himself for the unexpected whilst emergency services struggle to help.



Steel Rain
7.084

Amid a coup, a North Korean agent escapes south with the country's injured leader in an attempt to keep him alive and prevent a Korean war.



Assassination
7.307

In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.



Shiri
Shiri(1999)
6.4

North Korea's 8th Special Forces hijack a shipment of CTX, a potent new liquid explosive, and threatens South Korea as part of a plot to re-unify the two countries. Ryu and Lee, special agents of O.P., South Korea's secret intelligence service, attempt to track down the terrorists and find the CTX. Meanwhile Hee, the 8th's ultra-bad female sniper, resurfaces to wreak havoc and haunt Ryu.



The Suspect
6.9

Betrayed and on the run, a former North Korean agent tries to seek revenge on the man who killed his wife, find his missing daughter, and uncover the secrets hidden inside the eyeglasses of a dead man.



My Name Is Loh Kiwan
7.324

After defecting from North Korea, Loh Kiwan struggles to obtain refugee status in Belgium, where he encounters a dejected woman who has lost all hope.



Take Point
6.9

On the day of the U.S. presidential election in 2024, a team of elite mercenaries embark on a secret CIA mission to abduct North Korea's politician in an underground bunker below the Korean Demilitarized Zone. However, they get caught in the crossfire which causes tensions to escalate to the brink of World War III.



Confidential Assignment

When a crime organization from North Korea crosses borders and enters South Korean soil, a South Korean detective must cooperate with a North Korean detective to investigate their whereabouts.



Illang: The Wolf Brigade

In 2029, an elite police squad combats an anti-reunification terrorist group while another enemy lurks nearby.



The Prison
7.1

An imprisoned ex-police inspector discovers that the entire penitentiary is controlled by an inmate running a crime syndicate and becomes part of the crime empire.



The Point Men
5.8

When a group of terrorists kidnap some Korean tourists, a diplomat is tasked with their rescue. He must team up with a special agent to ensure their safe return.



The Coast Guard
6.234

A member of Coast Guard Platoon 23, Private Kang monitors a high-infiltration stretch of beach lined with barbed-wire fencing. Driven by the belief that killing a spy is the highest honor, he waits for a chance to prove his worth.



The Berlin File
6.7

When an illicit arms deal goes bad, North Korean spy Pyo Jong-seong finds himself targeted not just by the South Koreans but also his own bosses.



Decision to Leave
7.3

From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.



V.I.P.
V.I.P.(2017)
7.8

A son to a high-ranked official in North Korea commits a series of murders going across the countries around the world. The movie depicts the following events as South Korea, North Korea and Interpol start chasing down after him.



The Man Standing Next
7.085

When the investigation of 'Koreagate' takes place, Park Yong-gak, a former KCIA director who knows everything about the government's operations, heads to the United States in exile.



Peninsula
Peninsula(2020)
6.7

A soldier and his team battle hordes of post-apocalyptic zombies in the wastelands of the Korean Peninsula.



The Flu
The Flu(2013)
7.527

A case of the flu quickly morphs into a pandemic. As the death toll mounts and the living panic, the government plans extreme measures to contain it.



Carter
Carter(2022)
6

Carter, who awakens two months into a deadly pandemic originating from the DMZ that has already devastated US and North Korea. He who has no recollections of his past finds a mysterious device in his head, and a lethal bomb in his mouth. A voice in his ears gives him orders to avoid getting killed and he's thrown into a mysterious operation while the CIA and North Korean coup chase him close.



The Tunnel
7.1

Inspired by true events, Olympic swimmer Harry Melchior defects from East Germany in the 1960s and hatches a daring plot to help his sister and others flee East Berlin through a 145-yard underground tunnel.



Beyond Utopia
7.648

A courageous pastor uses his underground network to rescue and aid North Korean families as they risk their lives to embrace freedom.



Escape
Escape(2024)
5.4

A young man becomes convinced that the solution to all his problems is to live in jail, and he will do whatever it takes to get it.



Balloon
Balloon(2018)
7.493

Two families attempt a daredevil plan to escape the GDR with a homemade hot air balloon, but it crashes just before the border. The Stasi finds traces of this attempt to escape and immediately starts investigations, while the two families are forced to build a new escape balloon. With each passing day the Stasi is closer on their heels – a nerve-wracking race against time begins.



12.12: The Day
7.481

Security commander Chun Doo-gwang and the officers following him organize a coup. Lee Tae-shin, a stubborn Capital Garrison Command commander who believes soldiers should not take political action, fights against Chun Doo-gwang.



The Guard Post
5.5

The plot concerns Guard Point 506, where an entire squad of soldiers have been killed in mysterious circumstances, bar one survivor who's in a coma. Military Investigators are dispatched to the base, and discover they're dealing with a virus that turns humans into ravenous flesh-eating killers!



Soar Into the Sun
6.6

Tae-hun causes trouble for the his unit with his antics. He does not take much seriously until a dogfight leaves a pilot dead and another missing. Tae-hun and the other members of his unit launch a rescue mission to prevent a war from breaking out.



Jailbreak
Jailbreak(2017)
5.7

What started as a simple escort mission will soon turn to chaos as the prisoners of Koh Kla take over the prison grounds. A special task force gets trapped in the prison will have to fight their way out for survival, to protect a key witness.



Infiltration
7.5

Ivan sets off on a dangerous mission into Syria to save his ex-commander Grey after his capture by ISIS. With the help of U.S. military patrols, he succeeds in freeing Grey and attempts to escape the country while being hunted by terrorists.



Helpless
Helpless(2012)
7.082

A woman suddenly disappears. Her fiance then sets out to find her and, in the process, uncovers layers of dark hidden secrets.



Seobok
Seobok(2021)
7.194

Ex intelligence agent Ki-heon is tasked with safely transporting Seo Bok, the first ever human clone, who holds the secret of eternal life. Several forces try to take control of Seo Bok to serve their own agendas.



Veteran
Veteran(2015)
6.915

When an old collaborator gets severely injured, a veteran policeman tries to figure out the way to bring to justice the ultimately suspected aggressor, a spoiled young executive, heir to a mega corporation, who believes he is above the law.



Confidential Assignment 2: International

Follows Rim Chul-ryung heading back to South Korea in pursuit of a brutal and secret criminal organization. He teams up again with Kang Jin-tae, who volunteers to work with the North Korean in order to get back on the investigation team after a mistake landed him in the cyber crime department.



Blind
Blind(2011)
7.4

A blind witness and a runaway help the police find the suspect in a hit and run until the culprit realizes that they are close on his trail. The killer tracks her down and Soo-ah realizes that in order to save Gi-sub she would have to risk her life.



The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.



Train to Busan
7.7

When a zombie virus pushes Korea into a state of emergency, those trapped on an express train to Busan must fight for their own survival.



Runaway Train
7

A hardened convict and a younger prisoner escape from a brutal prison in the middle of winter only to find themselves on an out-of-control train with a female railway worker while being pursued by the vengeful head of security.



Silmido
Silmido(2003)
7.1

On 31 January 1968, 31 North Korean commandos infiltrated South Korea in a failed mission to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. In revenge, the South Korean military assembled a team of 31 criminals on the island of Silmido to kill Kim Il-sung for a suicide mission to redeem their honor, but was cancelled, leaving them frustrated. It is loosely based on a military uprising in the 1970s.



New World
New World(2013)
7.413

An undercover cop has his loyalties tested when the boss of the corporate gang he's spent years infiltrating dies.



The Age of Shadows
7.194

Set in the late 1920s, The Age of Shadows follows the cat-and-mouse game that unfolds between a group of resistance fighters trying to bring in explosives from Shanghai to destroy key Japanese facilities in Seoul, and Japanese agents trying to stop them.



Battle of Jangsari
6.8

Korean War, September 1950. In order to fight the enemy forces based in the South of the peninsula, General MacArthur orders the start of the Incheon Landing Operation, deploying diversionary attacks in other locations. Without real military forces to spare, 772 very young Korean student soldiers, barely trained, are sent to Jangsari Beach, where they will face a heroic fate and discover the value of friendship. (A sequel to Operation Chromite, released in 2016.)



Men in War
6.6

In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.



#Alive
#Alive(2020)
7.2

As a grisly virus rampages a city, a lone man stays locked inside his apartment, digitally cut off from seeking help and desperate to find a way out.



The Piper
The Piper(2015)
7.1

Shortly after the Korean war, a father and a son are wandering through the country and make a stop in a remote village, where strange and dangerous happenings occur.



The Killer
7.7

While his girlfriend is away on a trip, retired assassin Bang Ui-kang is tasked with looking after her friend's 17-year-old daughter. After a street attack, Bang Ui-kang becomes embroiled in a murder investigation and dangerous trafficking gang.



Oasis
Oasis(2002)
7.7

A young man released from prison visits the widow of the man he killed drunk-driving and becomes infatuated with his cerebral palsy-stricken daughter.



Inside Men
6.919

A disgruntled henchman teams up with an ambitious prosecutor to bring down a leading presidential candidate and the news editor behind him who is truly pulling the strings.



Sea Fog
Sea Fog(2014)
6.845

A fishing-boat crew takes on a dangerous commission to smuggle a group of illegal immigrants from China to Korea.



Escape from Pretoria
7.186

South Africa, 1978. Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white political activists from the African National Congress imprisoned by the apartheid regime, put a plan in motion to escape from the infamous Pretoria Prison.



In Our Prime
7.991

Ji-woo, an outcast at a prestigious private school, meets Hak-sung, the school janitor who is actually a mathematical genius who defected from North Korea.



Ride or Die
6.683

Rei helps the woman she's been in love with for years escape her abusive husband. While on the run, their feelings for each other catch fire.



Steel Rain 2: Summit
7.048

A futuristic film about a crisis near the brink of war after three leaders are kidnapped by a North Korean nuclear submarine in a coup d’état during a summit between the two Koreas and the United States.



Rogue Warfare: The Hunt

The next installment of the Rogue Warfare Trilogy. Daniel has been captured and it is up to the TEAM to find him before it is to late.



Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil

Navy SEALS, headed by Lt. Bobby James, are dispatched to North Korea on a covert mission, all in an effort to take out a missile site...



Hostages
Hostages(2017)
6.2

Soviet Georgia, 1983. Preparations for Nika and Ana's wedding are in full swing and it's a big day for both of their elite families. For the newlyweds and their friends, however, the celebrations are in fact part of a cover-up, as they plot an audacious escape from the Soviet Union.



Beast
Beast(2022)
5.4

A former RAW officer, who is among the hostages in a mall taken over by terrorists, has to foil their plans and prevent the government from releasing a dreaded terrorist, who he had helped put in prison at great personal cost.



Breath
Breath(2007)
6.656

A condemned prisoner slowly falls in love with the married female artist who decorates his prison cell. Jin is a convicted killer awaiting execution on Death Row; Yeon is a lonely artist locked in a loveless marriage.



A Man Escaped
7.943

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.



Ashfall
Ashfall(2019)
6.84

A group of unlikely heroes from across the Korean peninsula try to save the day after a volcano erupts on the mythical and majestic Baekdu Mountain.



No Escape
No Escape(2015)
6.947

In their new overseas home, an American family soon finds themselves caught in the middle of a coup, and they frantically look for a safe escape in an environment where foreigners are being immediately executed.



The Front Line
7.2

In 1951 ceasefire is declared, but two remaining armies fought their final battle on the front line Towards the end of the Korean War, a South Korean battalion is fiercely battling over a hill on the front line border against the North in order to capture a strategic point that would determine the new border between two nations. The ownership of this small patch of land would swap multiple times each day. Kang is dispatched to the front line in order to investigate the tacit case that’s been happening there.



Haunters
Haunters(2010)
6.357

Cho-in has special powers that allow him to control everyone he can see, that is until he meets Kyu-nam, the only person he can't control. A series of events begins a confrontation that pushes both men to the brink.



Captain Volkonogov Escaped

Captain Fedor Volkonogov works in law enforcement. He is on the good books of the management, and his colleagues respect him. But one day, his life abruptly changes: he is declared a criminal. The Captain manages to run away before he is arrested. Suddenly he turns into an outcast, whom his former colleagues search across the whole city. At night Volkonogov is visited by a messenger from the other world, who warns him that after death he will go hell and be tormented forever. But he has an opportunity to change his fate and get to paradise if he repents, and at least one person forgives him. The Captain embarks on his way to find forgiveness. But he cannot even fathom what tests are awaiting him on this way.



Kandahar
Kandahar(2023)
6.807

After his mission is exposed, an undercover CIA operative stuck deep in hostile territory in Afghanistan must fight his way out, alongside his Afghan translator, to an extraction point in Kandahar, all whilst avoiding elite enemy forces and foreign spies tasked with hunting them down.



Pandora
Pandora(2016)
7.55

When an earthquake hits a Korean village housing a run-down nuclear power plant, a man risks his life to save the country from imminent disaster.



Golden Slumber
6.8

A delivery man has to flee for his life when he is framed for the assassination of a political candidate and the evidence against him begins to accumulate.



Escape to Victory
6.9

A group of POWs in a German prison camp during World War II play the German National Soccer Team in this powerful film depicting the role of prisoners during wartime.



Traitor
Traitor(2008)
6.7

When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer Samir Horn.



Mission: Possible
7.5

Chinese secret agent Da-hee receives intel that a large number of illegal firearms are being smuggled into Korea and is sent to investigate the case. She meets Su-han, who is supposed to help her with the case, but due to his lackluster skills they fight over trivial things. But as their witnesses are suddenly murdered, the two of them quickly become the prime suspects.



The Yellow Sea
7.343

A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.



Cold War II
6.2

A suspected criminal mastermind escapes from police custody, throwing the city into turmoil. With the police department now divided, rival police chiefs are forced to take their fight to the streets of Hong Kong with deadly consequences.



Sleep
Sleep(2023)
6.685

Hyun-su and Soo-jin are newlyweds. Seemingly out of nowhere, he starts talking in his sleep. "Someone's inside." From that night on, whenever he falls asleep, he transforms into someone else with no recollection of what happened the night before. Soo-jin is overwhelmed with anxiety that he'd hurt her family while she sleeps and can barely sleep a wink because of this irrational fear. Despite sleep treatment, Hyun-su’s sleepwalking only intensifies, and she begins to feel that her unborn child may be in danger…



Masquerade
7.708

Though it places his own life in danger, a look-alike commoner secretly takes the place of a poisoned king to save his country from falling into chaos.



Green Fish
6.89

Returning home and finding his town drastically changed, a former soldier falls in with gangsters.



Black Site
6.1

A group of officers based in a labyrinthine top-secret prison must fight for their lives against Hatchet, a brilliant and infamous high-value detainee. When he escapes, his mysterious and deadly agenda has far reaching and dire consequences.



Phantom
Phantom(2023)
6.9

In 1933, when Korea was under Japanese occupation, five people in Gyeongseong are suspected to be "Phantom" spies of the anti-Japanese organization.



Cold Eyes
Cold Eyes(2013)
7.5

Ha Yoon-ju becomes the newest member of a unit within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Department that specializes in surveillance activities on high-profile criminals. She teams up with Hwang Sang-jun, the veteran leader of the unit, and tries to track down James who is the cold-hearted leader of an armed criminal organization.



Nowhere to Hide
6.7

Detective Woo is on the trail of the mysterious gangster Sungmin, a master of disguise who always manages to elude his pursuers. Eventually, the cop tracks down and confronts the master-criminal in the suburbs of a coal-mining town.



The King
The King(2017)
7.341

A young Korean man surpasses his difficult childhood by becoming a powerful prosecutor, but soon learns that real power comes at a price.



Save the Green Planet!

A young man believes that his country's leaders are actually toxic reptilian aliens sent down to launch a takeover of his beloved Earth. So he decides to abduct them and force the truth out on camera in his basement that doubles as a film studio and torture chamber.



The Witness
6.727

An ordinary man witnesses a cruel murder and becomes entangled in circumstances out of his control.



Black Mask
6.2

Tsui escapes from a super soldier project and plans to lead a peaceful life. However, when his former comrades go on a violent crime spree, he takes it upon himself to end their reign of terror.



JUNG_E
JUNG_E(2023)
6.1

On an uninhabitable 22nd-century Earth, the outcome of a civil war hinges on cloning the brain of an elite soldier to create a robot mercenary.



Hide and Seek
6.545

Sung-soo has everything a man could want: a beautiful wife and children, a comfortable home and luxury car, and plenty of money in the bank. When he learns that his estranged brother, Sung-chul, has gone missing, haunting memories of their troubled past urge him to visit his brother’s apartment in search of answers.



Welcome to Dongmakgol

Based on the long running play by Jang Jin, the story is set in Korea during the Korean War in 1950. Soldiers from both the North and South, as well as an American pilot, find themselves in a secluded and naively idealistic village, its residents unaware of the outside world, including the war.



Swing Kids
8.15

Rebellious Ki-soo from North Korea is mesmerized by tap dance in prison camps. Ki-soo joins as a team member of a dance team named 'Swing Kids'. Yet suddenly, their dreams about dancing in prison camps are put in danger.



Counterattack
8.268

When a hostage rescue mission creates a new enemy, Capt. Guerrero and his elite soldiers must face an ambush by a criminal group.



The Land of Hope
6.1

An old couple, their only son, the son's wife, a young man and his lover live peacefully in a village. Then, a terrifying earthquake strikes that causes a nearby nuclear station to explode. The residents must evacuate, but the family lives on a farm, with only half of the area designated as an evacuation area.



The Priests
6.9

To save a girl in danger, a priest and deacon jump into a mysterious case.



Operation Chromite
5.9

A squad of soldiers fight in the Korean War's crucial Battle of Incheon.



I, the Executioner
6.946

The veteran detective Seo Do-cheol and his team at Major Crimes, relentless in their pursuit of criminals, join forces with rookie cop Park Sun-woo to track down a serial killer who has plunged the nation into turmoil.

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