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Movies like Smugglers

Key Features:
Smuggling, Crime, Friendship, Loss of innocence, Small town, Moral dilemma, Economic hardship, Female friendship, 1970s, Korean cinema
Tone:
serious, gritty, dramatic
Target Audience:
Crime drama enthusiasts, International cinema fans, Character-driven narratives
Emotional Arc:
Hope → Desperation

Smugglers

2023-07-26
Smugglers Poster - Find Similar Movies

During the 1970s, in Kunchon, there were women divers who were able to dive without equipment, including two best friends Choon-ja and Jin-sook, Jin-sook's brother and Hammer. They always collected seafood under water for living. But, as fewer factories started to be built near the beach, the women divers started to have trouble with what they were doing for living. Without any choice, the ship crews decided to join the smuggling business in the water to seek a way for their living. But the smuggling business in their village got too big for Jin-sook's family to handle and the peaceful village was gradually broken.

Genres
Crime, Action
Cast
Kim Hye-soo, Yum Jung-ah, Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min, Kim Jong-soo, Go Min-si, Kim Jae-hwa, Park Jun-myun, Park Kyung-hye, Joo Bo-bi
Crew
Kim Jung-youn, Choi Cha-won, Ryoo Seung-wan, Ryoo Seung-wan
Rating
6.5(64 votes)
SmugglersSmugglers
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Friend
Friend(2001)
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Sea Fog
Sea Fog(2014)
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A fishing-boat crew takes on a dangerous commission to smuggle a group of illegal immigrants from China to Korea.



Way Back Home
7.6

Jeong-yoon and Jong-bae own a car body repair shop together that gets in financial trouble. To help cover the losses and take care of her family, Jeong-yoon decides to smuggle thirty kilograms of cocaine.



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.



Green Fish
6.89

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



Gangnam Blues
6.432

Jong-dae and Yong-ki make a living by picking up paper and empty bottles. Both then join different gangster clan and becomes involved in a struggle of political interests over development in Gangnam, Seoul.



Samaritan Girl
7

Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money, and making sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young falls in love with one of those men, she suppresses her feelings towards him in respect of her friend who's jealous.



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 Drug King
6.32

Busan, South Korea, 1970s. Lee Doo-sam is a small-time smuggler. After helping a drug gang to smuggle meth, he falls into the dark crime world. Quick-witted and full of ambition, he eventually takes over the drug underworld and starts to lead a double life: a good community leader during the day but an infamous drug lord during the night.



A Dirty Carnival

A small-time thug who collects debts for the local triad is torn between his criminal aspirations and his devotion to family.



Broker
Broker(2022)
7.182

Sang-hyun is always struggling from debt, and Dong-soo works at a baby box facility. On a rainy night, they steal the baby Woo-sung, who was left in the baby box, to sell him at a good price. Meanwhile, detectives were watching, and they quietly track them down to capture the crucial evidence.



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.



Happy End
Happy End(1999)
6.572

When a wife becomes the breadwinner of her family after her husband loses his job, adultery becomes part of her life.



Han Gong-ju
7.2

After being involved in a traumatic incident, 17-year-old Gong-ju is forced to change schools. Uncared for by her parents, her previous teacher arranges for her to hide away at his mother's place. It takes time for her past to catch up with her, but when it does the revelation is devastating.



Parasite
Parasite(2019)
8.5

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.



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.



Sinkhole
Sinkhole(2021)
6.9

A working class family move into a new condo purchased after 11 years of hard work. They throw a housewarming party to show his co-workers when overnight a heavy downpour creates an extremely deep sinkhole that engulfs the entire building.



A Better Tomorrow
6.065

An idealistic policeman must bring down his estranged older brother, now a powerful gangster in a South Korean port city.



Pawn
Pawn(2020)
8.433

A debt collector who looks intimidating, but actually has a warm heart, ends up becoming the guardian of a child, who has been left behind as collateral by her illegal immigrant mother.



Birdcage Inn
6.4

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Tidal Wave
6.9

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.



The Handmaiden
8.195

1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.



Rebels
Rebels(2019)
6.1

Sandra, a young woman forced to leave the south of France to flee a violent husband. Without attachment, she returned to Boulogne-sur-Mer, the city of her childhood which she left almost 15 years ago. She finds her mother there and a world she left behind. Without money, she is hired in a fish cannery where she befriends two workers. But one day, one of her colleagues tackles her insistently, she defends herself and kills him accidentally.



Miss Baek
Miss Baek(2018)
7.5

A woman's past as a convict follows her everywhere and because of this she doesn't open up to others. But then she strikes up a friendship with a broken child who has suffered from domestic violence and decides to save the girl from the cruel world. A man who holds feelings for the woman, tries to protect her in his own way.



The Con Artists
6.957

A wily safecracker is forced to help a mob boss pull off a $150 million heist, but smells a double-cross in the works.



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.



Beasts Clawing at Straws

A struggling restaurant owner, caring for his sick mom, finds a bag of cash in a sauna locker, while a customs officer gets into trouble when his girlfriend runs off with money he borrowed from a loan shark.



Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha(2010)
6.3

Over drinks, two friends agree to swap fond memories of their recent trips to the same seaside town. As the stories unfold in flashback, it becomes evident their accounts take place at the same time and with the same people.



Bedevilled
7.2

A disillusioned Seoul woman visits a remote island to reconnect with a childhood friend, only to find her trapped in an oppressive cycle of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. As tensions escalate, the situation spirals into a harrowing tale of survival and retribution.



Believer
Believer(2018)
7.198

After a traumatic event, a drug trafficker turns sides and conspires with a dangerously ambitious undercover police officer to bring down the mysterious kingpin of a major drug cartel.



Start-Up
Start-Up(2019)
6.884

Two boys are becoming real adults during a turbulent time as they experience a world that doesn't go their way.



Women in Cages
4.992

Carol Jeffries is a naive American woman staying in the Philippines. She is given ten years in prison after being set up by her drug-dealer boyfriend, Rudy. She endures the harsh conditions, sadistic head matron and attempts on her life, then convinces her cell-mates to try to escape with her through the jungle, in spite of the knowledge that ruthless trackers will be sent out after them.



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.



Outlaws
Outlaws(2021)
6.9

Introverted Girona student Nacho meets two delinquents from the city's Chinatown and gets caught up in a summer onslaught of burglaries and hold ups that will change his life.



Hwayi: A Monster Boy
7.412

After being kidnapped as a small child and raised by the five men who abducted him, a teenage boy is now forced to join their life in crime.



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.



Contraband
6.335

When his brother-in-law runs afoul of a drug lord, family man Chris Farraday turns to a skill he abandoned long ago—smuggling—to repay the debt. But the job goes wrong, and Farraday finds himself wanted by cops, crooks and killers alike.



Breathless
7.154

Sang-hoon is a lowlife gangster, a debt collector exercising thuggish ways to collect his money. The recipient of nothing but anger since his childhood, he expresses himself through violence. When he finally encounters someone who can stand up to him, feisty school-girl Yoon-hee they become unlikely friends.



Coin Locker Girl

A child abandoned in a subway coin locker is sold to a ruthless and calculating loan shark and gangster boss dubbed Mother, who runs an organ-harvesting ring in Incheon’s Chinatown. Named Il-Young, the baby girl grows into Mother’s loyal right-hand enforcer and is groomed to be her eventual successor. But when Il-Young’s loyalty to Mother wavers, the clash between the two unleashes a merciless tidal wave of blood-soaked retribution and strife.



Windstruck
7.148

Kyung-jin, a police officer who finds herself chasing down a suspected bag-snatcher on her day off. However, the man she catches turns out to be Myungwoo, a passer-by who was himself trying to apprehend the real criminal.



Seoul Searching
6.953

In the 1980s a group of foreign-born Korean teenagers who meet at a Seoul summer camp to learn what it means to be Korean. The three boys, from the U.S., Mexico, and Germany, then meet three girls who rock their world.



Nameless Gangster
6.872

A corrupt customs official joins forces with a vicious gangster to form the most powerful crime partnership in Busan.



Crocodile
Crocodile(1996)
6.319

Under the Han River lives Crocodile, a rugged member of the lumpenproletariat who exists from schemes and stealing. His position as a scavenger of society undermines South Korea’s boasts of its newfound economic position as an Asian Tiger. One day, Crocodile finds a girl floating in his river.



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.



Diving
Diving(2017)
6.098

A restless photographer leaves her family to "find herself" and takes up deep-sea diving.



Mother
Mother(2009)
7.7

A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it's his mother's mission to prove him innocent.



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.



In Another Country
6.098

A young woman and her mother run away to the seaside town of Mohang to escape their mounting debt. The young woman begins writing a script for a short film in order to calm her nerves: There are three women named Anne, and each woman consecutively visits the seaside town of Mohang. A young woman tends to the small hotel by the Mohang foreshore owned by her parents. A certain lifeguard can be seen restlessly wandering up and down the beach that lies nearby. Each Anne stays at this small hotel, receives some assistance from the owner’s daughter, and ventures onto the beach where they meet the lifeguard.



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.



Microhabitat
7.6

Miso lives from day to day by housekeeping. Cigarettes and whiskey are the two things that get her through the day. As cigarette prices and rent start to rise, Miso decides to give up her house for cigarettes and whiskey, leading her to couch surf with old friends while reconsidering her place in life.



Breaking Surface
6.7

Two Swedish/Norwegian half sisters go on a winter diving trip in Northern Norway, when they get trapped after a rockslide.



The Pirates
7

At the cusp of the founding of Joseon Dynasty, an envoy from China is delivering Emperor’s Ming’s Royal Seal. But nature in the form of a giant whale intervenes and swallows the royal seal. When a generous reward is offered to whomever can retrieve the royal seal from the belly of the whale, the race is on. A group of mountain bandits led by Jang Sa Jung and a group of pirates led by Yeo Wol go after the lost treasure, but who will get to to it first?



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.



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.



Hijack 1971
6.6

Pilots Tae-in and Gyu-sik are set to fly to Gimpo. Under the guidance of flight attendant Ok-soon, passengers are busy boarding. However, shortly after takeoff, a homemade bomb explodes, turning the cabin into chaos.



Innocence
Innocence(2020)
7.8

A lawyer tries to prove her mother's innocence and uncover the secrets of a small village with the help of the local mayor. Her mother was accused of murder after the rice wine was poisoned at her husband's funeral, but she is suffering from memory loss and cannot defend herself.



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 Day a Pig Fell Into the Well

The lives of 4 interconnected South Koreans - a married couple, a novelist the wife is having an affair with, and a second woman the novelist is simultaneously involved with.



Sheroes
Sheroes(2023)
5.927

When four thick-as-thieves friends arrive in Thailand, they quickly find themselves in over their heads. Fighting to stay alive, they employ their unique set of skills and unleash their fierce loyalty in a heart-pumping battle for survival.



Cobweb
Cobweb(2023)
6.6

In the 1970s, Director Kim is obsessed by the desire to re-shoot the ending of his completed film Cobweb, but chaos and turmoil grip the set with interference from the censorship authorities, and the complaints of actors and producers who can't understand the re-written ending. Will Kim be able to find a way through this chaos to fulfill his artistic ambitions and complete his masterpiece?



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.



The World of Us
7.5

A bullied girl becomes friends with a new kid during a break, but when classes start up again, their new friendship is nearly ruined when the bullying continues.



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.



Pickpocket
7.22

A small town pickpocket whose friends have moved on to higher trades finds himself bitter and unable to adapt.



Thirst
Thirst(2009)
7.1

A respected priest volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and dies, but a blood transfusion of unknown origin brings him back to life. Now, he’s torn between faith and bloodlust, and has a newfound desire for the wife of a childhood friend.



Ayan
Ayan(2009)
7

Deva works for Arumugam, a smuggler, who has taken care of him for many years. However, when his best friend gets killed, Deva decides to help the police to nab a dangerous drug lord.



Oldboy
Oldboy(2003)
8.2

With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.



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 Battleship Island
7.148

During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island 'Hashima Island' to mine for coal, attempt to escape.



On Board
On Board(1998)
7.333

Sailors want to remain in their small world, which is warm and cozy and full of lies, but their routine life turns upside down when one of them gets mugged and badly beaten.



Intruder
Intruder(2020)
6.719

Seo-jin is a widower still grieving his wife's death. Then he receives the news that his long-lost younger sister, Yoo-jin, who went missing 25 years ago, has turned up. Unlike the rest of his family, who welcome her into their arms, Seo-jin feels that Yoo-jin is a stranger.



Pickpocket
7.3

Michel takes up pickpocketing on a lark and is arrested soon after. His mother dies shortly after his release, and despite the objections of his only friend, Jacques, and his mother's neighbor Jeanne, Michel teams up with a couple of petty thieves in order to improve his craft. With a police inspector keeping an eye on him, Michel also tries to get a straight job, but the temptation to steal is hard to resist.



Montage
Montage(2013)
7.334

A woman's child is kidnapped and killed after paying the ransom. 15 years later, a mysterious figure is seen visiting the site of killing and another kidnapping occurs using the same methods. The woman teams up with a detective to catch the killer once and for all.



Chaw
Chaw(2009)
5.759

A black comedy about the events that are set into motion in a town after a man-eating boar goes on a rampage.



Duelist
Duelist(2005)
6.414

Detective Nam-soon goes undercover with her partner Detective Ahn to investigate the counterfeit money. She discovers that one loyal henchman, Sad Eyes, a beautiful swordsman with a pale, blank face, is related to the truth. Nam-soon and Sad Eyes confront each other in a series of duels and become confused between love and obligation to duty.



Soulmate
Soulmate(2023)
7.9

Mi-so and Ha-eun meet in elementary school and quickly become best friends. In high school, Ha-eun meets Jin-woo and starts to have feelings for him, but he starts to have feelings for Mi-so. When they all meet again as adults, they are very different people, but they try to remember what friendship is really about.



Hit-and-Run Squad
7.158

Min-jae, a rookie police officer with a natural born talent for driving, is assigned to the perfect team: the Hit-and-Run Squad. But at the same time, for police detective Si-yeon, it is a place she is unjustly demoted to for doing her job. The two team up to arrest the rich and powerful speed maniac Jae-chul who is suspected of committing crimes for his obsession for speed.



Hindsight
Hindsight(2011)
6.478

A young assassin is sent to kill a retired mob boss. But things get complicated when she begins to like him.



A Bittersweet Life
7.4

Kim Sun-woo is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by a cold, calculative crime boss, Kang who assigns Sun-woo to a simple errand while he is away on a business trip; to shadow his young mistress, Hee-soo, for fear that she may be cheating on him with a younger man with the mandate that he must kill them both if he discovers their affair.



Concrete Utopia
6.9

After a massive earthquake, only one apartment building is left standing in Seoul, South Korea. Survivors flock to Hwang Gung Apartments, but residents cannot cope with the increasing numbers.



Next Sohee
7.327

A female detective investigates the cause of a high school girl’s death and uncovers a disturbing truth.



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.



Japanese Mom
6.6

"Innocent face, D-cup breasts and perfect intercourse skills! Son, this is not your girlfriend anymore but your mother!" Ki-ho brings Yuki from Japan to marry her. However, he starts cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend in Korea. Min-cheol comforted Yuki and thought of her as his daughter-in-law, but one day he realizes he is looking at her as a woman. In the end, Yuki and Min-cheol have intercourse without Ki-ho knowing...



In a Better World
7.1

The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.



Once Upon a Time in High School

A model student transfers to the notorious Jungmoon High School known for its severe corporal punishment by teachers and power struggles between school gangs.



Oki's Movie
6.667

Oki, a film student, gets involved in two relationships as she navigates the advances of a fellow student and grapples with her feelings for her much older professor.



Okay! Madam
7.08

A working class family wins a free vacation to Hawaii. But when their plane takes flight, it gets hijacked by terrorists. To save her family and the other passengers, the wife must reveal her secret past and fight back.



Triangle
Triangle(2007)
6.5

Life has not been kind to drinking buddies Sam, Fai, and Mok as they struggle to make ends meet, until one stormy evening a mysterious old man appears before them in a bar with a 'get rich quick' scheme: an ancient treasure is buried under a high-security government building.



Commitment
7.3

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



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.



Seoul Vibe
6.5

Chasing speed, dreams and money, a team of drivers get involved in the slush fund investigation of a powerful figure during the 1988 Seoul Olympics.



Blood and Bones
6.5

In 1923, teenager Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island, in South Korea, to Osaka, in Japan. Along the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of kamaboko, processed seafood products, in his poor Korean-Japanese community exploiting his employees.



The Dude in Me
7.818

Dong-hyun is a high school student. One day, he falls from the rooftop and bumps into Pan-soo who is a passerby. Pan-soo is a member of a criminal organization. When the two men wake up in the hospital, they discover that they have switched bodies.



Miss & Mrs. Cops
6.911

Once a legendary detective and a new mom, Mi-young, now works a desk job. But when overenthusiastic newbie Ji-hye is assigned to Mi-young's civil complaints team, the two female cops get caught up in a serious criminal case that triggers an action-filled comedic investigation.



The Woman Who Ran
6.6

While her husband is on a business trip, Gam-hee meets three of her friends on the outskirts of Seoul.



Missing
Missing(2016)
6.9

A working single mother comes home one day to find that her daughter and the nanny have disappeared -- and this is just the beginning of her nightmare.



On the Beach at Night Alone

Young-hee, an actress reeling in the aftermath of an affair with a married film director, escapes to Hamburg. But when she returns to Korea and meets with friends for drinks, startling confessions emerge.



6ixtynin9
6ixtynin9(1999)
6.76

A woman, fired from a financial corporation during the Asia crisis, returns home with no money. However, she finds a box with a fortune in front of her door, and decides to keep it. However, the people that left it there soon want it back.



The City of Violence

Tae-su, a detective fighting organized crime, returns to his hometown for his high school friend Wang-jae's funeral. There, he meets his old friends Pil-ho, Dong-hwan and Seok-hwan and they reminisce. Suspecting something fishy about Wang-jae's death, Tae-su and Seok-hwan start investigating it, each in his own way. Their investigations lead to a land development project that Pil-ho is directing.

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