Song Kang-ho may not be a global household name yet, but it definitely is in South Korea. His most recent Best Actor Win at the Cannes Film Festival for Broker and praise for his role in Bong Joon-ho‘s Oscar-winning movie Parasite make him one of the most acclaimed South Korean actors. Pair that with The New York Times listing him as one of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century; Kang-ho has a significant legacy already.
Kang-ho’s acting style is uniquely layered. He’s convincing whether he plays a stubborn rural detective, a 1920s stern and loyal resistance member, or the drug king of the South Korean coast. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Song Kang-ho’s best movies are the highlight of his long career.
10 ‘The Drug King’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 83%
The Drug King is one of the most-watched South Korean films on Netflix. It’s also a true story. Set in the 1970s, a small-time crook Lee Doo-sam (Kang-ho) establishes himself as the biggest drug kingpin on the South Korean coast. Kang-ho takes the lead and delivers one strong performance.
The movie is a mix of action, crime, and a bit of comedy. Song’s portrayal of Lee Doo-man makes him appear calm and calculating, similar to Walter Whitein Breaking Bad. Though this is no Breaking Bad – not only because it was based on actual events – it’s still a great crime drama that sees Kang-ho in one of his best roles.
9 ‘Joint Security Area’ (2000)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
Park Chan-wook‘s official debut, Joint Security Area, is one of the movies that propelled Kang-ho into fame. In it, soldiers at the DMZ between South and North Korea get into armed conflict, causing a scandal that could reflect their mutual politics. Major Sophie E. Jean (Lee Yeong-ae) is sent to investigate the events and uncovers a lot under the surface.
Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun – another legend of South Korean cinema – join forces as opposites; Kang-ho plays a North Korean officer whose efforts to keep the peace ultimately stop the conflict from escalating further, while Lee stars as an emotional and slightly impulsive South Korean officer. Joint Security Area is one of Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun’s best feature films.
8 ‘The Host’ (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
The second cooperation between Kang-ho and Joon-ho was in one of South Korea’s greatest horror movies – The Host. The director and actor established a great working relationship and friendship by now. In The NYT piece about the 25 greatest actors, Joon-ho said he loves working with Song because “it always feels like there will be a new layer to uncover.”
A girl, Hyun-seo, gets kidnapped by a sea monster terrorizing Seoul, and her family rushes to rescue her. Kang-ho plays Hyun-seo’s seemingly aloof but very caring father, while Bae Doona (Sense8, The Silent Sea, Kingdom) plays his badass, brave younger sister wielding a bow and arrow. The Host is an entertaining and intense disaster flick with elements of horror.
7 ‘Snowpiercer’ (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Joon-ho’s first international feature couldn’t have gone without Kang-ho. Snowpiercer is a dystopian action film about a high-speed train and its residents. In this world, the Earth was chained in snow and ice, and what’s left of society is aboard the Snowpiercer. Netflix created a series based on the same story, originally a French graphic novel, Le Transperceneige.
The residents of the train’s last car choose Curtis (Chris Evans) as their leader and rebel against those who live in the “upper” cars. Kang-ho plays an engineer who understands the ins and outs of the Snowpiercer; Curtis takes him along to help reach the first car and face the man in charge. Snowpiercer is one of Evans’ best films and one of Song’s most memorable.
6 ‘Secret Sunshine’ (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Secret Sunshine is a complex drama about loss and faith, though heartwarming at moments. Those are usually reserved for interactions between Kang-ho and Jeon Do-yeon, who won the award for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for this feature film.
Jeon plays Shin-ae, a widow who moves to her late husband’s hometown; as she settles in, she’s pursued by a persistent but patient local mechanic, Jong-chan (Kang-ho). While learning to deal with grief, Shin-ae starts going to church and spending time with Jong-chan. Kang-ho plays the role perfectly; he never overshadows Do-yeon, keeping the movie interesting as a charming side character.
5 ‘Broker’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
In 2022, Kang-ho won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for portraying Sang-hyeon in Broker. This marks another time the prestigious French festival recognized the actor, but the first time he’s worked with a previous Palme d’Or winner – Hirokazu Kore-eda. Kore-eda first won for his family drama Shoplifters in 2018, and Broker is its companion feature.
In Broker, Song plays the conman Sang-hyeon. He and his friend Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) steal babies from the church baby box, where people usually abandon them and sell them to adoptive parents on the black market. One day, they’re discovered by a young mother leaving her baby who insists on going with them to find fitting parents for her child. This is a South Korean movie, but Kore-eda wrote it inspired by the Japanese adoption system.
4 ‘Memories of Murder’ (2003)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95%
One of the best South Korean crime movies of the 21st century, Memories of Murder, was based on gruesome real-life murders in the Hwaseong area between 1986 and 1991. Song plays the lead detective, Park Doo-man, who is committed to solving the case despite not having strong (or any) evidence. The forensics are mishandled, and Park claims to have “an eye for criminals.”
Seo Tae-yoon (Kim Sang-kyung), a detective from Seoul with more forensic training and experience, is sent to help Park with the case. The movie is a directing masterclass that could be taught in film schools, and Kang-ho delivers the role of a lifetime. Memories of Murder is often lauded as one of the best East Asian films ever made.
3 ‘A Taxi Driver’ (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
Another historical drama based on real-life events, A Taxi Driver, sees Song as Man-seob, a taxi driver in Seoul making ends meet. When he hears he could earn lots of money by driving a reporter to Gwangju, Man-seob puts his foot forward and takes the deal. However, he doesn’t realize he will soon witness one of Korea’s most significant protests.
The Gwangju Uprising took place in May 1980, and it was one of the biggest confrontations between the public and the government; those protesting were mostly college students. The uprising was a controversial topic for a long time, but A Taxi Driver was praised for historical accuracy. Song also earned numerous accolades for his performance as Man-seob.
2 ‘Parasite’ (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 99%
Parasite is one of the best Palme d’Or winners ever. It’s about a lower-class family who trick their way into a wealthy family’s home. They fake their accolades and diplomas to get hired until all four of them start working at the same house. The movie changes genres midway, but that’s best left untold and better off watched.
Besides being a genre-bending thriller about class issues, prejudice, and discrimination, Parasite is fundamentally an eat-the-rich story. Song plays the patriarch of the Kim family, Ki-taek, who lies confidently and skillfully. Parasite won Oscars for Best Movie and Best Foreign Language Film, proving that foreign-language features can be acknowledged in multiple categories.
1 ‘The Age of Shadows’ (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
RT’s best-rated Song Kang-ho film is the historical action drama The Age of Shadows. This first-ever Warner Bros.-produced South Korean film is a thrilling story of Korean resistance fighters during the 1920s. The common enemy was the Japanese Army, and Kang-ho plays Lee Jung-chool, a South Korean officer working for them.
Lee’s loyalty is shaken when he witnesses the death of a friend and agents Che-san (Lee Byung-hun) and Kim Woo-jin (Gong Yoo) since they could turn the officer, and get him on the side of the resistance. The Age of Shadows is a Kim Jee-woon feature; this cult director created a high-stakes cat-and-mouse chase, one of South Korea’s most exciting historical features.
