20 best movies like Jewel in the Palace (2003)

Ancient Korea, 17th century. The powerful Khan of the Jurchen tribe of Manchuria, who fights the Ming dinasty to gain China, becomes the first ruler of the Qing dinasty and demands from King In-jo of Joseon to bow before him; but he refuses, being loyal to the Mings. On December 14th, 1636, the Qing horde invades Joseon, so King In-jo and his court shelter in the mountain fortress of Namhan and prepare to defend the kingdom.

Ancient Korea, July 4, 1762. The Crown Prince Hyojang, posthumously named Sado, son of King Yeongjo of Joseon, is accused of treason. Thus, the king asks him to commit suicide, but his closest vassals prevent it, so the king orders the prince to get inside a wooden rice chest, where he suffers deprivation of food and water.

The struggles of an artist. Jang Seung-up (1843-1897), also called Owon, focusing on the years 1882 to 1897, when Korea was in political upheaval, caught between China and Japan, the conservative dynasty dying, and peasant revolt at hand. Jang, born poor, has genius; a merchant, Kim, becomes his patron, finding him a teacher. Jang must convince others that a commoner can have talent, then move beyond his ability to copy old masters and find his own style. He's bedeviled by a temper and alcohol, arguments with patrons as he seeks commissions, and relationships with kisaeng, particularly Mae-hyang, that start and stop. It's the life of a restless spirit producing great art.

An account of karate competitor Choi Yeung-Eui who went to Japan after World War II to become a fighter pilot but found a very different path instead. He changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama and went across the country, defeating martial artists one after another. This film concentrates on the period when he is still young, and developing his famous karate style, Kyokushin.

Under the oppressive Japanese colonial rule, Deok-hye, the last Princess of the declining Joseon Dynasty, is forced to move to Japan. She spends her days missing home, while struggling to maintain dignity as a princess. After a series of failed tries, Deok-hye makes her final attempt to return home with help of her childhood sweetheart, Jang-han.

In 1987 Korea, under an oppressive military regime, a college student gets killed during a police interrogation involving torture. Government of officials are quick to cover up the death and order the body to be cremated. A prosecutor who is supposed to sign the cremation release, raises questions about a 21-year-old kid dying of a heart attack, and he begins looking into the case for truth. Despite a systematic attempt to silence everyone involved in the case, the truth gets out, causing an eruption of public outrage.

In 1950, amidst the ravages of the Korean War, Sergeant Süleyman stumbles upon a a half-frozen little girl, with no parents and no help in sight. Frantic, scared and on the verge of death, this little girl captures the heart of Süleyman, who risks his own life to save her, smuggling her into his Army base and out of harms way. Not knowing her name and unable to communicate with her, Süleyman names her Ayla, in reminiscence of the moon on the fateful night during which they met. The two form an instantaneous and inseparable bond, and Ayla, almost effortlessly, brings an uncanny joy to the Turkish brigade in the grip of war. As the war comes to a close however, Süleyman's brigade is told that they will be returning home. Süleyman cannot bear abandoning Ayla, and does everything within his power to take her with him. After repeated failure, he is forced to give Ayla to an orphanage, but doesn't give up on the hope of one day reuniting with her. Will the two ever get back together?

May, 1980. Man-seob is a taxi driver in Seoul who lives from hand to mouth, raising his young daughter alone. One day, he hears that there is a foreigner who will pay big money for a drive down to Gwangju city. Not knowing that he’s a German journalist with a hidden agenda, Man-seob takes the job.

In 1777, one year since he had taken reign, King Jeong-jo bears a perilous palace life with his dedicated court servant, Gap-soo, amidst opposition and threats from those around with political ambitions. Meanwhile, Eul-soo, a member of a secret assassin group, receives orders to kill Jeong-jo. Gap-soo, who had also been in the same secret assassin ring as Eul-soo, later confesses to Jeong-jo about his dark past and his motive for coming into the palace. To Gap-soo's surprise, Jeong-jo asks Gap-soo when he had given up being an assassin, then orders him to just leave the palace. However, Gap-soo finds out that there is another assassin besides him and frantically returns to the court, only to discover Eul-soo in combat with Jeong-jo. (c)

An exceptionally talented face reader becomes entangled in a bloody power struggle between a child king and his uncle who plans to usurp the throne.

The story of Joseon's tyrant king Yeonsan who exploits the populace for his own carnal pleasures, his seemingly loyal retainer who controls him and all court dealings, and a woman who seeks vengeance.

Based on the life of the Korean anarchist Park Yeol (Lee Je-hoon), the film shows his struggle to counter the massacre of Koreans by the government during the 1923 great Kanto earthquake, focusing on his activities as the leader of the anti-Japanese organization Bulryeongsa and his relationship with Japanese comrade Fumiko Kaneko (Choi Hee-seo).

Based on the life and work of Korea’s renowned poet, Yun Dong Ju. Dong Ju, while studying literature in Japan, was charged and detained for having participated in the Korean Independence Movement. Known to have created hundreds of poems during his time in jail where he spent the last two years of his life, Dong Ju passed away at the young age of 27. Although it has not been proven, some believe he died due to medical experiments that were performed on his living body.

On September 4, 1984, democracy movement leader Kim Jong Tae (Park Won Sang) is arrested and taken to an infamous interrogation facility in Namyeong-dong. For the next 22 days, he would be cruelly and continuously tortured in all manners by interrogators intent on forcing him to confess to communist collaboration.

In the 1970s, Korea is under the absolute control of the President Park who controls the KCIA, the organization with an edge over any branch of government. The director of KCIA, KIM Gyu-pyeong, is the seemingly most prospective second-in-command. In the midst of reign of fear, a former KCIA director, PARK Yong-gak who knows all about the government’s obscure operations, exiles to the U.S. where the investigation of ‘Koreagate’ is underway. As the tension escalates, the stifling political maneuvering by the all second-in-command’s unfolds.

Story of Rani Lakshmibai, one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and her resistance to the British Rule.

After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as Willy, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels.

Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement who were forced underground to evade the State.

In 1947, Lord Mountbatten assumes the post of last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people, living upstairs at the house which was the home of British rulers, whilst 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants lived downstairs.

The untold true story set in the winter of 1925 that takes you across the treacherous terrain of the Alaskan tundra for an exhilarating and uplifting adventure that will test the strength, courage and determination of one man, Leonhard Seppala, and his lead sled dog, Togo.

Movie follows life of Croatian war hero general Ante Gotovina.

The story of Daniel Jones, lead investigator for the US Senate’s sweeping study into the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, which was found to be brutal, immoral and ineffective. With the truth at stake, Jones battled tirelessly to make public what many in power sought to keep hidden.

A behind-the-scenes look at news anchor Dan Rather during his final days at C.B.S. News when he broadcast a damaging report about how President Bush relied on privilege and family connections to avoid fighting in the Vietnam War.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill suffers from a stroke in the summer of 1953 that's kept a secret from the rest of the world.

The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.

Set in 1948, the historic story of India's first Olympic medal post their independence.

New York, 1980. Three complete strangers accidentally discover that they're identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds' joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.

The life and death of the Scottish monarch.

Nat Turner, a former slave in America, leads a liberation movement in 1831 to free African-Americans in Virgina that results in a violent retaliation from whites.