Memories of Murder (살인의 추억) is Bong Joon-ho's 2003 breakthrough film, a police procedural following detectives investigating a real, then-unsolved series of murders in a small Korean province in the late 1980s — and it remains one of the most acclaimed Korean films internationally, gaining an entirely new wave of relevance in 2019 when the real killer behind the case was finally identified, sixteen years after the film's release. Long before Parasite made Bong a household name worldwide, this was the film that established his reputation as one of Korean cinema's most exacting directors.
Plot
Set in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, in 1986, the film follows two local detectives and a detective sent from Seoul as they investigate a string of brutal murders that have gripped the rural community in fear. The local investigators rely on intimidation and coerced confessions, clashing with the Seoul detective's more methodical, evidence-based approach, while the case repeatedly slips through their hands due to contaminated evidence, false leads, and the investigative limitations of the era. Rather than building toward a clean resolution, the film is structured around the frustration and helplessness of chasing a killer the investigators — and by extension, the audience — never definitively catch, ending on one of Korean cinema's most quietly devastating final images.
Based on a Real, Then-Unsolved Case
The film is based on the Hwaseong serial murders, a real string of killings that terrorized the region in the 1980s and went unsolved for decades, making Memories of Murder both a crime drama and, at the time of its release, a film about an active, ongoing mystery. Bong Joon-ho has said that during filming, the crew half-joked about the possibility that the real killer might one day watch the movie, a thought he described finding strange to sit with. The character of Park Hyun-gyu, a chief suspect in the film, was based on a real factory worker wrongly suspected during the actual investigation, who died of illness in 1997 without ever clearing his name.
The Case That Finally Broke, 16 Years Later
In September 2019, police confirmed through DNA evidence that Lee Choon-jae, already serving a life sentence for an unrelated murder, was the real perpetrator behind the Hwaseong killings; he confessed to 14 murders in total the following month. Because the statute of limitations on the case had already expired, Lee couldn't be prosecuted for those specific crimes, but the identification closed a mystery that had lingered publicly for over three decades. The news set off an immediate surge of renewed interest in the film — broadcaster OCN scheduled emergency re-airings, and IPTV on-demand views of Memories of Murder reportedly spiked roughly 255-fold in the days following the announcement. In a 2025 interview, Bong Joon-ho said he'd wanted to ask Lee directly whether he remembered the people he killed, and noted that after resolving to never adapt another real case following the emotional toll of making this film, he'd since reconsidered and would be open to doing so again.
Memories of Murder at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Director | Bong Joon-ho |
| Genre | Crime, mystery, police procedural |
| Korean Release | April 25, 2003 |
| Lead Cast | Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha |
| Based On | The real, unsolved (at the time) Hwaseong serial murders |
| Real Case Resolved | September–October 2019, decades after the film's release |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Memories of Murder based on a true story?
Yes, it's based on the real Hwaseong serial murders, a string of killings that occurred in the 1980s and remained unsolved at the time the film was made.
Was the real killer from the case ever caught?
Yes, in 2019, DNA evidence identified Lee Choon-jae, already imprisoned for another murder, as the perpetrator; he confessed to 14 killings, though the statute of limitations meant he couldn't be prosecuted for them specifically.
Is Memories of Murder connected to Parasite?
They're not connected by story, but both are directed by Bong Joon-ho, and the real killer's 2019 identification happened to coincide with Parasite's release year, a coincidence Bong has spoken about publicly.
Who stars in Memories of Murder?
The film stars Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, and Kim Roi-ha as the lead investigators.
Where can I watch Memories of Murder?
Streaming availability varies by region and changes over time; checking current listings on major streaming platforms is recommended.
Streaming availability changes over time and by region — check current platform listings before planning to watch.