Movies Like 1987: When the Day Comes (2017)

1987: When the Day Comes is a 2017 drama, history, thriller film from Jang Joon-hwan with a MovieMagicScore of 8.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with A Taxi Driver and The Attorney.

Drama History Thriller

A Taxi Driver

2017

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.

8.0

MagicScore

The Attorney

2013

Song Woo-seok is a lawyer with no clients. When his friend's son is falsely accused of a crime and tortured, he takes up the case and the course of his life changes for good.

7.8

MagicScore

Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower

2017

When the Chinese Communist Party backtracks on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong, teenager Joshua Wong decides to save his city. Rallying thousands of kids to skip school and occupy the streets, Joshua becomes an unlikely leader in Hong Kong and one of China’s most notorious dissidents.

7.3

MagicScore

May 18

2007

The citizens of Gwangju lead a relatively peaceful life, until one day the military takes over the city, accusing the residents of conspiracy and claiming that they are communist sympathisers preparing a revolution against the current government. Seeing as the soldiers beat defenceless people, mainly students, to death, the citizens are in for retaliation and form a militia.

6.9

MagicScore

National Security

2012

On September 4, 1984, democracy movement leader Kim Jong Tae 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.

7.4

MagicScore

Peppermint Candy

2000

In the spring of 1999, a group of old friends gather to celebrate their 20 year reunion. Among the group is Yeong-ho, a cold, unhappy man, whose demeanor puts a damper on the festivities. The seriousness of Yeong-ho's depression becomes apparent when he climbs a railroad bridge and looks like he might jump. At this crucial moment, memories of seven crucial episodes from Yeong-ho's past flood his mind.

7.5

MagicScore

Zabriskie Point

1970

Anthropology student Daria, who's helping a property developer build a village in the Los Angeles desert, and dropout Mark, who's wanted by the authorities for allegedly killing a policeman during a student riot, accidentally encounter each other in Death Valley and soon begin an unrestrained romance.

7.0

MagicScore

The Shout

1968

In the summer of revolt 1968, student Leobardo López Aretche captured the protests in Mexico City, and the state’s brutal response, up close – and like many of his subjects and fellow comrades, would pay a high price for his audacity. Fifty years later, his movie is no longer a secret.

6.9

MagicScore

The President's Barber

2004

A well-meaning but politically naive barber gets pulled into the inner circle of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-Hee, with rather baleful consequences for his hapless family. This sharp political satire covers roughly twenty years in South Korean political history, from the viewpoint of the barber's son.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

The Man Standing Next

2020

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.

7.1

MagicScore

#11

The '60s

1999

The Herlihys are a working class family from Chicago whose three children take wildly divergent paths: Brian joins the Marines right out of High School and goes to Vietnam, Michael becomes involved in the civil rights movement and after campaigning for Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy becomes involved in radical politics, and Katie gets pregnant, moves to San Francisco and joins a hippie commune. Meanwhile, the Taylors are an African-American family living in the deep South. When Willie Taylor, a minister and civil rights organizer, is shot to death, his son Emmet moves to the city and eventually joins the Black Panthers, serving as a bodyguard for Fred Hampton.

6.0

MagicScore

#12

Oppenheimer

2023

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

8.0

MagicScore

#13

The Dreamers

2003

When Isabelle and Theo invite Matthew to stay with them, what begins as a casual friendship ripens into a sensual voyage of discovery and desire in which nothing is off limits and everything is possible.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

South of the Border

2009

A road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.

5.9

MagicScore

#15

Parasite

2019

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.

8.5

MagicScore

#16

Default

2018

Only one week left until South Korea will go under sovereign default. Han Shi-hyun is a leader of the monetary policy team at the Bank of Korea. and is assigned to a crisis team.

6.9

MagicScore

#17

Samjin Company English Class

2020

In mid '90s, 3 female high school-grad office workers take up English classes together to get promotions and they team up to uncover corruption within their company.

7.8

MagicScore

#18

To All the Boys: Always and Forever

2021

Senior year of high school takes center stage as Lara Jean returns from a family trip to Korea and considers her college plans — with and without Peter.

7.5

MagicScore

#19

The Tower

2012

Tower Sky, a luxurious building complex, has organised a lavish Christmas party for its VIP guests. However, things go awry when a fire breaks out and thousands of lives are endangered.

7.0

MagicScore

#20

Sinkhole

2021

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.

6.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like 1987: When the Day Comes?

The top films similar to 1987: When the Day Comes by MovieMagicScore are A Taxi Driver (8.0), The Attorney (7.8), Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower (7.3). Each shares drama/history/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is 1987: When the Day Comes worth watching?

1987: When the Day Comes holds a MovieMagicScore of 8.1/10 from 164 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is 1987: When the Day Comes?

1987: When the Day Comes (2017) is a drama, history, thriller film directed by Jang Joon-hwan, starring Kim Yun-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Yoo Hai-jin.

Where can I find more recommendations like 1987: When the Day Comes?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like A Taxi Driver Movies like The Attorney Movies like Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower Movies like May 18 Movies like National Security Movies like Peppermint Candy

About movies like 1987: When the Day Comes

This ranked list pairs 1987: When the Day Comes (2017), a drama and history and thriller film from Jang Joon-hwan, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Kim Yun-seok take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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