"Truth Be Told"

Based on or inspired by:  True Stories / People / Events     See:  [Historical] for additional items

MasterLists sep 21, 2023
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  • Fight For My Way

    1. Fight For My Way

    Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes

    "Celebrity couple Choo Sung Hoon, an MMA champion, and his fashion model wife Yano Shiho inspired writer Lim Sang Chun to pen the series in order to highlight the life of athletes and their families."

  • Race to Freedom: Um Bok Dong

    2. Race to Freedom: Um Bok Dong

    Korean Movie - 2019

    A true story about Uhm Bok Dong, a Korean hero, and the winner from the time when Japan held a bicycle race in order to take over Korea during the Japanese Invasion.

  • Dream

    3. Dream

    Korean Movie - 2023

  • Le Coup de Foudre

    4. Le Coup de Foudre

    Chinese Drama - 2019, 35 episodes

    Based on the true story of Qiao Yi and her husband

  • Inseparable Bros

    5. Inseparable Bros

    Korean Movie - 2019

  • I Just Wanna Hug You

    6. I Just Wanna Hug You

    Japanese Movie - 2014

    [JP]

  • Flying Colors

    7. Flying Colors

    Japanese Movie - 2015

    [JP]   Sayaka Kobayashi (who this movie is about) was accepted to Columbia University.

  • Just Dance

    8. Just Dance

    Korean Drama - 2018, 16 episodes

     "based on the documentary of the same name and will tell the story of girls in Geoje Girl’s Vocational High School"

  • Kiseki: Sobito of That Day

    9. Kiseki: Sobito of That Day

    Japanese Movie - 2017

    [JP]   Based on a true story surrounding the birth of Japanese vocal group GReeeeN's popular song "Kiseki" which was launched in 2008

  • Cheers From Heaven

    10. Cheers From Heaven

    Japanese Movie - 2011

    [JP]

  • My Paparotti

    11. My Paparotti

    Korean Movie - 2013

     Based on the real-life story of Kim Ho Joong

  • Go Go 70s

    12. Go Go 70s

    Korean Movie - 2008

  • Hope

    13. Hope

    Korean Movie - 2013

    (2008) Inspired by the real events of the "Cho Doo Soon" case.   An 8-year-old girl known by the press name “NaYoung” was beaten and sexually assaulted by a drunk pedophile Choo DooSoon in a church restroom. After the violent act, the man was given a mitigated sentence of 12 years in prison due to his mental state, despite being involved in several rape cases. 

  • Silenced

    14. Silenced

    Korean Movie - 2011

    Adapted from the novel "The Crucible" by Gong Ji Young, which is based on true events that took place in the early 2000s.

  • Han Gong Ju

    15. Han Gong Ju

    Korean Movie - 2014

     (2004) Based on the real events of "Milyang Junior High School" case.  41 boys gang raped multiple girls over an 11 month period.

  • Don't Cry, Mommy

    16. Don't Cry, Mommy

    Korean Movie - 2012

    (1991) - Inspired by the ‘Kim Bu Nam Case’ 

  • A Stray Goat

    17. A Stray Goat

    Korean Movie - 2017

    Inspired by the director/writer Jo Jae Min's past experience.

  • Children...

    18. Children...

    Korean Movie - 2011

  • Nobody Knows

    19. Nobody Knows

    Japanese Movie - 2004

    [JP]

  • A Melody To Remember

    20. A Melody To Remember

    Korean Movie - 2016

    Korean War Orphans choir visited New York in the 1950s & Los Angeles, CA in 1963.

  • Renai Battle Royale

    21. Renai Battle Royale

    Japanese Drama - 2024, 8 episodes

    Inspired by a true event were a girl sued her school after breaking the no relationship rule.  In depth research was conducted on Gen Z students.

  • Cart

    22. Cart

    Korean Movie - 2014

  • A Taxi Driver

    23. A Taxi Driver

    Korean Movie - 2017

    Based on the true story of German reporter Jürgen Hinzpeter and Korean taxi driver Kim Sa Bok.  

  • I Can Speak

    24. I Can Speak

    Korean Movie - 2017

    "Based on the true story of the women who testified before the U.S. House of Representatives to pass House Resolution No. 121, a resolution stating that Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize and accept its coercion of young women into slavery during colonial times and World War II. Pictured are two victims, Jan Ruff O'Hearne and Ok Boon, as depicted in the movie."

  • Citizen Deok Hee

    25. Citizen Deok Hee

    Korean Movie - 2024

    Loosely based on true story of Kim Seong Ja, a laundromat owner in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi.  In 2016 she caught the head of a voice phishing scam organization.

  • Snowy Road

    26. Snowy Road

    Korean Movie - 2017

     Based on a true events of comfort woman used by Japanese during WW II

  • The Hymn of Death

    27. The Hymn of Death

    Korean Drama - 2018, 6 episodes

    Based on Korea's soprano singer Yun Sim Deok & Kim Woo Jin in 1920's Korea.

  • The Chaser

    28. The Chaser

    Korean Movie - 2008

     Inspired by real-life Korean serial killer Yoo Young-chul.  He killed 21 people.

  • Midnight

    29. Midnight

    Korean Movie - 2021

    Inspired by the raincoat killer case.  The main villain character was inspired by Yoo YoungChul He killed over 20 victims and ate some of them. 

  • Sea Fog

    30. Sea Fog

    Korean Movie - 2014

    "Based on the true story of 25 Korean-Chinese illegal immigrants who suffocated to death in the storage tank of the fishing vessel Taechangho; their bodies were dumped by the ship's crew into the sea southwest of Yeosu on October 7, 2001."

  • Reply 1988

    31. Reply 1988

    Korean Drama - 2015, 20 episodes

    Set during the '88 Olympic games in Korea.  Park Bogum played a character that was inspired by a real-life award-winning Baduk player, Lee Chang Ho.  

  • My Wife’s Having an Affair this Week

    32. My Wife’s Having an Affair this Week

    Korean Drama - 2016, 12 episodes

    Man posted the question & asked what to do online & it went viral.

  • D.P

    33. D.P

    Korean Drama - 2021, 6 episodes

    Director spoke about the news bringing to light many internal incidents at military bases, which formed a seed of an idea to create D.P.  

    Webtoonist of original D.P. Dog Days was assigned that job & this creation was an outlet to help those still suffering knowing things have not gotten better.

  • Hwarang

    34. Hwarang

    Korean Drama - 2016, 20 episodes

    Based on the fact Hwarang existed in Silla period in history

  • Mr. Sunshine

    35. Mr. Sunshine

    Korean Drama - 2018, 24 episodes

    Inspired by the life of the Korean independence fighter Hwang Ki Hwan.  

  • Drama Special Season 6: Crimson Moon

    36. Drama Special Season 6: Crimson Moon

    Korean Special - 2015, 1 episode

    Inspired by life of Crown prince Sado.

  • The Throne

    37. The Throne

    Korean Movie - 2015

    Inspired by life of Crown prince Sado.

  • The Treacherous

    38. The Treacherous

    Korean Movie - 2015

    Based on real events from the regime of Yeonsan-gun, aka Prince Yeonsan, the 10th king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty.

  • The Sound of a Flower

    39. The Sound of a Flower

    Korean Movie - 2015

    Based on the true story of Jin Chae Seon (진채선), Joseon's first female pansori singer in 1867

  • Dress Sleeved Red

    40. Dress Sleeved Red

    Korean Drama - 2021, 17 episodes

    -Based on the true story of King Jeongjo (Yi San) and Royal Noble Consort Uibin Seong (Sung Deok-Im)

  • Queen for Seven Days

    41. Queen for Seven Days

    Korean Drama - 2017, 20 episodes

    Based on a true story of Queen Dangyeong/Lady Shin

  • Jewel in the Palace

    42. Jewel in the Palace

    Korean Drama - 2003, 54 episodes

     Based on a true story about a legendary girl, Jang Geum, who became the first woman to be the supreme royal physician of her times.  

  • The Last Princess

    43. The Last Princess

    Korean Movie - 2016

    Princess Deok Hye was the last princess of Korea. Under Japanese colonial rule, she is taken to Japan as a hostage.

  • Swordsman

    44. Swordsman

    Korean Movie - 2020

  • Model Taxi

    45. Model Taxi

    Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes

    "Most of the cases that Do-gi tackles are based on true stories. One of them is the Cho Doo Soon case, which shows a notorious child rapist being released from prison, leading to strong opposition from the public over the case. " 

  • The Glory

    46. The Glory

    Korean Drama - 2022, 8 episodes

    Inspired by real life events.  Writer researched bullying & resourced her own daughter too.  Dong-eun's torturous bullying scene in the first episode is based on a real-life event that happened in 2006 at a girls’ school in Cheongju, Korea. 

  • Just Between Lovers

    47. Just Between Lovers

    Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes

     Based on the Sampoong Department Store collapse on June 29, 1995 in Seol, Korea.  502 died, 937 injured.

  • Pipeline

    48. Pipeline

    Korean Movie - 2021

    Inspired by real life events

  • Seoul Searching

    49. Seoul Searching

    Korean Movie - 2016

    During the 1980s, the Korean government created a special summer camp for "gyopo" or foreign-born teenagers where they could spend their summer in Seoul to learn about their motherland.  Based on a true story about one of the summer camps that took place in 1986.

  • Swing Kids

    50. Swing Kids

    Korean Movie - 2018

    1951 - Inspired by the real life place, Geoje city prison camp, during Korean War.  Werner Bischof’s photo of the prisoners of war dancing with masks on was one of the beginnings of the film.

  • Bu Yun Qu

    51. Bu Yun Qu

    Chinese Drama - 2023, 35 episodes

    [JP]

  • Inubu!

    52. Inubu!

    Japanese Movie - 2021

    [JP]

  • Hachiko Monogatari

    53. Hachiko Monogatari

    Japanese Movie - 1987

    [JP]

  • Hachiko

    54. Hachiko

    Chinese Movie - 2023

    [C]   Hachikō (ハチ公, November 10, 1923 – March 8, 1935) was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for at the train station every day for nine years 9 months & 15 days following Ueno's death in Tokoyo, Japan.[2] 

  • Return to the Wolves

    55. Return to the Wolves

    Chinese Movie - 2017

    [C]   Story of Li Weiyi raising a gray wolf cub she named Green & reintroduced it into the wild successfully. This documentary is unfolding near Zoige town in Zoige grassland on the northwest Sichuan Plateau. The grassland is in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, adjacent to Gansu Province.

  • The 8-Year Engagement

    56. The 8-Year Engagement

    Japanese Movie - 2017

    [JP]    Based on the true story of Hisashi and Mai Nakahara.

  • The Road to Mandalay

    57. The Road to Mandalay

    Taiwanese Movie - 2016

    [Taiwan]   Based on the true story of Director's sister/friends.

  • Noodlanding op jou

    58. Noodlanding op jou

    Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes

    Story is inspired by an incident that happened with a Korean actress, Yang Jung-a.  

  • My Father

    59. My Father

    Korean Movie - 2007

    "The release of the film was controversial because the family of the victims related to the case didn’t support the production but upon its release, but it topped box office charts.

  • Myung Wol the Spy

    60. Myung Wol the Spy

    Korean Drama - 2011, 18 episodes

     "In 1977, a director and his actress wife were kidnapped to make North Korea’s film industry compete on the international stage!"

  • 71: Into the Fire

    61. 71: Into the Fire

    Korean Movie - 2010

    "For 11 hours, the group of students defended a local middle school which was a strategic point for safeguarding the Nakdong River perimeter."

  • Way Back Home

    62. Way Back Home

    Korean Movie - 2013

    "Based on a true story of Jang Mi Jung who was imprisoned for 2 years in Martinique, an island in the Carribean Sea, after being wrongfully accused of smuggling drugs at a Paris airport. She was arrested on October 30, 2004 at Orly Airport in Paris, France.  She was finally able to return to Korea on November 8, 2006."

  • The President's Last Bang

    63. The President's Last Bang

    Korean Movie - 2005

    "Film about the events leading up to the assassination, as well as the aftermath of the event, of Park Chung Hee, the president of South Korea from 1963 to 1979. Fun fact: The portrayal of Park was so controversial that a lawsuit was filed and the court ordered 3 minutes and 50 seconds be censored from the film."

  • Suriname

    64. Suriname

    Korean Drama - 2022, 6 episodes

    "It’s based on the real life of drug lord Cho Bong Haeng. He fled Korea in 1994 after being suspected of fraud, moved to Suriname to build a drug smuggling empire, and was later arrested in 2009 from a joint investigation by Korea, Brazil, and the United States."

  • Bargaining

    65. Bargaining

    Korean Movie - 2023

    Inspired by real life event that occurred in Afghanistan in 2007  

  • Casino

    66. Casino

    Korean Drama - 2022, 8 episodes

    "Director Kang Yoon Sung was inspired by a Korean casino owner in the Philippines and wanted to document his story."

  • Juror 8

    67. Juror 8

    Korean Movie - 2019

    Based on the real-life first South Korean jury trial in 2018

  • Miracle in Cell No. 7

    68. Miracle in Cell No. 7

    Korean Movie - 2013

  • The Soup

    69. The Soup

    Korean Movie - 2018

  • Ayla: The Daughter of War

    70. Ayla: The Daughter of War

    Korean Movie - 2017

  • Boston 1947

    71. Boston 1947

    Korean Movie - 2023

    Based on a true story of the Korean athletes who ran the 1947 Boston International Marathon, the first international marathon held since World War II.

  • Rebound

    72. Rebound

    Korean Movie - 2023

    Based on a true story of a basketball team in a high school in Busan. Pics of actual players/coach at end.

  • As One

    73. As One

    Korean Movie - 2012

    Based a true story of a South Korean and North Korean table tennis players who unite together to play in the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan.

  • Juvenile Justice

    74. Juvenile Justice

    Korean Drama - 2022, 10 episodes

  • The Case of Itaewon Homicide

    75. The Case of Itaewon Homicide

    Korean Movie - 2009

    AKA - Where the Truth Lies

     (1997) - Arthur Patterson and Edward Lee were accused of fatally stabbing Hongik college student Jo Jung Pil.

  • Voice of a Murderer

    76. Voice of a Murderer

    Korean Movie - 2007

    Based on the abduction of nine-year-old Lee Hyung Ho on Jan 29, 1991

  • New Trial

    77. New Trial

    Korean Movie - 2017

    Based on the 2000 "Iksan murder case" where a teenage boy was falsely accused of the murder of a taxi driver and spent 10 years in prison.

  • Confession of Murder

    78. Confession of Murder

    Korean Movie - 2012

  • Gap Dong

    79. Gap Dong

    Korean Drama - 2014, 20 episodes

    Inspired by the "Hwaseong serial murder case" which occurred from 1986 to 1991 in the Taean Neighborhood of Hwaseong, South Korea. Ten women were raped and murdered during that time period.

  • Confession of Murder

    80. Confession of Murder

    Japanese Movie - 2017

     "Based on the story of South Korea’s first serial killer. Although the movie doesn’t mention it, between 1986 and 1991, 10 women were found murdered in Hwaseong."

  • Inside Criminal Minds

    81. Inside Criminal Minds

    Korean Drama - 2022, 12 episodes

    (1990's)   "Adapted from the autobiography of the same title, co-written by Korea's first criminal profiler, Kwon Il Yong and journalist-turned-author Ko Na Mu, depicting some of Kwon's field experiences."  The Red Cap killer.

  • The Nokdu Flower

    82. The Nokdu Flower

    Korean Drama - 2019, 48 episodes

  • Hwang Jin Yi

    83. Hwang Jin Yi

    Korean Drama - 2006, 24 episodes

  • Six Flying Dragons

    84. Six Flying Dragons

    Korean Drama - 2015, 50 episodes

    Goryeo Dynasty - late 1300's) Based around Yi Bang Won. Yi Bang Won was the third king of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea and the father of King Se Jong the Great. He helped his father, King Tae Jo, establish the Joseon Dynasty.  Lee Bang Won, Jeong Do Jeon and Lee Seong Gye are all real people that existed during that time period. 

  • Move to Heaven

    85. Move to Heaven

    Korean Drama - 2021, 10 episodes

    Based on a nonfiction essay called "Things Left Behind" written by Kim Sae Byul.

  • Signal

    86. Signal

    Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes

    "The makers of the show used the shocking Park Choroung Bitnari kidnapping and the heinous, unsolved Hwaseong serial murder case where several women were raped and killed by Lee Chun-jae."

  • 1987: When The Day Comes

    87. 1987: When The Day Comes

    Korean Movie - 2017

  • Miracle

    88. Miracle

    Korean Movie - 2021

  • My Way

    89. My Way

    Korean Movie - 2011

  • My First Client

    90. My First Client

    Korean Movie - 2019

  • The Admiral: Roaring Currents

    91. The Admiral: Roaring Currents

    Korean Movie - 2014

  • Northern Limit Line

    92. Northern Limit Line

    Korean Movie - 2015

  • The Battleship Island

    93. The Battleship Island

    Korean Movie - 2017

  • The Attorney

    94. The Attorney

    Korean Movie - 2013

  • Marathon

    95. Marathon

    Korean Movie - 2005

  • The Gangster, The Cop and The Devil

    96. The Gangster, The Cop and The Devil

    Korean Movie - 2019

  • Miss Baek

    97. Miss Baek

    Korean Movie - 2018

  • Malmoe: The Secret Mission

    98. Malmoe: The Secret Mission

    Korean Movie - 2019

  • Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror

    99. Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror

    Korean Movie - 2022

  • The Outlaws 2

    100. The Outlaws 2

    Korean Movie - 2022

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