Besides winning numerous awards and being widely considered as one of the greatest Korean films of all time, Memories of Murder was praised for its twisting genre conventions that made it a big hit in Korea (with over 5.1 million admissions, making it the most watched film during the year 2003 in South Korea) as well as a successful piece of social cinema that engaged with Korea's troubled history.
Disamping memenangkan sejumlah penghargaan dan dianggap sebagai film Korea terbesar sepanjang masa, Memories of Murder dipuji karena konvensi genre bergandanya yang membuatnya menjadi hit besar di Korea (dengan lebih dari 5.1 juta pemasukan, menjadikannya film paling banyak ditonton pada 2003 di Korea Selatan) serta karya sukses dari sinema sosial yang dipandu dengan sejarah ketegangan Korea.