[korean Movie] A Normal Family Ending Explained & Plot Summary Reviews 2024

“A Razor-Edged Portrait of Privilege” is an apt moniker for A Normal Family (보통의 가족), a 2024 South Korean movie that slices through the facade of upper-middle-class respectability to expose the moral rot lurking beneath. Directed by Hur Jin-ho (허진호), renowned for his romantic movies, this film marks a bold departure into the territory of suspense and domestic thriller. Drawing inspiration from Herman Koch’s acclaimed novel The Dinner, the story is adapted with a distinctly Korean sensibility, capturing the unique pressures and hypocrisies of contemporary family life in Seoul.

The film centers on two affluent families, led by brothers Jae-wan and Jae-gyu, who gather for regular dinners in high-end restaurants. Jae-wan (Sul Kyung-gu 설경구) is a materialistic, successful criminal defense lawyer, while his younger brother Jae-gyu (Jang Dong-gun 장동건) is a pediatrician known for his idealism and compassion. Their wives, Ji-su (Claudia Kim 수현) and Yeon-kyung (Kim Hee-ae 김희애), are equally accomplished and complex, each harboring their own ambitions and resentments. The veneer of harmony is shattered when the families are confronted with shocking CCTV footage: their teenage children have brutally assaulted a homeless man, leaving him dead.

What follows is a tense, morally ambiguous battle as the parents grapple with the unthinkable. Should they protect their children at all costs, or turn them in and face the consequences? The film’s brilliance lies in its refusal to offer easy answers. Instead, it explores how love, guilt, self-interest, and social standing collide when the stakes are highest. The brothers’ contrasting worldviews—Jae-wan’s belief in the law and Jae-gyu’s faith in virtue—are tested as the crisis deepens, and the families’ carefully constructed facades begin to crumble.

Hur Jin-ho’s (허진호) direction is taut and confident, keeping the action mostly confined to intimate spaces—restaurants, living rooms, offices—where every glance and gesture carries weight. The script, co-written by Park Eun-kyo (박은교) and Park Joon-seok (박준석), deftly expands on the source material, weaving in themes of internet culture, generational disconnect, and the corrosive effects of privilege. The performances are uniformly excellent, with Sul Kyung-gu (설경구) and Jang Dong-gun (장동건) delivering some of their most nuanced work, and Claudia Kim (수현) and Kim Hee-ae (김희애) providing emotional depth and complexity.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was invited to numerous global festivals, earning praise for its incisive social commentary and gripping narrative. It topped the Korean box office on its opening day and has sparked widespread discussion for its fearless examination of parental guilt and the limits of morality. A Normal Family is not just a suspenseful movie—it is a mirror held up to society’s most uncomfortable truths, asking viewers to consider what they would do if faced with the ultimate test of conscience.

korean movie A Normal Family 2024

English A Normal Family | Korean 보통의 가족 2024 | Japaness 満ち足りた家族
genres Movie, Mystery, Thriller
Directed by Hur Jin-ho (허진호) | Screenplay by Park Eun-kyo (박은교), Park Joon-seok (박준석)
Based on The Dinner by Herman Koch
Produced by Kim Won-kook (김원국) | Cinematography Ko Nak-sun (고낙선)
Edited by – | Music by –
Starring Sul Kyung-gu (설경구), Jang Dong-gun (장동건), Kim Hee-ae (김희애), Claudia Kim (수현)
Production companies Hive Media
Distributed by Mindmark
Release dates September 14, 2023 (Toronto IFF, world premiere), October 16, 2024 (South Korea)
Running time 109 minutes
Country South Korea
Language Korean
Budget –
Box office $4,313,964 (worldwide)
Rating 15

[korean movie] A Normal Family Ending explained & Plot Summary reviews 2024

Movie Rating

Rotten Tomatoes 71%
Naver Audience Score 8.1
IMDB 7.1

Director Hur Jin-ho’s Filmography

Hur Jin-ho (허진호) is celebrated for his sensitive, emotionally resonant movies such as Christmas in August and One Fine Spring Day. With A Normal Family, he pivots to a darker, more suspenseful style, maintaining his trademark focus on character psychology and relationships. The film’s tight, claustrophobic settings heighten the tension, while the script’s moral ambiguity challenges viewers to question their own values. Hur’s direction draws powerful, layered performances from his cast, particularly in scenes where silence and subtext speak louder than words.

The production was noted for its meticulous attention to detail, especially in recreating the rarefied world of Seoul’s elite. The film’s use of real locations in Seoul adds authenticity, and the restrained cinematography by Ko Nak-sun (고낙선) keeps the focus on the actors’ faces and the emotional stakes.

A Normal Family Cast

Yang Jae-wan (Sul Kyung-gu 설경구): A ruthless, materialistic lawyer who believes in the rule of law but is willing to bend it for his family.

Peppermint Candy (1999): Yong-ho, a man whose life unravels in reverse chronology, a landmark in Korean cinema.

Public Enemy (2002): Kang Chul-joong, a hard-boiled detective in a gritty crime movie.

Yang Jae-gyu (Jang Dong-gun 장동건): His younger brother, a principled pediatrician who struggles with the moral implications of their children’s crime.

Friend (2001): Joon-seok, a gangster navigating loyalty and betrayal in Busan.

Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (2004): Jin-tae, a brother swept up in the Korean War.

Lee Yeon-kyung (Kim Hee-ae 김희애): Jae-gyu’s wife, a philanthropist with a strong sense of justice.

Secret Affair (2014): Oh Hye-won, a woman in a forbidden romance, acclaimed for its emotional intensity.

The World of the Married (2020): Ji Sun-woo, a betrayed wife in a record-breaking TV movie.

Ji-su (Claudia Kim 수현): Jae-wan’s younger second wife, sharp and image-conscious.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): Dr. Helen Cho, a scientist aiding the Avengers.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018): Nagini, a tragic figure in the Wizarding World.

Kmovie A Normal Family Plot Summary

Jae-wan (played by Sol Kyung-gu) and Jae-gyu (played by Jang Dong-gun) are brothers with starkly different personalities and values. Jae-wan is the CEO lawyer leading a large law firm in Seoul, financially comfortable and socially prestigious. After losing his first wife, he remarried a much younger woman, Jisoo, and lives with his stepdaughter Hyeyoon and youngest son. His younger brother Jae-gyu is a principled pediatric surgeon at a university hospital who prioritizes patients’ lives and responsibilities. He lives with his older wife Yeon-kyung, son Siho, and their mother who suffers from dementia.

The film opens on a road. A chaebol heir in a supercar drives recklessly, cutting off other cars. A regular father following behind, despite his daughter’s pleas, loses his temper and aggressively overtakes the supercar, blocking its way. The father gets out and confronts the chaebol heir, who responds with insults and mockery.

The father, a former baseball player, takes a baseball bat from his trunk and strikes the supercar’s hood. The chaebol heir reflexively accelerates and crashes into the father’s car. The father dies on the spot, and his daughter in the passenger seat is seriously injured and rushed to the hospital. The chaebol heir is shocked, staring at the scene.

The incident involving the chaebol heir is heavily reported by the media, sparking public outrage. Jae-wan is assigned to defend the chaebol heir, while Jae-gyu performs surgery on the victim’s daughter who was brought to the hospital. Jae-wan tries to quietly resolve the case with a settlement and asks his brother Jae-gyu to persuade the victim’s family to accept the settlement, promising a generous amount.

However, Jae-gyu resists, saying, “You think money can solve everything.” As a doctor who values life and responsibility, he cannot understand his brother’s unethical attitude. Outside a restaurant where a family meeting is held, Jae-gyu smokes while waiting for a designated driver. This meeting is both for Jae-wan to ask Jae-gyu to persuade the victim’s family and to discuss their mother’s care.

Jae-wan suggests placing their mother in a high-end nursing hospital and offers to cover most of the costs. But Jae-gyu strongly opposes, saying, “How can you send Mom to a nursing home?” After the meal, Jae-wan threatens Jae-gyu by driving his supercar close to him on the road.

Startled, Jae-gyu questions him, and Jae-wan says, “If an accident happened like this, depending on the lawyer, my crime could be murder or manslaughter. Your crime of standing on the road is no less.” This scene clearly shows the brothers’ differing views on law, reality, morality, and responsibility.

Meanwhile, the children of both families cause problems separate from their parents’ conflicts. Jae-wan’s daughter Hyeyoon and Jae-gyu’s son Siho get drunk at an international student party while their parents are away at a family meeting. On their way home, they encounter a homeless man in an alley and assault him indiscriminately. The incident is caught on CCTV and spreads online, becoming a social issue. Although the perpetrators’ faces are not shown, the parents recognize Hyeyoon and Siho by their clothes and silhouettes.

Yeon-kyung is shocked when she sees blood on her son’s clothes matching the attacker’s clothes shown in the news. Hyeyoon also indirectly confesses the assault to her father, saying, “It’s about a kid I know…” Jae-wan and Jae-gyu realize their children are involved and fall into extreme conflict over whether to turn them in.

Yeon-kyung tries to protect her son by hiding the truth, while Jae-gyu decides to cover up the crime after hearing his son’s repentance. On the other hand, Jae-wan is shocked by Hyeyoon’s callousness and the inhumanity revealed in conversations between the two children, insisting that the truth must be revealed and the children corrected.

The homeless man, the only witness to the assault, dies in the hospital, and the case falls into a dead end. The victim’s family consists only of a sick, poor grandmother, and the police stop active investigation. The parents hope the case will be forgotten but feel uneasy.

Kmovie A Normal Family Ending

Jae-gyu talks with his son Siho and empathizes with the long-lasting wounds Siho suffered as a school bullying victim. Siho cries, saying, “I got beaten too, but I didn’t die. I didn’t know the homeless man would die. I know I was wrong.” Feeling sorry for his son, Jae-gyu decides to forgive him since he has repented.

However, Jae-wan is deeply shocked when he sees Hyeyoon unconcerned about the homeless man’s death and only focusing on her college acceptance. After watching a video of Hyeyoon and Siho laughing together, Jae-wan agonizes over what to do for his child.

At a family meeting, Jae-wan says he will go to the police station with Hyeyoon and shows everyone the video where the children justify their actions. He asks if anyone can live comfortably seeing those faces forever and insists it is the golden time to reveal the truth. Jae-gyu tries to stop him, but when it fails, he threatens to kill his brother if he reveals the truth and leaves.

Yeon-kyung follows her husband, and the Jae family waits outside the restaurant for their car. While Jisoo goes inside after forgetting her phone, Jae-wan is hit by a black car alone. The driver turns out to be Jae-gyu, and Yeon-kyung is shocked.

In the final scene, a photo of the whole family taken in the past overlaps as the film ends.

Kmovie A Normal Family Ending explained

“A Normal Family Korean Movie 2024” relentlessly explores how morality and reality, conviction and desire, collide and collapse under the name of family. The film shows that parental love and responsibility can sometimes take a misguided direction, posing deep questions about the meaning of family and morality. The greatest twist and highlight of the film is when Jang Dong-gun’s character, who outwardly values morality, reveals a completely opposite side when it comes to his own child.

Director Hur Jin-ho, in particular, delicately captures the hypocrisy and anxiety hidden behind the perfect façade of an upper-class family, as well as the true nature of humans revealed in moments of crisis. Conversations at the dinner table, arguments in the car, and the children’s shocking actions all symbolically demonstrate how trust and moral standards within a family can be shaken and ultimately collapse.

The film leaves the audience with questions such as “What is family?” and “How should parents deal with their children’s wrongdoing?”—prompting deep reflection on each person’s choices. In the final scene, as the family sits in silence, looking at each other, the film coldly reveals that, even after losing everything, what remains is family—and even that family can never be perfect.

Box Office and Reception

A Normal Family topped the Korean box office on its opening day, drawing over 42,000 viewers and surpassing major competitors. Its total worldwide gross exceeded $4.3 million, a strong showing for a domestic movie. The film’s success was driven by critical acclaim, word-of-mouth, and its timely exploration of social issues. It won Best Screenplay at the Fantasporto International Film Festival and the Mons International Film Festival.

[korean movie] A Normal Family reviews

Based on the Naver review tab, “A Normal Family” is a film that delves into the complexities and fragility of family through the unraveling of two seemingly ordinary households after a shocking incident involving their children. The movie is praised in multiple reviews for its realistic depiction of family conflict and the moral dilemmas parents face when forced to choose between protecting their children and upholding their values. The performances by the cast are highlighted as a major strength, with viewers noting the tension and subtle emotions during family conversations, especially around the dinner table.

The direction is described as detailed and immersive, making even everyday moments feel suspenseful. Many reviewers mention that the ending is both shocking and thought-provoking, leaving a lasting impression and prompting viewers to reflect on what family truly means and how they might act in a similar situation. The film also draws attention for its adaptation of the original novel “The Dinner” and its ability to spark discussion about family, responsibility, and social issues. Overall, “A Normal Family” is seen as a powerful drama that encourages deep reflection on family bonds, ethical choices, and the hidden tensions that can exist beneath the surface of ordinary lives.

[K movie] 6/45 Plot summary Ending & cast