''Meet the In-Laws'' () is a 2011 South Korean

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Romantic comedy e ...

directed by Kim Jin-young, starring

Song Sae-byeok Song Sae-byeok (born December 25, 1979) is a South Korean actor. After gaining attention as a supporting actor in '' The Servant'' (2010), Song played the leading roles in the comedies '' Meet the In-Laws'' (2011) and '' The Suck Up Project: Mr. ...

and

Lee Si-young Lee Eun-rae (; born April 17, 1982), known professionally as Lee Si-young (), is a South Korean actress and former amateur boxer. Early life Born Lee Eun-rae in Cheongwon County, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea), her family moved to S ...

. The Korean title literally translates to "Dangerous Formal Greeting Between Families of the Bride and Bridegroom," hence the alternate English titles ''Clash of the Families'' and ''Dangerous Meeting''. A comedic take on star-crossed lovers set after the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were repres ...

, the film explores the deep-rooted regionalism that has dogged various aspects of Korean society, particularly the antagonism between people from southeastern

Gyeongsang Gyeongsang Province (; ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Joseon Korea. Gyeongsang was located in southeastern Korea. The provincial capital of Gyeongsang was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the kingdom of Silla, which unified Korea in ...

and people from

Jeolla Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as wel ...

Plot

Naive, pure-hearted Hyun-joon writes

romance comics Romance comics are a genre of comic book, comic books that were most popular during the Golden Age of Comics. The market for comics, which had been growing rapidly throughout the 1940s, began to plummet after the end of World War II when military ...

under the pseudonym "Hyun-ji." He becomes pen pals with Da-hong, and the two fall in love and begin dating. When Da-hong reveals that her father is forcing her to go on matchmaking dates with other men, Hyun-joon impulsively decides to propose to her. But Hyun-joon hails from humble roots in

South Jeolla Province South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam, Honam region, South Korea, and the Provinces of Korea, southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of ...

, and the couple knows that Da-hong's wealthy

family will instantly disapprove of him because of this. Unbeknownst to them, their respective fathers were also bitter rivals in high school baseball. So when Hyun-joon goes to

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

to ask for Da-hong's hand in marriage, he hides his accent and pretends to be from Apgujeong, the ritziest area in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. As her relatives scrutinize, intimidate and spy on him, Hyun-joon is determined to overcome all their obstacles and marry Da-hong.

Cast

as Hyun-joon *

as Da-hong *

Baek Yoon-sik Baek Yoon-sik (; born 16 March 1947) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his characteristic near-expressionless facial acting. Career Baek Yoon-sik made his debut in 1970 on KBS TV. In the coming years he would appear in four films, takin ...

as Young-kwang *

Kim Soo-mi Kim Soo-mi (; born Kim Young-ok (); October 24, 1949 – October 25, 2024) was a South Korean actress who had a prolific career in film and television. Career She debuted in a talent contest in 1970, then shot to fame in ''Country Diaries''. ...

as Choon-ja *

Kim Eung-soo Kim Eung-soo (; born February 12, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Kim lived in Japan for seven years, where he studied filmmaking at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. Filmography Film Television series Variety show Web sh ...

as Se-dong *

Park Chul-min Park Chul-min (; born January 18, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Career Park Chul-min began acting in his high school drama club at Chosun University High School, and though he majored in Business Administration at Chung-Ang University, he ...

as Dae-sik *

Kim Jung-nan Kim Jung-nan (; born July 16, 1971), birth born Kim Hyun-ah, is a South Korean actress. Kim made her acting debut in 1991, but received a new surge of popularity after starring in '' A Gentleman's Dignity'' in 2012. Filmography Film Televisio ...

as Young-ja * Jung Sung-hwa as Woon-bong *

Park Hyo-joo Park Hyo-joo (born October 8, 1982) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading role in the period police procedural ''Chosun Police Season 1'' (also known as ''Byeolsungeom''), as well as her supporting roles in the hit film '' ...

as Jin-kyung * Kim Do-yeon as Yoon-sook *

Jung Woong-in Jung Woong-in (; born January 20, 1971) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his television series ''Ojakgyo Family'', '' I Can Hear Your Voice'' and Netflix film '' Seoul Vibe''. Early life Jung Woong-in was born on January 20, 1970, in ...

as man on blind date ( cameo) * Lee Young-beom as Park Nam-jung's manager (cameo) *

Gil Hae-yeon Gil Hae-yeon (; born April 11, 1964) is a South Korean actress. She is best known to North American audiences for her performance in the film '' In Her Place'', for which she garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actres ...

as Housekeeper (cameo) * Kim Yang-woo as Gay boyfriend (cameo) * Choi Jae-hwan as Jeolla old-timer (cameo) *

Lee Han-wi Lee Han-wi (born June 17, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1983, Lee has become a prolific supporting actor on Korean film and television. He is particularly known for his mastery of ad-libbing. Personal life Lee marr ...

as Coffee shop DJ (cameo) * Park Nam-jung as himself (cameo) * Ha Il-seong as narrator

Box office

''Meet the In-Laws'' was the ninth best-selling Korean film of 2011, grossing (or ) with 2,595,625 tickets sold.

Spin-off

Kim Jin-young directed a

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

in 2015, ''

Enemies In-Law ''Enemies In-Law'' () is a 2015 South Korean romantic comedy film directed by Kim Jin-young, starring Jin Se-yeon and Hong Jong-hyun. It is a spin-off (or thematic sequel) to '' Meet the In-Laws'' (2011). Plot Park Young-hee is a former national ...

''. Though not technically a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

given its different characters, the film's plot is also about an engaged couple facing familial disapproval, this time because the woman is from a family of police officers and the man's parents are criminals.

References

External links

*
''Meet the In-Laws''
at

Naver Naver (; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment. History Naver was the first Korean web provide ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meet the In-Laws 2011 films 2010s Korean-language films South Korean comedy-drama films 2011 comedy-drama films Films set in South Jeolla Province 2010s South Korean films