In this blog post, focusing on the characters and family values depicted in ‘The Unfaithful Family’, I will examine the reasons why the characters engage in extramarital affairs, as well as the dissolution of the family, sexual desire, individual happiness, and the meaning of the alternative family model presented in this film.

A Story of People Having Affairs: ‘The Unfaithful Family’

The families depicted in 30-minute daily dramas aired on television before the 9 o’clock news have long been wrapped in the illusion of “family ideology.” These families—seemingly happy, tightly knit by an instinctive bond with their blood relatives—engage in lively conversations around the dinner table; neighbors from across the street flirt, date, and marry; they fall asleep with makeup still on; and come morning, they gather around the table again with carefree, joyful expressions. For the most part, these dramas feature only “good” people who are devoted to sacrifice and service toward one another. Or they depict unrealistic, abnormal relationships.
“The Family That Cheats” takes a sharp look at the reality of families in our era—which are becoming increasingly individualized and fragmented—and by portraying the true nature of families that ordinary family dramas cannot capture, it challenges the notions of family and family values that have become so natural and taken for granted. Rather than simply advocating for a return to traditional family values, it argues that a new concept of family, appropriate for our times, must be redefined.
The characters in the film engage in extramarital affairs to be more honest with themselves, brazenly disregarding the moral code imposed by the family unit. Through this paradox, ‘The Adulterous Family’ asks what true freedom and happiness for family members actually entail. By “naturally” depicting the story of a family that “could very well be found” in our midst, the film mocks traditional morals and values.

Plot and the Breakdown of the Family

Joo Young-jak, a lawyer committed to justice, and his wife Eun Ho-jeong, a former dancer, were living an ordinary life with their adopted son Su-in. Then, infidelity entered their lives. Young-jak takes on a much younger lover; Ho-jeong has an affair with Ji-woon, a high school student next door; and her 60-year-old mother-in-law, Byeong-han, has an affair with an elementary school classmate.
After Chang-geun, the father-in-law who had been hospitalized for liver cancer caused by alcoholism, dies, Byeong-han announces to the family that she plans to marry her lover. Ho-jeong supports this decision, while Young-jak is flabbergasted. Young-jak goes on a trip with his lover but gets into a car accident with a drunk mail carrier; as a result, he loses his son to the mail carrier, who is consumed by a sense of victimization.
Shocked by the loss of their son, Ho-jeong and Young-jak have a huge fight, each citing the other’s infidelity, and Ho-jeong is injured and taken to the hospital. After leaving the hospital, the two go to find their respective lovers, only to discover that Young-jak’s lover is with another man. Sensing he is about to be abandoned by both his lover and his wife, Young-jak clings to his wife, but Ho-jeong—who is pregnant with Ji-woon’s child—tells him it’s over with a simple “OUT.”

Joo Young-jak, a Man with Patriarchal Beliefs

To take good care of his mother, who was suffering because of his father, he studied hard for the bar exam, passed it, and became a lawyer. He also met a kind and pretty dance major and married her. But they can’t have children. It’s suffocating to pretend to be righteous day and night—I can’t live like this. I need somewhere to let off steam. I’m so happy to have a pretty and COOL girlfriend. I’ll be more devoted to my family, treat our foster child well, and be good to my parents, too.
Joo Young-jak is Eun Ho-jeong’s husband and a lawyer. In the opening scenes, he strives to be a righteous lawyer, as evidenced by his past work defending victims of civilian massacres pro bono. However, things don’t go as he plans, and he resents seeing his father, Joo Chang-geun, diagnosed with liver cancer and dying. Amidst this, Joo Young-jak begins an affair with Yeon, who is much younger than him. While having sex, they honestly discuss and accept all of each other’s desires.
Joo Young-jak’s inability to do so with Eun Ho-jeong is reflected in his efforts to overcome everything through his relationship with Yeon. His inability to satisfy his most basic need—sexual desire—with the family members who should be closest to him ultimately manifests as an affair. Furthermore, after losing his son and arguing with his wife, he turns to his lover, Yeon, rather than trying to reconcile with her. I can’t help but wonder if this situation arose because of a lack of love and trust within the family.
Young-jak suffers from the patriarchal mindset and the weight of family expectations in Korean society; he is stressed by a social structure that makes it difficult to be a lawyer with a conscience, and he exhibits a hypocritical nature. That is why he is a lawyer. As a lawyer who makes his living with words, he cannot vent his frustration through speech, so he resorts to having an affair.
Young-jak appears to be bound by blood ties. He searches for his grandfather and visits the hospital where his father is hospitalized out of a sense of duty rather than genuine care. He is unable to have heart-to-heart conversations with his family. Yet he tries to preserve the family, even if it is nothing but a facade.
Why does Joo Young-jak have an affair?
First is psychological loneliness.
Young-jak appears to be bound by blood ties. He seeks out his grandfather and visits his father in the hospital more out of a sense of duty than from the heart. He is unable to have a heart-to-heart conversation with his family. Ho-jeong, too, maintains her marriage solely out of a sense of duty. When he asks her to take care of his father, who is dying of liver cancer, Ho-jeong simply replies that they should each take care of their own fathers.
Second is the need to relieve sexual dissatisfaction.
Sex with Ho-jeong, driven by a sense of marital duty, is unsatisfying. Moreover, Ho-jeong is infertile, so they adopted a son. But things are different with Yeon, his mistress. With Yeon, who is much younger, he can openly discuss and fulfill all his desires during sex.
Third is a thrilling desire for transgression.
He makes his own efforts—such as providing pro bono defense in a past civilian massacre case—to become a righteous lawyer. However, in a social structure where it is difficult to be a lawyer of conscience, things do not go as planned, and mental stress only builds up. A lawyer who makes a living with words cannot relieve his frustration through words alone and instead vents it through infidelity.
Fourth is his innate tendency toward infidelity.
His father, Ju Chang-geun, became an alcoholic after drowning his sorrows in drink over the family he left behind in North Korea; he eventually died after being diagnosed with liver cancer. Furthermore, it has been 15 years since he last had sex with his mother, Hong Byeong-han, and he has never even given her an orgasm. It is highly likely that he grew up deprived of love within such an unhappy family. He attempts to fill this void of love by continually having affairs.
Ju Young-jak—what did he overlook?
First is the traditional view of the family. It’s no longer sustainable.
Ju Chang-geun passes on his “bad blood” to his son. This scene—which signifies that one cannot escape what is inherited—shows that Young-jak, too, cannot completely break free from modern and traditional family values. That is why he continues to show himself bound by blood ties—visiting his grandfather who died six months ago, and going to his father’s hospital not out of concern or love, but merely out of a sense of duty. However, society has now shifted toward preferring progressive family values.
Second, appearances alone aren’t enough.
He wants to live a reasonably good life in his own way and strives to live well and be happy with those around him, including himself, but things don’t work out. He also drifts apart from Ho-jeong, who holds progressive views on family. Could this be because Young-jak only shows his outward facade?
His girlfriend, Yeon, says this:

“You pretend to be cool, but you don’t really open up. Even if you sweat buckets during sex, you’re still just as lonely, aren’t you?”

Third, women are no longer the ones who simply put up with men.
He goes to see his girlfriend Yeon, telling her, “I really need to let it all out today,” but she rejects him. Furthermore, unable to sever his blood ties, he visits Ho-jeong—who is pregnant with another man’s child—promising to treat her well, but the only response he gets from her is, “You’re out.” That’s all.

Eun Ho-jeong, who holds progressive family values and prioritizes the physical

“In that case, maybe I shouldn’t be like this either…”

Ho-jeong says, “Let’s each deal with our own fathers,” and develops a sense of intimacy with her father-in-law rather than taking on a submissive, self-sacrificing role. She stood by Young-jak, forgiving him, encouraging him, and watching over him so he could live well, but at the very last moment, realizing it really wouldn’t work out, she “kicks him out.” Her father-in-law and son are “kicked out” of her husband’s life through death, signifying the loss of his sense of self.
In the new family model Ho-jeong creates for herself, the traditional Korean male figure is excluded. She tells her son about his adoption and responds positively to her mother-in-law’s stories about her boyfriend, offering encouragement.
She is also a dancer—a profession that emphasizes physicality. She follows and trains her body according to its desires. She prioritizes physical pleasure through activities such as dancing, doing handstands, riding a bicycle, hiking, and masturbating while her husband watches. After a one-time sexual encounter with Bong Tae-gyu, she realizes she possesses the agency to change herself.
In terms of Ho-jeong’s worldview, one can identify elements of bodily feminism and individualism. However, she is not a character who actively pursues feminism. It is simply a human desire—a desire to live as she pleases, using her entire body.
As a woman, she wants to live freely as she pleases, but she faces difficulties in a male-dominated society. Nevertheless, she is a character who overcomes these challenges and finds her own freedom.
Since childhood, she obediently followed her parents’ advice and studied dance for 12 years; later, she married a “successful lawyer” who was a bit older than her. She’s infertile. Even though she has a husband, he seems to be drifting through life. Still, he’s a good guy—she tells herself, “My in-laws are my parents too…” Her mother-in-law, who’s finding her own life in her old age, is actually pretty cool. She lives for her one cute child, but it all feels so boring.

The rebel Shin Ji-woon and her patriarchal father Joo Chang-geun

Father? He’s a psycho. Mother? I get it, but does that mean you have to abandon me too? Who on earth is going to love me? Then again, with a face like this, what’s the point of love? But that lady next door—no, that older sister—has a killer figure. I wish an older sister like that would just take my virginity away…
Shin Ji-woon is a 17-year-old high school student and minor, brimming with curiosity and desire regarding sex. He’s a rebellious teenager from a single-parent family who grew up without receiving his family’s love. Living apart from his mother and stressed by conflicts with his father, he’s rebellious. He also struggles to fit in at school.
He becomes interested in Eun Ho-jeong, the woman next door whom he meets by chance, and secretly watches her doing handstands. His honest and rebellious nature meshes well with Ho-jeong’s. He asks Ho-jeong out, and finds joy in their relationship. After getting Ho-jeong pregnant through sex, he leaves for a foreign country.
Joo Chang-geun isn’t particularly patriarchal in his thinking, but his actions are. He spent his youth drinking. Seeing himself ruined by illness, he feels the futility of life and feels sorry for his wife. However, it’s only in his heart. All he can do is hold in his bowel movements as much as possible to make them hard, thereby reducing the amount of work for others.
Ju Chang-geun symbolizes the responsibility of Korean history. He is Hong Byeong-han’s husband and Ju Young-jak’s father—a father and husband who is indifferent to his family and wife. He turned to alcohol to cope with the grief of losing his family during the Korean War and became an alcoholic. Despite being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, he continues to drink; as a result, he coughs up blood and dies in front of Ju Young-jak.
Families of alcoholics generally feel alienated. The patient’s family finds it so shameful and frightening to talk to others about their home life that they gradually begin to become socially isolated.
The wife cannot predict how her husband’s behavior will change; at times, he mingles with friends at gatherings in a charming and gentlemanly manner, but he gradually makes his friends uncomfortable by becoming overly sentimental or displaying aggressive behavior and making insulting remarks, so she is always anxious when they are in the company of friends.
Consequently, the wife gradually isolates herself from others and, out of shame, cannot confide in anyone. She reproaches herself for failing to support her husband and for being a hindrance to his work. The more she thinks this way, the more she feels incompetent and the further she distances herself from others. Through Joo Chang-geun—a typical example of an alcoholic—we can get a rough idea of what his traditional family life might have been like.

Hong Byeong-han, a middle-aged woman who has lived her life suppressing her desires

“Fine, this unlucky ‘Ju’ family line is going to die out anyway, so I might as well just reclaim my orgasms…”

Hong Byeong-han is Ju Chang-geun’s wife and Ju Young-jak’s mother. She is a mother who is neither treated as a wife by Ju Chang-geun nor loved by her family—a stereotypical image of a woman who has spent her life suppressing her own desires at the hands of her husband and family. Even when her alcoholic husband is diagnosed with liver cancer, she remains indifferent and harbors no expectations for him.
She spent her youth running the household and raising her children in place of her husband, who had lost his mind, and now, faced with the prospect of nursing him through his illness, she can’t help but sigh. However, her life shifts from black and white to color thanks to a chance encounter with an elementary school classmate.
After 15 years without sex with her husband, she experiences an orgasm for the first time. Through her affair with her classmate, she realizes that she is the master of her own life. After her husband’s death, she declares to her family that she is “having an affair,” openly embraces her sexual desires, and, superimposing the identity of a woman as a sexual agent onto her role as a mother, sets off on a trip with her classmate.

Joo-su-in, the adopted son she loves dearly, even though they share no blood

“I was adopted? Maybe I should look up my legal status online? Legally, there’s no difference between me and a biological child. “If only there weren’t discord between my father and mother due to infertility, I could maintain this life…”

Su-in, the adopted son of Young-jak and Ho-jeong, has been grappling with his identity ever since he recently learned he was adopted. He is a lovable and precocious child who spends a lot of time with his mother instead of his father, who often comes home late after drinking or tells blatant lies. However, he is senselessly killed by Jiru, the mailman, who harbors a grudge against Young-jak for his hypocritical behavior.
Why an adopted child?
In the film, Su-in is grappling with his identity after learning he was adopted.

“Mom, I think I was happier when I didn’t know I was adopted.”

These words clearly illustrate Su-in’s psychological state. Yet, surrounded by Ho-jeong’s positive reaction to her adoption and warm love, she begins to accept herself as a proud child born from her parents’ hearts.
While all adopted children experience a sense of loss, she demonstrates a positive attitude by accepting her parents through her faith in their love, showing that adoption is part of a happy alternative family.

Yeon, a woman having an affair with a married man, who possesses a provocative self-assurance

“Mr. Young-jak… um… he treats me to delicious meals… and especially when I tell people my boyfriend is a lawyer, it really makes me feel good. He’s innocent too… and I like him even more because he’s married. There’s no need to get tied down. The downside is that compared to the divorced guy I met last month… and he’s a bit… well, compared to the guy I met on a blind date the day before yesterday…”

Yeon, the woman having an affair with lawyer Young-jak. She pursues her sexual desires and is honest about her feelings. During sex, she openly communicates and accepts all her desires; she dates men based on her own desires and shows no signs of dependence on them. She makes it clear to Young-jak that she is not someone who simply complies with a man’s demands.
In the film, Yeon embodies female sexuality and freedom. As a self-assured and charming modern woman, she actively enjoys sex and loves her own body. She confidently demands masturbation and pleasure for herself, living her life as an autonomous being rather than a dependent figure to men. When Young-jak comes to her because he needs her but she does not comply with his demands, she demonstrates that she is not an accessory to a man.
Yeon thus illustrates the rise in the status of women—who once could not survive without relying on men—and the shift in societal attitudes toward women’s sexuality, which had long been suppressed.

Seong Ji-ru, the male mail carrier harboring resentment toward society

“A lawyer… Is having money all that matters? Is being successful all that matters? It’s because scum like you run this country that I’ve ended up in this mess… It’s all over!”

Seong Ji-ru is a man who lives with resentment toward society, despite having no particular talents.
The scene where Seong Ji-ru kills Young-jak’s son deviates from the film’s otherwise natural and lighthearted tone. It reveals the structural contradictions of our society—such as the wealth gap—through the moment when Seong Ji-ru, driven by a sense of victimization as a social underdog, hurls Young-jak’s son.
However, driven by both the explosive rage of killing the child and the fear of his own wrongdoing, he commits suicide.
Seong Ji-ru, the mentally unstable man.
Seong Ji-ru demonstrates that he is “not normal” by committing acts that defy common sense. While it’s unclear what circumstances led him to this state, he identifies with the achievements of others as if they were his own and harbors resentment toward a society that fails to recognize him.
He feels inferior toward those who ignore him, and though he is a dependent character who kowtows to powerful figures when he causes an accident while drunk, he kills Su-in in a fit of explosive rage upon being fired from his company—all while Yeong-jak remains indifferent—perceiving it as betrayal. Driven by a persecution complex, he is the pivotal figure who causes Ho-jeong and Yeong-jak—who never truly found their place in the film—to divorce.

Changes in Family Dynamics as Seen Through Eun Ho-jeong and Ju Young-jak

A comparison of Eun Ho-jeong and Ju Young-jak reveals differences in their professions, views on family, and reasons for having affairs.
Ho-jeong, as a dancer, values her physicality. She prioritizes physical pleasure—dancing, doing handstands, riding a bicycle, hiking, and masturbating next to her husband. This is why she is a dancer. Furthermore, as a dancer who values her body, she is unable to achieve sexual satisfaction, which leads her to have an affair. Her view of family is progressive.
In contrast, Young-jak is a lawyer and experiences mental stress. He suffers from the patriarchal mindset and the burdens of family life in Korean society; he is stressed by a social structure that makes it difficult to be a principled lawyer and exhibits a hypocritical personality. That is why he is a lawyer. As a lawyer who makes his living with words, he cannot vent his frustration through speech, so he resorts to infidelity as a means of release. His family values are traditional.
Ho-jeong suggests that each person should take care of their own parents; she seeks a close, intimate relationship with her father-in-law rather than playing a submissive, self-sacrificing role. She also tells her son the truth about his adoption and responds sympathetically and encouragingly to her mother-in-law’s stories about her boyfriend. She also appears to have a good rapport with her son. She breaks free from the pretense of family.
In contrast, Young-jak appears bound by blood ties. He searches for his grandfather and visits the hospital where his father is admitted—more out of a sense of duty than from the heart. He is unable to have open and honest conversations with his family. He tries to preserve even a family that exists in name only.
In today’s society, traditional family values are gradually disappearing, while progressive family values are gaining ground. From the father-in-law to Young-jak, traditional family values are gradually diminishing.

Men and Women: Different Forms of Desire

Comparing the father-in-law Ju Chang-geun, the husband Ju Young-jak, the son Shin Ji-woon, the mother-in-law Hong Byeong-han, the wife Eun Ho-jeong, and the lover Yeon, we see that the men exhibit patriarchal thinking, while the women display feminist thinking.
The men are unable to communicate. Communication begins with confession, yet they fail to confess and instead live with a knot of emotion buried deep within their hearts. This is true in their marital relationship and even with their lovers. In contrast, Ho-jeong’s constant conversations with her son demonstrate how to communicate. In other words, women reveal their inner selves by crying or talking. That is why Ho-jeong tells Young-jak, “Please don’t keep it bottled up inside—live for yourself.”
There is a scene where the father-in-law, Ju Chang-geun, vents his anger at Ju Young-jak. These men carry the weight of family in a patriarchal society and the tragic legacy of being unable to build a harmonious home.
His grandfather’s death isn’t revealed until six months later; Ju Chang-geun likely harbors the heartache of having left his family behind in North Korea; and he dies of liver cancer after drinking too much. Ju Young-jak cannot open his heart to women; he cheats on his wife, is abandoned by both his lover and his wife, and ultimately loses his son because of his own mistakes.
Just as his lover says, “You pretend to be cool, but you don’t really open up. Even if you sweat buckets during sex, you’re still just as lonely, right?” he remains unable to open his heart. The rift between Young-jak and Ho-jeong represents a disconnect between traditional and progressive views of the family, indicating that a new concept of family has yet to be established.
The fact that Young-jak tells Yeon he absolutely must pour out his feelings today, only to be thwarted, seems to suggest that women are not there to simply receive such expressions.
The fact that Joo Young-jak’s lover had an abortion and that Eun Ho-jeong becomes pregnant with Shin Ji-woon’s child at the end demonstrates that Ho-jeong and Young-jak are a couple who cannot find harmony. It also shows that Young-jak and Yeon are unable to find harmony as well.
The women pursue their own sexual desires and are honest about their feelings. Hong Byeong-han, the mother-in-law, had suppressed her desires for a long time before having an affair with an elementary school classmate. By prioritizing her personal happiness over family and having an affair, she feels she has finally become the master of her own life, albeit belatedly.
Her lover, Yeon, has an open-minded personality and doesn’t attach much significance to having had an abortion; she is mentally and physically superior to Young-jak, offering him advice and taking the lead in their relationship.
Ho-jeong reflects the changing society by saying, “So what? Don’t married men have the freedom to fall in love, too?”—going so far as to have an affair of her own and decide to part ways with her husband.
Ho-jeong stood by Young-jak, forgiving him, encouraging him, and watching over him so he could live well, but at the very last moment, realizing it simply wouldn’t work, she cuts him off. Ultimately, from a woman’s perspective, she chooses to go her own way. Her father-in-law and child are eliminated through death, and her husband, who has lost all meaning, meets the same fate. Consequently, the authority of the three men who defined Ho-jeong’s life vanishes.
The new family Ho-jeong forms is also one in which traditional Korean masculinity is excluded. Ji-woon, with whom Ho-jeong forms a relationship, is an extremely charming child but also one with many flawed aspects. He was a troubled child who would spy on other people’s homes or display excessive violence, but he is healed by her femininity. As he leaves his father to live with his mother, Ho-jeong becomes the kind of woman he will never forget for the rest of his life.
When Ho-jeong tells Young-jak, “You’re out,” it can be interpreted to mean that men who are bound by male chauvinism, patriarchal thinking, and blood-based familism—and who are incapable of communication—are out.

Why do people cheat?

Hong Byeong-han had her desires suppressed for 15 years during her marriage to Ju Chang-geun, a symbol of modernity, during which time she was unable to have a sexual relationship. Joo Young-jak turns to sex as a way to cope with the psychological stress imposed by social structures and his inability to open up emotionally. Eun Ho-jeong, treated as asexual by Young-jak and unable to satisfy her desires, ends up having an affair.
So why does Eun Ho-jeong have an affair with a high school student?
Shin Ji-woon is separated from his mother, honest, and rebellious. These traits resonate with Ho-jeong. Unlike in the past, when divorced women made such choices for economic reasons, this is an autonomous decision made without dependence or expectation—demonstrating a woman’s independent life—and it connects to a natural outpouring of maternal love following her son’s death.
Rather than viewing this as the presentation of an extreme situation, given the reality of the sharp rise in divorce rates and the high incidence of spousal infidelity, this plot reflects society and serves as a warning to it.

Why is the son adopted, and why does he die?

It seems to be pointing to the need for a shift in the concept of family. The fact that he is not Ms. Ju’s biological son signifies the disappearance of traditional family values and the emergence of progressive ones.
Rather than a community-oriented, duty-bound family centered on blood ties, a true family should prioritize individual freedom and happiness and be founded on mutual understanding and love.
“Other kids say their moms gave birth because their bellies hurt, but my mom says she gave birth because her heart ached.”
He is a precocious child who knows how to comfort his mother and serves as the sole bond holding the family together; with the son’s death, the family disintegrates.
Why does the son die?
The director says, “Don’t we all die unexpectedly?” This makes us wonder whether our families are strong enough to withstand misfortune that strikes without warning. By removing the family’s sole bond, the director reveals its final fate. Through the image of a disintegrated family, he warns of the danger.

The Social Contradictions Portrayed by Ju Young-jak and Seong Ji-ru

While Ju Young-jak represents the upper-middle class, Seong Ji-ru represents the lower class. The scene where Seong Ji-ru kills Young-jak’s son deviates from the film’s overall atmosphere, which emphasizes naturalness and lightheartedness.
Young-jak acts hypocritically by lying to cover up his affair following a traffic accident; as a result, he loses his son and bears primary responsibility for the family’s collapse. The scene where Seong Ji-ru, driven by a sense of victimization as a socially vulnerable individual, throws Young-jak’s son seems to expose the structural contradictions in our society, such as the wealth gap.
In my initial analysis, I viewed “SEX” as the central issue in communication between the characters and, rather simplistically, interpreted it as a “patriarchal marketing strategy” used in a “patriarchal society.” Upon reflection during my second analysis, I realized that I myself had been operating under the “patriarchal” assumption that “sex” is something only men desire. Therefore, I must conclude that this was a flawed analysis.

Alternative Families Portrayed in the Film

Should families be dissolved? Or should they not be dissolved?
By depicting family members having affairs, the death of a son, and the subsequent dissolution of the family, the film instills a sense of the family’s importance and serves as a wake-up call. However, looking at the overall tone of the film, the mother-in-law finds an independent and happy life; Young-jak finds some solace in her lover; and Ho-jeong satisfies her desires by having an affair and becoming pregnant, leading her to start a new life—thus, infidelity is portrayed as a positive process of self-discovery.
Furthermore, the lighthearted, “happy ending”-like conclusion makes infidelity seem positive and encourages the idea that one can find happiness through it. It seems to incite the dissolution of families that exist in name only, prioritizing individual happiness over the protective framework of the family.
Examples emphasizing individual lives over the family community include the father-in-law telling his son, “Just live your own life well,” and Ho-jeong telling Young-jak, “You just need to live well.”
The handstand scenes featuring the son and Ho-jeong—which, from a patriarchal perspective, suggest that Young-jak should be the one supporting the family, yet actually show the son and Ho-jeong as the ones holding it together—can be interpreted as reflecting a shift in family values. Alternatively, Ho-jeong’s handstand scene can be seen as a means of finding satisfaction and renewed vitality—as if her blood is flowing backward—or as a way to showcase her open-minded and “cool” character, which contrasts with the passive image traditionally associated with women.
The alternative family model proposed through these characters is one free from Korean-style male supremacy and patriarchy. The final scene ensures that the ugly recessive gene is not passed down. Ultimately, what this film portrays is a deep sense of inferiority and anxiety, yet it also depicts men who, despite this, attempt to wield a sense of superiority.

Love in Our Time as Seen Through Film

By depicting the life of a family, this film reveals the meaning of love in our time. In previous films, the object of love was primarily external. Love was expressed through devotion and sacrifice toward a partner or other external figures; however, the love portrayed today—particularly in ‘The Unfaithful Family’—is directed inward rather than outward. In other words, people meet others and fall in love to love themselves and to fill their own shortcomings or emptiness.
Love itself may inherently be an act of filling one’s own gaps. However, while such behaviors were not overtly displayed in the past due to social norms, customs, and etiquette, they are now becoming increasingly explicit as society increasingly pursues honesty and prioritizes pleasure.
If love were to be defined in a single word, it would be self-satisfaction.