I Want to Know Your Parents


I Want to Know Your Parents is a 2022 South Korean mystery thriller film directed by Kim Ji-hoon and written by Gim Gyung-mi. Based on a Japanese theatrical play Oya no Kao ga Mitai by Seigo Hatasawa, the film stars Sul Kyung-gu, Chun Woo-hee, Moon So-ri, Oh Dal-su and Ko Chang-seok. It was released theatrically on April 27, 2022.

Plot

Lawyer Kang Ho-chang receives a call to from his son's teacher Song Jeong-wook to come to Haneum International School, where he meets four other parents: math teacher Jung, retired police officer Park Mu-Taek and his wife, and doctor Do Ji-yeol. The school's principal informs them that one of the students, Kim Gon-woo, was rescued from drowning in a lake. Jeong-wook reveals that the boy, now in a comatose state, had previously sent her a letter claiming that he was being bullied by sons of the four parents, including Kang Han-gyeol, Ho-chang's son. The principal, worried for his school's reputation, tries to contain the situation and hides the letter in his office, while the four parents instructs their children to keep quiet. Ho-chang, curious to find the truth, investigates Gon-woo's room and finds Do Ji-yeol also inspecting there. Together, they steal Gon-woo's phone to have it hacked and look for its contents. To their surprise, the phone contains footage of Gon-woo being bullied by the four boys. The parents reconvened and decide to mitigate: Teacher Jung tries to convince the principal to give them the letter, Mu-Taek instructs his previous police precinct to turn a blind eye, Ho-chang hides the phone, while Ji-yeol transfers Gon-woo to his hospital and keep an eye on him. Ho-chang receives a text message on Gon-woo's phone from Nam Ji-Ho, a concerned neighbor who witnessed the bullying incident. He and Ji-yeol meet and bribe Ji-Ho for her silence.
Gon-woo succumbs to his injuries despite Ji-yeol trying to resuscitate him. At his funeral, Jeong-wook reveals to Gon-woo's mother about receiving the letter. Gon-woo's mother reports the incident to the police, only to be turned away. Ho-chang confronts Han-gyeol, who was Gon-woo's roommate and best friend, about the bullying. Han-gyeol denies about it and claims the three other students did it. Jeong-wook later finds out about Han-gyeol's falling out with Gon-woo and decides to confront him herself, only to be stopped by Ho-chang. Jeong-wook indignantly tells Ho-chang that he's "worse than the children" and that he should be ashamed. Witnessing the injustice to Gon-woo and his mother, Jeong-wook whistleblows the incident by publishing a video of herself on the internet, detailing the letter. Word quickly spreads around about the bullying which led to another precinct picking up the case. The four boys are summoned for questioning, but only Han-gyeol is arrested.
Ho-chang represents his son in court and searches for clues that can have his son vindicated. He learns from a store owner near the lake that Han-gyeol had been coerced by the other students to beat Gon-woo but also finds out that he's discreetly mending the latter's injuries. During the trial, Ji-Ho is revealed as a witness and accuses Han-gyeol as the sole perpetuator. This claim was refuted by Ho-chang, who had previously met with Ji-Ho and covertly recorded their conversation detailing another bribery by Ji-yeol. The three boys are ultimately arrested while Han-gyeol is acquitted as another coerced victim and released. Ho-chang is confronted by a defeated Ji-yeol, while Jeong-wook asks him if he feels guilty about it. Ho-chang returns to the lake and discovers from another witness and a drone footage that his son was the one who actually killed Gon-woo. Shocked and distraught, he throws the drone into the lake and wonders if he's more corrupted than his son.

Cast

Production

Principal photography began on May 29, 2017, and ended on August 27, 2017, at Tangeum Lake in Chungju, South Korea. The film was completed in 2018 but the release was postponed indefinitely due to the #MeToo controversy at the time.

Reception

Box office

The film was released on 1007 screens on April 27, 2022. It was placed at no. 2 at the domestic box office on opening day, and the first weekend of its release.
, it has a gross of US$3,091,257 along with 403,569 admissions.

Critical response

Oh Jin-Woo writing for Cine21 stated that the film looked at school violence from the perpetrator's point of view. Oh criticised the editing and felt that in spite of energetic performance of actors "due to the somewhat loose editing" "fun of the original story is halved." Oh concluded by writing, "Here, all the sets feel too new, so they don't fit the heavy movie theme, which interferes with immersion."

Home media

The film was released on streaming service Disney+ in South Korea on June 1, 2022.