Ryu Seung-ryong and Park Hae-joon are coming together as brothers in The Jeong Family, a South Korean film that has taken an unusually long route to the big screen. Directed by Kim Ji-hyun, the film is set to release in theatres on December 2, 2026, nearly five years after filming was completed.
Based on the acclaimed Icelandic film Rams, the story follows two brothers who have not spoken for 30 years and are forced to work together when a cattle crisis puts a prized calf at risk. With two well-known actors leading the cast and Kim Ji-hyun making her feature directorial debut, the film has several notable elements surrounding its release.
One of the most notable facts about The Jeong Family is that audiences are seeing a film that finished shooting back in 2021, creating a gap of around five years between the end of filming and its arrival in cinemas.
That makes the film’s release unusual, particularly because it stars Ryu Seung-ryong and Park Hae-joon, two established names in Korean cinema and television. After remaining unreleased for several years, The Jeong Family is finally set to make its way to audiences later this year.
The story comes from Rams, the Icelandic film directed by Grímur Hákonarson that won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The original follows two brothers who have been estranged for decades but are brought back into each other’s lives by a crisis involving their livestock.
The Jeong Family adapts that premise for a Korean setting. Ryu Seung-ryong plays Man-su, while Park Hae-joon plays Byeong-su. The brothers have not spoken for 30 years and run separate cattle farms. Their relationship becomes even more complicated after Byeong-su defeats Man-su in a cattle competition.
When a disease outbreak threatens the village’s cattle, the brothers have to put their differences aside to protect Jang-soo, the only surviving calf. Their shared responsibility forces them to confront a relationship that has remained fractured for decades, while the crisis gives them an unexpected reason to work together again.
The setup gives the film a mix of family conflict, rural life and comedy while keeping the relationship between the two brothers at the center. The contrast between their personalities and the long history of unresolved differences forms a key part of the story.
The casting is another major reason to watch the film. Ryu Seung-ryong has appeared in some of South Korea’s biggest commercial successes, including Miracle in Cell No. 7 and Extreme Job. Park Hae-joon, meanwhile, became particularly well known through The World of the Married and has also appeared in films such as 12.12: The Day.
Seeing the two actors play brothers gives the film plenty of room for contrasting personalities. Their characters begin the story with years of unresolved differences, making their interactions an important part of the film’s appeal. The relationship between Man-su and Byeong-su therefore sits at the center of the film, with the cattle crisis providing the circumstances that force them back into each other’s lives.
The Jeong Family also marks an important career step for Kim Ji-hyun, who makes her feature-film directorial debut with the project. She previously wrote and directed Splash Splash Love, the popular fantasy romance drama that developed a strong following after its release.
The move to a feature film and a story centered on family relationships gives Kim Ji-hyun a different setting to work with, while her earlier experience with character-driven storytelling remains an interesting part of the film’s background. Her transition from the earlier drama to a feature-length story also makes The Jeong Family an important new stage in her career.
The film’s unusual production history adds another layer to its upcoming theatrical release. With filming completed in 2021, the project has remained unreleased for several years before finally receiving a confirmed December 2, 2026 date.
That extended gap means audiences will encounter a film made several years earlier but arriving in cinemas with an established cast and a story adapted from a well-regarded international film. The combination of its long journey to release and its Korean adaptation of Rams gives the project a distinctive background even before audiences see the finished film.
The connection to Rams also provides the film with a clear foundation while allowing the story to be presented through a Korean setting. The central relationship between two estranged brothers remains at the heart of the narrative, with the cattle crisis bringing them together after decades apart.
After being completed in 2021, the film will finally give audiences the chance to see Ryu Seung-ryong and Park Hae-joon together in a story built around two very different brothers and one unexpected reason to work together. For Kim Ji-hyun, the release will also mark the arrival of her first feature film as a director.