Iron Family

"Iron Family" is a wild ride of a K-drama that will leave you both laughing and gasping. This dark comedy masterfully skewers the human condition, exploring the corrosive effects of greed and the unexpected consequences of sudden wealth on a struggling family.

The performances are uniformly strong, with each character grappling with their newfound fortune in hilariously chaotic ways. The writing is sharp, filled with witty dialogue and unexpected twists. While the plot occasionally veers into the absurd, it never loses its grip on the underlying themes of family, loyalty, and the complexities of human nature.

"Iron Family" is a refreshing departure from the typical K-drama fare. It's a biting social commentary disguised as a comedic thriller that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

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Not Perfect but Desperately Needed

I had to think about the finale a bit, before offering my review.

A 7.7 rating (as of 1/27/25) seems a bit low to me, but higher than what MDL scored the weekend predecessors (It's Beautiful Now, The Real Has Come, 3 Bold Siblings, Beauty & Mr Romantic, etc). I would score this series as an 8....here's why:

First off, as a prototype for the new 36 episode weekend format, this was a huge win. Can you imagine this story stretched out for 50 episodes? Haven't we suffered enough with draggy, filler-laden series? I hope KBS sticks with the 36 episode rule, unless it can find writers from the era when "Once Again", 'My father is strange', etc ruled. But I fear those days are long gone.

Secondly, lets think about what this series DIDN'T have....a ton of cliches. There was:
-No WTOD (although many of us would have cheered it on for a few characters)
-No Amnesia Arc
-No huge cancer scare (instead cancer that stalked the elders was dealt with as a part of life and kept in the background)
-Only ONE DNA test (take THAT, writers of 3 Bold Siblings)
-No Evil Mother-in-Law

So what DID this series have?
- A-list cast (elders, FL/ML, FL mom)
- A very different premise from prior weekend 'family dramas'
- quick pacing
- the ability to be sad, infuriating and funny all in one episode
- seamless time-jumps
- a satisfying ending that could have been better, but I get it...

And the big question is "What was this series about?" To me, it was all about the money. It was the real star of the show, and got in the last word (or wink). This show was about the corrosive effects upon a family that the money caused. Either because it originated as Ill-gotten-gains (a loan shark's endowment to his daughter) or just because it was such a huge amount of cash, everyone the money touched, changed for the worse: we saw this all happen in real-time: first the elders, then their DIL, their own daughter, their oldest granddaughter (who resisted temptation), their grandson who betrayed his police training and lost his career, and finally the 'rightful' owner of the money, the ML's mom. Although "Iron Family" was a cute play on words, the series should have been called 'The Root of all Evil" or something like that, to show how ordinary, law-abiding and moral people became something they were not, all because of 10-million Won.

So I appreciated how different this series was, with the only villains a bunch of incompetent loan sharks who were utilized sparingly. Yes, GangJu was the only likeable character and I'm happy that KJH got such a great role for prime-time. And the only real regret I have is that the main leads chemistry was under-utilized. They made a really great couple, and I would have liked to have seen more romance on their part, but this wasn't a rom-com, so it's OK. But casting directors note: they play off each other REALLY WELL.

Thanks everyone here for your comments, and the lively discussion. I did enjoy this series and will miss it. And that's a good thing for a fan to say about a series. Well-done KBS and production team.

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When a plot device becomes unbearable.

Most of you are watching the show or have watched the show because of that little clip of the male and female lead having a one-night stand. A blind woman looks at a kind stranger who had been good to her throughout school and finally "sees" a man for the first time. It's a weird clip to show without knowing the full context, but for what it's worth, it is extremely emotional and cute. That being said, I decided to watch the whole show. I'm only one episode away from finishing. Do I regret it? Yes and no.

The glaring issue of this show is the plot device. A lower-class family struggles to get by. Barely making ends meet and raising kids on a dry cleaning ownership salary. Some may have it worse, but there is some terrible luck in this particular family. The father never amounted to anything. He was supposed to become a lawyer, but never passed the bar. Rather than getting a normal job, he continued to retake the exam and continuously study. But he never passed. Instead, he drowned in debt and depression, dying at a rather young age and leaving his wife to fend for herself and their kids. Not to mention his parents. So as you can tell, money becomes a huge issue. Ten episodes in, without spoiling too much, they manage to solve most of their problems by unknowingly finding and "stealing" ten million. All of this sounds like your normal "unusual" K-drama. But the problem with Iron Family is that this becomes the center plot that transforms into multiple subplots. Towards the end of the show, EVERYONE becomes involved in the money scheme.

The problem with this particular plot is that everything else takes a back seat. Character growth? Let's see how they handle and become cautious around money. Love development? For some reason, the male lead falls for the female lead and desires to help them with other money issues. Every single development involves money in some fashion. After 4 episodes of seeing the grandparents become frustrated and even escalate their problems by being overly worried and tensed, I became fed up with the plot entirely. I started watching late, so I decided to take a peek and see how far this situation holds. And of course, the money issue isn't resolved even by the 35th episode. That means that all 36 episodes revolve around a frustrating loop that never ends. Even when you desperately want the money situation to be resolved, over, or even just ignored for an episode; you never get your wish. Just around the corner comes another circumstance involving it. Only one episode, being the finale, will put money aside and allow the characters to breathe. By then... it's already too late.

Everything started great. The mother and her personal struggle to choose honesty or lying to defend her daughter. Her perseverance in remaining strong and helping her blind daughter is brilliant. The female lead's mother is one of the most talented actresses I've ever seen. She was wonderful in Love Next Door. Here, we truly get to see her shine and witness her emotional journey. She gets the most character growth despite her attachment to the money plot. The female and male lead are incredibly cute, but because of the plot issue, they rarely get their time to truly shine in their own right. Everything just seems rushed while the money plot just drags on and on. The harm in this is apparent in every other character. The brother is absolutely insufferable. I'm bewildered that he even gets married. I'm not going to waste another word on how badly wirtten his character is. Insufferable is perfect enough.

I wish I could talk more about how cute the ML and FL are when they finally get some breathing room. But it happens so little, that I just seriously can't recommend this drama. However, if you're like me and are a big fan of the leads, I would recommend finishing it. You might want to speed through it, but it's still worth it if you're a fan. Otherwise, I don't think it's a great show to recommend.

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Great kdrama with a potential to be a classic

I wrote the initial review after watching half of the episodes.
AMAZING kdrama. AMAZING OST. I predict this to become a classic. It is done "old school way" it is extremely creative and well filmed, like those iconic kdramas that we love to rewatch and remember, The plot is great, the script is great, the acting is great, the characters are great, the costuming and music are great. It is a memorable piece of art. It is a DETAILED piece of art.

Because the drama shows life in a great way - there is love warmth and grace and fun and also grief sadness danger all at the same time and somehow the characters navigate it to the best of their ability. It is an AMAZING kdrama. it is very RICH IN CHARACTER, you can really see the characters.

This drama is about a super poor family that runs their own small business and has a blind daughter, and the struggles they have. There are some dire issues and they need money.
I saw reviews on Viki where ppl did not appreciate that. They said there was not a single character to like, etc etc. Wow so the audience wants what... ? stories about pretty corporate offices? about pretty people in pretty clothes?
There are no "superheroes" in this kdrama, there are very few people in suits and only one in fancy clothes, most characters are not well kept, the FL mom has a really red face and is dressed in shabby clothes although it is a super beautiful woman, there are not too many scenes from a rich house, most scenes are in a poor hood and small business, all characters are real, normal, everyday people who are not perfect, who are actually very flawed and most of them are "losers" by the society standards since they are poor or unsuccessful, yet the point is, THEY ALL SOMEHOW OVERCOME THEIR INNER DEMONS, COOPERATE AND FORGIVE AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD IN HARMONY. The family ties and the love overcomes.

So why not like them??? They all sacrificed to do something meaningful for each other, they all helped each other, so what is it that ppl wouldnt like? I concluded that shallow people just dont like watching poverty. Something along those lines. I will research more and figure it out.

The audience cannot be stupid and expect at least one character who is so shiny excellent perfect and "likeable". In fact, I wonder why ppl on Viki wrote that there was not one likeable character here. What is their problem... ? Why they wouldn't like grandma and grandpa? or the blind FL?

I suspect those ppl dislike the characters because they are POOR and the whole drama is about POVERTY, really.

I cannot give the spoilers because it is impossible. The value of this drama is not necessarily in the plot but in the
I just say that the music matches the action in a very very comical way. This is one of rare kdramas that has ABSOLUTELY AMAZING CATCHY AND "FUN" MUSIC, all the time. One of the main songs comes in 2 flavors, peppy and sad, and music is always played with the acting in the most hilarious and appropriate ways. The music for this kdrama is beyond fun, it is classic, masterpiece.

How this kdrama is filmed is a masterpiece. The acting goes from very subtle fine artistic acting, the level of detail you would use in melodrama, to over-the-top cartoonish brawny, and all scenes done from real life are REAL yet the music and the "vibe" of it is showing extreme (tragi)comedy and black comedy of it, and HOPE, somehow it is ALIVE. It is .. wow. A satire, a comedy, a testimony to how life works, a testimony of what it is "on the other side" of poverty and how it is dealt with and overcome.

The lead male character is a master comedian, a very comical guy (he was the king in Mr. Queen and has a talent for comedy, he is HILARIOUS!!!!) and the main female character was yeah blind to start but also extremely powerful and graceful. And beautiful. I love her black hair and eyes. My 90 yr old caucasian mother always wanted to watch her bc she looks and exudes extremely pretty, GRACEFUL, AND LOVELY. A little skinny though :) which was ok when she was blind but later she should have become a little stronger. As a character, FL was written as a strong person and that was refreshing, although she was also written as someone naive and not socially powerful so many times too.

One side note: I was astonished that FL looks good in dark coffee brown colors. Each kdrama has unique fashion and in this drama. the ML was a "black and white" simple clothes guy, sometimes dark coffee brown, and she too, she wore LOTS of dark coffee brown and it looked good on them.

The FL Mother character is done by an amazing actress.
The orphan brother actor unfortunately did not get to act his full range that he showed in ALl About My Mother... in this kdrama they made him hold a poker face and his natural charm just never showed up, that is highly unfortunate...... He is sooo good in acting warm and fuzzy and fun.

Some of the most memorable scenes I have EVER seen are in his kdrama...

THE most memorable scene from this drama and one of the most memorable scenes ever in my entire life is when Mother finds the Orphan and takes him in. WOW. That was a scene!!!!! it was so perfectly done and in such detail, giving him food, for example her tongue sticking out as she was taking the cash out of the cash register to give him, counting that super little money she had there... she was so poor... He being shy and reclusive and their talk... WOW THAT SCENE!!!! It was as if we watched real life. I thought it was beyond-excellent acting. It was REAL.

Then there are "real" scenes that are made into super comedy and tragicomedy... The scene of ML flying in the air when they met the 2nd time and we get to hear his thinking... It was scary, sad, and ... HILARIOUS sorry to say, I am not trying to say I enjoy scenes of car accidents, but how this drama portrayed it, it was true black tragicomedy... It was "overdone" in a cartoon-like way and it was absolutely hilarious.
The scene of them going home with the IV tower... hilarious. Done as a "real life" scene, not exaggerated at all....
The scenes of the blind her walking around were so moving and so realistically acted and really brought the message home...
The scene of two of them walking across the sidewalk the first time LOL and the motel - it was PERFECT real-life acting....
I still wonder why he told her that he never thought of her after... ? He may have changed his mind....
The scene of her coming in with a suitcase to his mother ... Omg LOL LOL LOL

I think the opening of that drama is memorable, voices of two policemen describing the hood...

The OST songs are sooo fun... !!! omg!!!!

THere are so many unexpected and comical twists ... the twists are amazing and really fun to watch.

I do improv comedy and this drama reminds me of that. It is totally unexpected even when it is expected. The scene of 2 of them walking with that IV tower is sooo comical... there are lots and lots of comical moments.

i love that this kdrama has amazing DIALOGUES and "self thinking" so we really get to see what characters are like... that really makes it for a rich experience.
BC MOST OF THOSE DIALOGUES AND THOUGHTS ARE HONEST so we get to see the process

The only thing I will say is that most if not all kdramas use the same plot - there is some woman who cannot help herself and then some dude bails her out. Most if not all kdramas are about women who are irrational and get in trouble and need saving by some guy, who melts his cold heart because of her. I DO hope this kdrama will NOT do that.

AND IT DID NOT. All the way to the end, it did not. Bravo!!!!!

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Written after the end of the show:
I did not like the very last part of the show. Somehow the writers ran out of steam.... The comedy and lightness were gone :) The mama boy ditched his lady bc his SUPER NASTY SELFISH GREEDY SELF-CENTERED mama wanted that. I thought it was disgusting. And then the happy ending happened out of blue, bc he got hospitalized.
The nasty mama is EXACTLY dressed and EXACTLY behaves like she was in the kdrama Family of Choice. I was shocked.

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Definitely recommend

So far I'm enjoying it very much. I actually had no idea whats the drama about and i just randomly started watching it. It really kept me hooked and now im jusy binge watching it!! I really like the story line. It's a bit different from the usual rom-coms. It has a bit of everything. I like how it has alot of episodes as well, it keeps me busy..
I believe it should be rated much higher. I love the casting. Choi Tae-joon has always been my favourite! Kim Jung-hyun played the role soo good. I love him since his he played his role in welcome to waikiki. I would definitely recommend for watching!!👌🏻👌🏻 It's a very good show.

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Ignore the reviews and watched.

This is a solid 9 for me. It’s a very good family series regardless of what people say, and it’s definitely worth a rewatch.

I really liked this show.

It started off very well, that’s for sure. But for me, I especially enjoyed the middle section of the show—it was the highlight, the peak of the story.

The characters' interactions gave me everything I could ask for, and I just want to say that I really liked the love story and the moments between the male lead and female lead, especially from the middle to the end. It felt different, oddly satisfying..and of course, it was funny and heartwarming.

To those who didn’t like the ending, I have to disagree. Sure, I wanted to see more, but the conclusion was solid and fitting—just like many other family K-dramas I’ve watched over the past 20 years.

Maybe my experience was different because I watched the series after it had already finished, rather than following it while it was airing. The flow felt smoother for me, which might have influenced my perspective.

But one thing I can say for sure—I left this show with a smile on my face and warmth in my heart. It gave me the same comforting feeling I get after finishing a very good family K-drama. The ending wrapped things up in a way that felt stable and satisfying.

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Ridiculous

Man this show is ridiculous.
Its damn near insane.
The conclusion is bonkers. After a while the whole main plotline became a chore to watch and was kinda frustrating.
I mean the whole guilt trip and crazy revelations about the money was ridiculous. They act like they murdered people.
Bro there were nazi war criminals who settled in the U.S after the war and lived happily ever after. They literally massacred millions. There are war criminals in every country but no one bats an eye.
Now some old people take ALREADY STOLEN, BURIED, BLOOD MONEY from a fu**ing mountain and everyone goes crazy like they are monsters.
JUST STOP IT. SAY SIKE RIGHT NOW.

and what the hell was that court in the end?
That sentencing was beyond ridiculous. It shows how flawed and shit the korean justice system is.
Do you know how expensive it is to take care of old people in jail?
No healthy justice system would give a 90 year old jail time especially with that insane charges. THE MONEY WAS RETURNED FULLY. That court was meaningless.

Honestly i enjoyed so much of the show but that court scene really destroyed my enjoyment.
Still there is so much to love about the show. Like the characters.

The journey was great but the ending was terrible.

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a very cute but short drama .. at least to me

this drama was cute and i found it on a whim. i read the plot and it was interesting to me since it was about the female lead being blind so i was hooked and the story between her and the male lead made me watch it even more. there romance scenes were adorable though i wish there was more but for what i got it was fine.

the drama with the money was kinda excessive and got boring after they kept mentioning it and honestly the whole situation was just stupid but still I watched for the romance between the female lead and the male lead. they were cute and i wish there were more scenes of them !!

the family drama was boring and i literally skipped all their scenes so unless you like to know the drama with all the family members then i suggest you skip. overall it was a cute drama and i recommend it to anyone who want to watch something light and short.

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10 Billion Won sending people into craziness ...

This series reminded me a lot of an old Hollywood movie called It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. A suitcase filled with money buried in a national park and how it transformed a dozen ordinary people into crazy lunatics trying to find it.
As we go through the early episodes in Iron Family, you clearly see the dominance of comedy more than anything ... but that indeed changes, especially toward the later part of the series. It becomes much darker, the acting becomes much more intense and it's quite impressive how the writing keeps up going in circles around this ten billion won. So many unlikely people become intertwined with this story, it's so enjoyable to follow along.
Jung Hyun is amazing at his comedic & dramatic performance. He transforms from one to the other and back again. Perfectly paired with him is his co protagonist, Sae Rok. The relationship they build really does take all 36 episodes to complete. So many things and so many people cause interference with this happening.
I think one of my favorite people to watch were the grandparents, Young Ok & In Hwan are so cute & believable as the 90 year old loving married couple. So sarcastic to each other in such a loving way, it's so great to watch, not to mention the most unlikely two that would be at the center of the stolen money.
I think for me, and I'm probably in the minority on this opinion, I could not stand Tae Ung or Cha Rim. I found them so annoying throughout this entire series. It's no wonder they become a couple, perfect together.
The rest of the supporting cast is fantastic, from both parents to all the siblings. Each of them fit perfectly into this complicated story to make a perfect puzzle. It's really amazing to see how two totally different family eventually become one, whether they like it or not. I think the screen writer, Sook Hyang was incredible at connecting all the dots by the end of the story. Nothing was left unanswered by the final episode.
Definitely a great dark comedy to enjoy!!!

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