# A Model Family (모범가족)
**A Model Family** (모범가족) is a 2022 South Korean crime thriller series released on Netflix, in which a cash-strapped college lecturer who unwittingly steals money belonging to a drug cartel becomes a drug courier to save his collapsing family. All ten episodes were released on August 12, 2022.[1](https://asianwiki.com/A_Model_Family)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native title | 모범가족 (Mobeomgajok) |
| Network / release | Netflix, August 12, 2022, all 10 episodes at once[1](https://asianwiki.com/A_Model_Family) |
| Director | Kim Jin-woo, known for *Good Doctor* (2013) and Netflix's *Love Alarm 2* (2021)[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220810/good-doctor-director-to-debut-netflixs-high-strung-suspense-series-a-model-family) |
| Screenwriter | Lee Jae-gon[1](https://asianwiki.com/A_Model_Family) |
| Lead cast | Jung Woo, Park Hee-soon, Yoon Jin-seo, Park Ji-yeon[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/a-model-family) |
| Format | 10 episodes of about 45 minutes; TV-MA age rating[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/a-model-family) |
| Audience score | 6.6/10 on IMDb from about 1,900 votes[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21289712/ratings/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Park Dong-ha ([Jung Woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/jung-woo)) is a part-time lecturer at a college and the head of a household on the verge of bankruptcy and divorce. He has failed to get tenure, his wife Kang Eun-ju (Yoon Jin-seo) asks for a divorce, and he has lost the money needed for his sick son's surgery. One day he comes across a pile of cash next to a dead body and takes it, not knowing it belongs to a drug cartel. With both the police and the cartel after the money, the cartel's second-in-command, Ma Gwang-chul ([Park Hee-soon](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-hee-soon)), offers Dong-ha a way out: working for him as a drug courier.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220810/good-doctor-director-to-debut-netflixs-high-strung-suspense-series-a-model-family)
Detective Kang Joo-hyun ([Park Ji-yeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-ji-yeon)), leader of an anti-drug crime team, investigates both Dong-ha and Gwang-chul.[1](https://asianwiki.com/A_Model_Family) The supporting cast includes Choi Mu-sung as Hwang Yong-soo, Kim Sung-oh as Choi Kang-jun, Oh Kwang-rok as Park Deuk-soo, Kim Shin-rock as Moon Jeong-gook, and [Shin Eun-soo](https://www.edgepedia.org/shin-eun-soo) as Park Yeon-woo, Dong-ha's daughter.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/a-model-family)
## Production and direction
Director Kim Jin-woo described the series as a mixture of Korean and European styles of thriller. In his account, Korean thrillers build fast-paced tension around the protagonist and the villain, while European-style series put more detail into the sub-characters, and he tried to blend the two approaches.[5](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220817/interview-director-of-a-model-family-on-blending-korean-and-european-style-thrillers)
The title's irony was central to his conception. At the series' press conference in Seoul he said that a person looking in from the outside might call a family a model family, but a closer look raises the question of whether it can truly be called ideal, and that "family" holds a particular sense of uniqueness in Korean culture.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220810/good-doctor-director-to-debut-netflixs-high-strung-suspense-series-a-model-family) He also said he wanted to explore different definitions of family, including the distorted, unconventional one that holds within a cartel gang, and that the conflicts within Dong-ha's family are mostly caused by a lack of communication.[5](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220817/interview-director-of-a-model-family-on-blending-korean-and-european-style-thrillers)
Lead actor Jung Woo said he took the role because of the multi-layered character: a normal person who turns into a monster as he is pushed to the edge, with trauma from his past bringing out a different side of him.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220810/good-doctor-director-to-debut-netflixs-high-strung-suspense-series-a-model-family)
## Reception
Before release, the series drew comparisons to the Netflix original *Ozark* and the American crime series *Breaking Bad*.[6](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/director-kim-jinwoo-explores-the-meaning-of-family-in-latest-netflix-series/11469829) Critics were divided. Pierce Conran, reviewing for the *South China Morning Post*, gave it 1.5 out of 5 stars, writing that the title is a misnomer since the family is highly dysfunctional, and that the series itself falls apart within a few episodes.[7](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3189067/netflix-k-drama-review-model-family-breaking-bad-isnt-crime) Joel Keller of Decider found the scenario somewhat familiar but with its own intriguing twists and turns.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/a_model_family/s01) An NME review described the show as twisting through domestic drama and organized crime over its 10-episode run to draw out the implications of its title.[9](https://www.nme.com/reviews/a-model-family-review-netflix-jung-woo-park-hee-soon-3291135)
On IMDb the series holds a 6.6/10 rating from about 1,900 users, with individual first-season episodes ranging from 6.5 to 7.4.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21289712/ratings/) TVmaze lists the show's status as Ended, with no second season produced.[10](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63084/a-model-family)
## Availability
The series streams on Netflix, including in 4K with [Dolby Atmos](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolby-atmos) audio, and is available with Korean original audio plus dubbed and subtitled options in many languages across Netflix's international catalogs.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/a-model-family) • [11](https://flixboss.com/series/a-model-family-81349413) In South Korea it carries a 15 rating, restricting it to viewers aged 15 and over.[11](https://flixboss.com/series/a-model-family-81349413)
## References
1. [A Model Family, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/A_Model_Family)
2. ['Good Doctor' director to debut Netflix's high-strung suspense series, 'A Model Family', The Korea Times (August 10, 2022)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220810/good-doctor-director-to-debut-netflixs-high-strung-suspense-series-a-model-family)
3. [A Model Family, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/a-model-family)
4. [A Model Family (TV Series 2022) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21289712/ratings/)
5. [Interview: Director of 'A Model Family' on blending Korean and European-style thrillers, The Korea Times (August 17, 2022)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220817/interview-director-of-a-model-family-on-blending-korean-and-european-style-thrillers)
6. [Director Kim Jin-woo explores the meaning of family in latest Netflix series, Korea JoongAng Daily (August 18, 2022)](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/director-kim-jinwoo-explores-the-meaning-of-family-in-latest-netflix-series/11469829)
7. [Netflix K-drama review: A Model Family, South China Morning Post (August 16, 2022)](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3189067/netflix-k-drama-review-model-family-breaking-bad-isnt-crime)
8. [A Model Family: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/a_model_family/s01)
9. ['A Model Family' review, NME](https://www.nme.com/reviews/a-model-family-review-netflix-jung-woo-park-hee-soon-3291135)
10. [A Model Family, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63084/a-model-family)
11. [Where to watch 'A Model Family (2022)' on Netflix, Flixboss](https://flixboss.com/series/a-model-family-81349413)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Thriller, crime, and mystery series › Crime and mystery thrillers*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license