# The Dude in Me (멋진 녀석들)
**The Dude in Me** (Korean: 내안의 그놈, *Nae-an-ui Geu-nom*) is a 2019 South Korean fantasy comedy directed by Kang Hyo-jin in which a career gangster and a bullied high school student swap bodies after a rooftop accident.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) It was released in South Korea on January 9, 2019, runs 122 minutes, and received a 15 rating (audiences 15 and older).[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 내안의 그놈 (*Nae-an-ui Geu-nom*)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) |
| Director / writer | Kang Hyo-jin (director); Cho Joong-hoon among the screenwriting staff[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) |
| Release | January 9, 2019, South Korea; 122 minutes; rated 15[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) |
| Lead cast | Park Sung-woong (Jang Pan-soo), Jung Jin-young (Kim Dong-hyun), Ra Mi-ran (Oh Mi-sun), Lee Soo-min (Oh Hyun-jung)[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-dude-in-me) |
| Box office (KOFIC) | 1,041 screens; 1,917,999 admissions; $12,006,116 gross[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) |
| Box office (Box Office Mojo) | $14,569,310 worldwide; opening weekend $4,457,247 in 1,041 theaters, ranking second[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4218651905/weekend/) |
| Festivals | BFI London Film Festival 2019 (Strand Galas), Fantasia 2019, Frankfurt Korean Film Festival 2019, Korean Film Festival in Hungary 2019, HIFF Spring Showcase 2019[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
The film belongs to the body-swap genre. Pan-su (Park Sung-woong) is a career criminal and a savvy entrepreneur who is the son-in-law of a mob boss. Dong-hyun (Jung Jin-young) is a 17-year-old high school student who falls from a rooftop and lands on Pan-su, a passerby; when the two wake up in the hospital, they find they have switched bodies.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-dude-in-me)
Trapped inside the teenage body, Pan-su discovers that Dong-hyun had been bullied at school and that he had fallen while trying to protect a girl. While trying to fix Dong-hyun's problems, Pan-su realizes the situation gives him a chance to fix his own past mistakes.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) In Pan-su's world, Dong-hyun's mind faces the world of crime and betrayal, while Pan-su, in the student's body, must also deal with Mi-sun (Ra Mi-ran), Pan-su's first love, and Hyun-jung (Lee Soo-min), a daughter whose existence Pan-su had not known.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-dude-in-me) • [4](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=51955)
## Cast and production
The central pairing is Park Sung-woong as the gangster Jang Pan-soo and Jung Jin-young as the student Kim Dong-hyun, with Ra Mi-ran as Oh Mi-sun and Lee Soo-min as Oh Hyun-jung.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-dude-in-me) The supporting cast includes Kim Kwang-kyu (Kim Jong-ki), Lee Jun-hyeok (Man-chul), Yoon Song-ah, Park Kyung-hye, Kim Hyeon-mok, and Kwon Hyeok-beom.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-dude-in-me)
The film was produced by EchoFilm and The Pictures with a View, with Kim Bong-jun as producer and Lee Seo-yeol and Lee Seung-hyo as executive producers; Finecut Co., Ltd. handled international sales.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) Korean sources list Cho Joong-hoon as screenwriter,[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) and Rotten Tomatoes' page for the film under its alternate English title *The Man Inside Me* credits the screenplay to Shin Hansol, Cho Jung-hun, Kang Hyo-jin, and Park Dae-seong.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_inside_me)
## Box office
**Theatrical run.** The film opened wide on January 9, 2019. [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records an opening weekend of $4,457,247 from 1,041 theaters, ranking second for the weekend of January 11 to 13; it held second place the following weekend ($3,762,480, down 15.6 percent) before falling to fourth and then out of the top ten by early February.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4218651905/weekend/)
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) database reports a total of 1,917,999 admissions and $12,006,116 in gross on 1,041 screens,[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251) while Box Office Mojo records $14,569,310 worldwide[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4218651905/weekend/) and the Korean trade paper Cine21 lists 1,901,684 admissions.[4](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=51955) The admission counts differ by about 16,000 between the two Korean sources; both are reported here as given.
## Reception and festival screenings
The film screened at several international festivals in 2019: the [BFI London Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/bfi-london-film-festival) (Strand Galas), the Fantasia International Film Festival, the Frankfurt Korean Film Festival, the Korean Film Festival in Hungary (Fresh section), and the HIFF Spring Showcase.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251)
Critics generally treated it as an entertaining genre piece rather than a reinvention of the body-swap formula. The [South China Morning Post](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-china-morning-post)'s review highlighted Jung Jin-young and Park Sung-woong in what it called an entertaining body-swap comedy.[6](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3024367/dude-me-film-review-jung-jin-young-park-sung-woong) A View of the Arts review from the London festival wrote that the film takes a tongue-in-cheek look at Korea's age-based respect hierarchy, while noting that a turn toward thriller-action halfway through left the film feeling muddled.[7](https://viewofthearts.com/2019/10/02/63rd-bfi-london-film-festival-the-dude-in-me-review/) Confessions From A Geek Mind, also reviewing from London, described the film as taking advantage of every situation so Pan-su can fix the wrongs in his life.[8](https://confessionsfromageekmind.com/2019/10/01/london-film-festival-2019-the-dude-in-me-review/) On Cine21, two critics gave the film a combined expert score of 4.00 out of 10, against an audience score of 6.25.[4](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=51955)
## Home media and availability
In the United States the film is available on several ad-supported and subscription services; [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) lists streaming on Philo and Fandor Amazon Channel, free-with-ads availability on YouTube, Rakuten Viki, AsianCrush, Plex, Filmzie, OnDemandKorea, and Tubi, and digital rental on Amazon Video.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-dude-in-me) It is also available on Hoopla with a participating library card.[9](https://www.wherecaniwatch.tv/watch/the-dude-in-me-2019-560527)
## References
1. [The Dude in Me (2019), Korean Film Council (KOFIC) database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20176251)
2. [The Dude in Me streaming page, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-dude-in-me)
3. [The Dude in Me weekend grosses, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4218651905/weekend/)
4. [내안의 그놈 (The Dude in me) 상세정보, Cine21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=51955)
5. [The Man Inside Me, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_inside_me)
6. [The Dude in Me film review, South China Morning Post (26 August 2019)](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3024367/dude-me-film-review-jung-jin-young-park-sung-woong)
7. [63rd BFI London Film Festival: The Dude in Me Review, View of the Arts](https://viewofthearts.com/2019/10/02/63rd-bfi-london-film-festival-the-dude-in-me-review/)
8. [London Film Festival 2019: The Dude in Me Review, Confessions From A Geek Mind](https://confessionsfromageekmind.com/2019/10/01/london-film-festival-2019-the-dude-in-me-review/)
9. [Watch The Dude in Me (2019) Online, WhereCanIWatch](https://www.wherecaniwatch.tv/watch/the-dude-in-me-2019-560527)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2019 to 2020 › Released in 2019*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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