Written By Dina Asadi

Edited By Carmen Faria

Parasite narrates the class divisions among South Koreans from a perspective that portrays the struggles of its poor protagonists in contrast to the wealth and luxury enjoyed by the upper class. Following the journey of the Kim family as they become employed by the wealthy Park family, the film reveals how economic barriers limit social mobility and perpetuate exploitation. Through powerful visual and thematic contrasts, Parasite emphasizes the limitations of meritocracy, illustrating how wealth often dictates one’s opportunities, trapping the poor in a cycle of dependence and dehumanization.

The film opens by introducing the Kim family’s living conditions in a cramped basement that hardly qualifies as a home, visually framing them as part of the lower class. Instantly, Bong Joon-ho, the director of the film, frames their literal and figurative position by placing them underground in a dark and damp space that reflects their social status. Furthermore, the family’s poverty is so severe that they cannot pay for their own phones or Wi-Fi, which forces them to steal signals from their neighbours— something they can only manage from the corners of their bathroom.

Food is another marker of class distinction between the two classes in Parasite. At first, the Kims are shown doing simple jobs like folding pizza boxes and barely getting by with two slices of toast and snacks for their meals. However, while the Park family is away, the Kims indulge in the luxurious food left behind; momentarily enjoying a taste of the higher class. This transient indulgence speaks to their desire to escape poverty—even if it’s just for a moment—and the unreachable nature of wealth.

The word “poor” is never utilized in the movie. Instead, the Kims’ social standing is revealed through body odours and scents. For instance, the young son of the Park family comments to his parents that the new driver, Ki-taek, father of the Kim family, and the housekeeper “smell the same.” This ‘smell’ points out Mr. Kim’s place in society and poses a threat to their social climbing. It becomes tied to their identity of being in the lower class and represents the inescapable aspect of their status no matter how much they conform to every performative standard of the upper class.

In the film, the director also uses rain as a symbol to emphasize the divide between the two families. For the Parks, the rain is romantic– soft and barely noticeable, posing no threat to their beautiful home. In contrast, the Kims find their basement apartment almost flooded, forcing them to evacuate with only what they can carry. They are drenched in filth and stormwater and are forced to spend the night in a shelter before being called back to work by the Parks. While the Parks’ concern is about their ruined camping trip, the Kims lose everything and spend a night homeless. These differences in how the rain affects the two families represent the precariousness of the poor as well as the security and comfort experienced by the wealthy.

The film highlights the absence of true meritocracy, showing how wealth, rather than merit, determines one’s fate. This is evident in the experiences of the Kim children—Ki-woo and Ki-Jung—who are unable to complete their education due to their inability to pay for it. The entrance exams symbolize an unfair competition where only the wealthy can truly succeed, further demonstrating the barriers to social mobility faced by the poor. Bong Joon-ho uses this depiction to criticize the socioeconomic inequality in South Korea, where social hierarchy is largely transactional and competitive, driven by the influence of capital. Through characters like Ki-woo, Bong reveals how deeply financial pressures shape individuals’ lives, as even Ki-woo’s conversations with his friend revolve around the financial opportunities that might arise from tutoring the Park family’s son.

Therefore, when the Kim family works for the Parks, they see their labour as replaceable, maintaining a purely transactional relationship that is similar to the capitalist relationship between the bourgeois and proletariat, where labor is exploited for one’s personal gain. The Parks’ dismissal of their long-serving housekeeper, despite her years of service, demonstrates how workers are viewed as expendable once they are deemed no longer useful. Through this, Parasite mirrors the broader social system, where those without wealth or status are left to fend for themselves, reinforcing a cycle of exploitation.

The film underscores this imbalance of power through the dynamic between Mr. Park and Mr.Kim. While Mr. Kim tries to follow Mr. Park’s expectations, the “line” that separates their worlds is defined entirely by Mr. Park. He maintains total control as to where this moral and social boundary lies, symbolizing the greater social capital possessed by the wealthy, who set the rules of the game. Nevertheless, Mr. Kim doesn’t know what those rules are and how he can perform them adequately. This ongoing tension ultimately reaches its breaking point in the film’s violent finale, as Mr. Kim snaps and kills Mr. Park, symbolizing the inevitable clash between the rich and the poor in a system rigged against the lower class. Ki-taek ends up forced into isolation in the wealthy family’s basement, cut off from the rest of his family. Meanwhile, Ki-woo and his mother return to an even harsher life of poverty, struggling to survive without hope of upward mobility. While the violence may seem like a justified act of revenge against the exploitative upper class, Bong Joon-ho frames this moment as a reflection of real-world power dynamics, where the poor ultimately suffer the most.

Parasite portrays the class divisions and the cycles of poverty and exploitation that trap the poor through a grim and critical lens. Through the Kim family’s struggles, Bong Joon Ho reveals how wealth determines opportunities while the poor are treated as disposable in a transactional, capitalist society. The film’s visual and thematic contrasts– seen in the families’ living conditions, food, and the symbolic rain–emphasize the divide between the rich and poor. In the end, the violent climax shows the sad reality that social mobility is an illusion, leaving the lower class perpetually trapped in a system designed to keep them down.

Works Cited

Ho, Bong Joon. Parasite. Neon, 2019.