Symbols Behind the Movie ''Parasite''

(The original Korean poster was designed by Kim Sang-man, a film director, art director, and composer.)

Parasite (2019) is a black-comedy thriller directed by Bong Joon-Ho, paints a clear contrast between the lives of two families: one rich, the Parks, and one poor, the Kims. This South Korean film is only one of three in history to have taken both the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The title "PARASITE" reflects two contrasting meanings: the poor depend on the rich for money, while the rich rely on the poor for labour. This metaphor shows how both the lower and upper classes become parasitic to each other, damaging the social fabric they inhabit.

The story begins with the Kim family, who live in a semi-basement and work minimum-wage jobs. Their lives change when Ki-Woo, the son, is hired as an English tutor for the Park family. Gradually, each Kim family member cunningly secures a position in the Park household, presenting themselves as unrelated individuals.

The whole Park family now decides to go for a camping trip, thereby leaving the Kims to take over the house temporarily. However, the return of their previous housekeeper proves that there is a bunker hidden under the house where her husband has been hiding to avoid creditors. The film now develops into a series of confrontations between the two families, and the tension escalates. At the height of the movie, when the Parks have thrown a party, a fight breaks out that goes horribly wrong.

Symbols play a crucial role in the film:

Semi-basements are common in South Korea, often serving as a last resort for those with limited options. While these spaces indicate that the family isn’t at the absolute bottom—they have a place to live, food, and clothing—they still represent an unstable position, just above the line of severe poverty. By including a wide, short window that lets in light, there’s a suggestion of hope, symbolizing the possibility of escaping their current situation.

The dialogue between Kim Ki-taek and Geun-se reflects the film's exploration of social inequality and class struggle. Kim Ki-taek expresses disbelief about living conditions. Geun-se's response is how many people live underground. This includes those in semi-basements. The comparison draws a parallel between Kim family's semi-basement apartment and Geun-se's situation.

The Scholar Stone, gifted by Min, serves as a powerful and symbolic motif throughout the story. Known as Suseok in Korea, these stones are often associated with wealth and are typically owned by the rich. The stone represents Ki-Woo’s determination and obsession, symbolizing his aspirations for a better life. Introduced as a "lucky sign" for the family, it first appears when Ki-Woo is determined to secure a job and sees the stone as a symbol of his ambition for wealth.

The stone reappears when the Kim family celebrates Ki-Woo's acceptance as a tutor for the Park family. When a drunkard urinates near their home, Ki-Woo takes the stone and walks toward the front entrance, further reinforcing its symbolism of courage and determination. On its last important appearance during the flood, Ki-Woo clings to the stone as the apartment fills with sewage water, pointing out his desperation and his need to cling on to the hope it signifies. This scene marks the collapse of their fortunes, pointing out how it is greed that led to their downfall.

In the climax of the movie, Ki-Woo is beaten on the head with a stone by Geun-Se, symbolizing the ruin of his good luck and that his bad luck keeps chasing him relentlessly.

The design cleverly uses a staircase to divide the poster into two contrasting halves, reflecting the movie's themes of class disparity.

The stairways are prominent throughout the plot and are used as symbolism for the increase and decrease of rank within the different social classes. When Ki-Woo first comes to the Park's house, he uses a flight of stairs leading him up to the upper floor, representing his upward movement in social status influenced by wealth. This rise is already symbolic of the appeal of rising through the social hierarchy, but the symbolism associated with these stairs reaches new heights toward the end of the movie. As the three Kims narrowly escape from Park's house, they go down the stairs, which symbolizes their losing the temporary heights they had achieved.

The smell is a motif running through the story to underline the deep connection among family members and the hidden tensions between social classes. One of the remarkable scenes about smell is when Da-song, the young son of the Parks, rushes downstairs to meet his father. He suddenly sniffs in the air and digs his nose into Ki-Taek's pants and then Choong-Sook's belly. This instant showed their special connection—the bonding among members of the Kim family—since their smell is a class marker of experiences in the same life.

The observation was very subtle, pointing out a hidden association among people of the Kim family and how all these people, despite trying to disguise themselves into different identities, end up smelling exactly the same. 

Through its effective use of these components, the movie "Parasite" explores the human condition in a divided society.

References:

Bong, J. H. (Director). (2019). Parasite [Film]. Barunson E&A; CJ Entertainment.