92nd Academy Awards · 2020
Parasite
Directed byCooked up by Bong Joon Ho
“Act like you own the place.”
“Sneaking into a rich family: sigma grindset gone wrong 🏠💀”
The storyThe lore 📖
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
The broke Kim family lowkey schemes their way into jobs working for the super-rich Park family — tutor, driver, housekeeper, all of them. Everything is going suspiciously well until a secret in the basement unlocks the wildest plot twist of the decade. Rich vs. poor, and the vibes go from funny to Ohio-level chaos 🏠😱
What critics & audiences sayThe receipts 🧾
Tomatometer
99%
Fresh
#1 of 98 winnersFamous linesLines living rent free
You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. You know why? Because life cannot be planned.
Not "Rich but still nice." Nice because she's rich, you know? Hell, if I had all this money, I'd be nice too!
Ki-taek: Rich people are naive. No resentments. No creases on them.
Chung-sook: It all gets ironed out. Money is an iron. Those creases all get smoothed out by money.
She may look like a sheep, but inside, she's a fox.
Dad, today I made a plan – a fundamental plan. I'm going to earn money, a lot of it.
What are you, a family of charlatans?
When I have money, I'll buy the house. On the day we move in, Mom and I will be in the yard. Because the sunshine is so nice there. All you'll need to do is walk up the stairs.
You can't go wrong with no plans. We don't need to make a plan for anything. It doesn't matter what will happen next.
No peaches at our house. It's a forbidden fruit.
Perhaps you, if no one else, will be able to read this. You were a Scout, so I'm writing this just in case.
Quotes via Wikiquote
Filming locationsWhere they shot it 📍
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Goyang Aqua Special Shooting Studio
Goyang, South Korea
The studio set where the film was produced, which Goyang plans to restore as a tourist attraction.
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Jahamun Tunnel
Seoul, South Korea
A Seoul tunnel pictured in the article as one of the film’s shooting locations.
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Seoul
South Korea
Principal photography ran around the capital from May to September 2018.
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Jeonju
South Korea
The production also filmed in this city alongside its Seoul locations.
Fun factsFacts that go hard 🤓
- Parasite became the first non-English-language film in Academy Awards history to win Best Picture, and it also won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film.Wikipedia · Accolades
- In his early twenties, Bong Joon Ho tutored the son of a wealthy Seoul family. He said he felt like he was infiltrating strangers' private lives and imagined how fun it would be to sneak his friends into the house one by one.Wikipedia · Writing
- Subtitler Darcy Paquet translated the dish jjapaguri as "ram-don" (ramen plus udon), a word he believed did not exist because Google returned no results. Nongshim later sold a single "Chapaguri" product because the combination became so popular.Wikipedia · Writing
- The Parks' modernist house was not a real home but a purpose-built set, attributed in the story to a fictional architect, Namgoong Hyeonja. The second floor was all green screen, and everything beyond the garden was visual effects.Wikipedia · Filming
- In his Oscar speech, Bong paused to honor Martin Scorsese, prompting spontaneous applause. Scorsese later wrote to him: "You've done well. Now rest. But don't rest for too long."Wikipedia · Accolades
- Bong had to persuade the marketing team to use the title Parasite, arguing that the rich family are parasites too because they leech off the poor family's labor.Wikipedia · Development
- Parasite was the first film to win the Palme d'Or by unanimous vote since 2013, and the first Korean film to win it at all.Wikipedia · Accolades
- In South Korea, Parasite drew more than ten million admissions, roughly one-fifth of the country's population.Wikipedia · Box office
- The film was cut in Final Cut Pro 7, editing software that had not been updated since 2011. Bong shot without traditional coverage, so different takes were sometimes stitched into one shot.Wikipedia · Editing
- Moon-gwang's peach allergy, a key plot device, was inspired by one of Bong Joon Ho's university friends who had the same allergy.Wikipedia · Writing