50 Fun Facts About Parasite Movie

Who directed Parasite?

He co-wrote it with Han Jin-won, his production assistant on Snowpiercer.

What kind of home do the Kims live in?

The banjiha is typical for poorer Seoul residents, and the first to flood in a monsoon.

What gift does family friend Min-hyuk bring the Kims?

It's meant to promise wealth, and later becomes a weapon.

What job does Ki-woo take over from Min-hyuk?

Min-hyuk trusts him because he likes Da-hye and wants to ask her out later.

What English name does Ki-woo use with the Parks?

He poses as a Yonsei University student with a certificate forged by his sister.

What role does Ki-jung, as 'Jessica', take in the Park household?

Da-song has been traumatised by seeing a 'ghost' in the kitchen.

How do the Kims get rid of the Parks' chauffeur Yoon?

Ki-taek is hired as his replacement.

What allergy do the Kims exploit to oust housekeeper Moon-gwang?

It was inspired by one of Bong's university friends; the Parks are told she has tuberculosis.

Who is hiding in the secret bunker under the Park house?

He's been hiding from loan sharks and is the 'ghost' Da-song saw.

Who built the bunker?

He kept its existence secret from the Parks; the film names him Namgoong Hyeonja.

Why do the Parks come home early from their camping trip?

The same rain floods the Kims' flat with sewage.

Where do the Kims shelter after their flat floods?

They're alongside other displaced people.

What is the occasion for the garden party in the climax?

Mrs Park organises it on impulse the day after the storm.

What does Geun-sae use to bludgeon Ki-woo?

Ki-woo had carried it into the bunker with intentions unknown.

How does Chung-sook kill Geun-sae?

He had just stabbed Ki-jung in front of the party guests.

What finally provokes Ki-taek into stabbing Mr Park?

Mr Park recoils at Geun-sae's smell while ordering Ki-taek to drive.

How does Ki-taek communicate from the bunker at the end?

Ki-woo spots it while spying on the house, now owned by a foreign family.

Who plays Kim Ki-taek?

He's Bong's frequent leading man, from Memories of Murder to The Host.

Who plays Mr Park?

Cho Yeo-jeong plays his wife Yeon-gyo.

Who plays Ki-woo?

He also sings the end-credits song, 'A Glass of Soju', written by Bong.

Who plays Ki-jung?

Bong describes her as the family member who assimilates most easily into the wealthy world.

Which K-drama star has a cameo as Min-hyuk?

The Itaewon Class star turned up for a brief cameo.

What did Bong originally write Parasite as?

A theatre actor friend encouraged him while he was making Snowpiercer.

What personal experience inspired the story?

He said it felt like infiltrating the private lives of strangers.

Which 1960 Korean film did Bong cite as an influence?

It's a 'domestic Gothic' about household help disrupting a middle-class family.

Which real 1930s French crime influenced the story?

Christine and Léa Papin were live-in maids.

What word did subtitler Darcy Paquet coin for jjapaguri?

It's a mix of Nongshim's Chapagetti and Neoguri; the English print shows packets labelled 'ramyeon' and 'udon'.

Which university did the subtitles substitute for Seoul National University?

Paquet thought Harvard would be 'too obvious' and knew Bong's affinity for the UK.

How was the Park house created?

The ground floor and garden were built on an outdoor lot; the view beyond the garden was VFX.

Which outdated software did editor Yang Jin-mo cut the film on?

The program hadn't been updated since 2011.

Which Handel opera is excerpted in the score?

Jung Jae-il's score also uses Gianni Morandi's 1964 song 'In ginocchio da te'.

Which festival gave Parasite its world premiere and top prize?

It was the first Korean film to win the Palme d'Or.

Which US distributor acquired the film at the 2018 American Film Market?

It expanded the release to over 2,000 cinemas after the Oscars, despite the film already being on home video.

How many Oscars did Parasite win?

Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and International Feature.

Parasite was the first Best Picture winner of what kind?

It was also the first Korean film to receive any Oscar recognition.

Which film led that year's nominations with eleven?

It won two; 1917 won three.

Bong was the second person to collect four Oscars in one night since whom?

Disney did it at the 1954 ceremony.

Which director did Bong pause to honour in his acceptance speech, drawing an ovation?

Scorsese wrote him afterwards: 'You've done well. Now rest. But don't rest for too long.'

Which film won both the Palme d'Or and Best Picture 65 years before Parasite?

The Lost Weekend had done it earlier, under the Grand Prix name.

The film also became the first non-English-language film to win which organisation's ensemble award?

That was Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Where did The New York Times rank Parasite in its 2025 list of the 21st century's best films?

The 2022 Sight and Sound poll had it as the 90th best film of all time.

Roughly how much did Parasite gross worldwide on an $11.4M budget?

It was the first Bong film to pass $100 million.

Who is credited as Bong Joon Ho's co-writer on Parasite?

Han had been Bong's production assistant on Snowpiercer and turned his 15-page treatment into three drafts.

Which camera did cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo shoot Parasite on?

Filming ran from 18 May to 19 September 2018 around Seoul and in Jeonju, using Angenieux zoom lenses.

What is the name of the fictional architect who designed the Park house?

Production designer Lee Ha-jun planned the house's form around how this invented previous owner would have designed it.

Which 2013 film was the last before Parasite to win the Palme d'Or by unanimous vote?

Parasite was also the first South Korean film ever to take the Cannes top prize.

Who performs 'Soju han jan', the original song heard over the end credits?

The actor who plays Ki-woo sings the song, which Bong himself wrote.

Which festival premiered the black-and-white edition of Parasite in January 2020?

The monochrome version actually predated the colour film's Cannes premiere; Criterion released both in October 2020.

Which streaming service secured exclusive US rights to Parasite from April 2020?

Amazon streamed it outside the US from March 2020, and it reached Netflix in the US and UK only in February 2025.

Where did Parasite place in the 2022 Sight and Sound critics' poll of the greatest films?

The Writers Guild of America ranked its screenplay the fourth-greatest of the 21st century so far.