, Columnist
What ‘Parasite’ Misses About Inequality in South Korea
It’s not that bad — as long as you’re not young, old, or a woman.
Room at the top for Bong Joon-Ho.
Photographer: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/Getty Images
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To judge by “Parasite” — Bong Joon-ho’s Golden Globe-winning portrait of three Seoul families thrown into queasy proximity by the country’s wealth divide — South Korea is an Asian version of Brazil or South Africa.
The poor in Bong’s black comedy are unable to escape the bottom of the heap — living in overcrowded basement apartments, or even (in a horrifying twist) further below ground. The wealthy enjoy a life of careless riches and open skies on Seoul’s hilly outskirts, cosseted by armies of staff whom they hold in thinly veiled contempt.