#park dong ik

[deepestconnoisseurmoon]

Parasite (2019)

Dir. Bong Joon-ho

[internallysalad]

tell me WHY the ending of ep 7 always has me WAILING with dong kyung's flashbacks of her beloveds calling her name during hard times which she finds comfort in and now it's myul mang getting added to that list <//3

it's such an emotional moment for both of them, her telling him that "did you think I wouldn't be able to find you if you hid like that?" "i told you that I know everything now, i know that you are nice." after he's been through devastation the entire episode, hiding & blaming himself for being all the bad that has happened to her.

and then him realising he can't hold his feelings back anymore giving up and embracing her. :,))

[hauntingblue]

ONE PIECE reading musings

Most importantly: buggy hairdo

(yes that's his real hair)

more under the cut

"I can't swim, but if this took me it would be a shame. Ah! In this situation it doesn't matter if I can swim or not!"

Luffy talking about the whirlpool taking him and him being so stoic??? Iconic, it sounds goofy coming from him but what else can he do lmao it actually makes so much sense

This panel with nami and buggy is just too good. Look at their faces lmao

"Nami: I can't fight with a group of men as big as that! I am weak!

Usopp: don't leave it up to me because I am a man! I am so scared my legs are shaking! Look!

Nami: Look at me, I am near tears!

Usopp: your eyes are completely dry!"

Usopp and Nami just having a crying off

Nami: why did you get mad earlier?

Luffy: I hate them, they do everything wrong

Nami: what are you saying? They were pirates, of course they were doing it wrong

Luffy knowing and kinda explaining how there is a good way of being a pirate but nami doesn't quite get it yet. Until she leaves the baratie and cries about it, wishing to go back with them again.... I think she gets it there. Also the first of many times nami just sits beside Luffy when he is down my beloved

Johnny just name dropping mihawk and telling zoro he MIGHT be there and zoro looks TERRIFIED? it's like he was expecting to die there and he knows he is too weak to face him and win so when this happens:

Sanji tells zoro they all are going towards their death and that they are idiots and zoro says:

"I threw my life away the moment I decided to become the best swordsman in the world, the only person that can call me dumb is me."

He is speaking like he knows he is going to die and he is scared when he hears about mihawk because he didn't expect to be so unprepared. Death is coming for him earlier that it should LIKE IT DID TO KUINA but spoiler... He gets to live because of his ambition GIVEN BY KUINA it's like a double edged sword. Kuina made you ambitious enough to die for your promise to her but that promise is going to make you live enough to see it.

This is actually so good and the fact this influences sanji to go after his dream like damn. Interlaced together since sanji was introduced

Zoro about to die for his dreams and what does sanji say? Give up your dreams if they will cost you your life. Because that's exactly the example he has since zeff stopped being a pirate to save sanji's life... But that's not the takeaway my boy.... Zeff wants you to go after your dream

Sanji saying he took everything zeff cared about away from him.... He gave it away FOR YOU!!!! And Luffy hitting him with the "death doesn't repay debts... He didn't save you for that!" And then the one two hit of shank's panel.... Damn

I don't even need to translate anything here but Luffy understood zeff since the beginning and he didn't hear one word from him. Luffy asking if he won't say goodbye and then looking at sanji like that..... There is not a bigger undesrtander than him. Just made that word up. And sanji's hard fucking head had to be told by like 15 different people to leave and still just left bc he thought he wasn't wanted anymore there. The guy who didn't understand what the story was about until his father told him. Christ don krieg is annoying but Baratie is so good. And extensive because sanji is so fucking stubborn about his debt to zeff. Incredible. Look at Luffy's happy face.

[aetherialpiplup108]

First time editing! Chose some random screenshots from Doom at Your Service. Original is on the right, edited is on the left.

Some of these are definitely over-edited and the original screenshots themselves are of low quality but ah, oh well. Tips are appreciated!

[gothicprep]

decided to re-watch "parasite" this morning, and it finally dawned on me that the class dynamics portrayed in the film are misread by everyone who watches it. not leaving myself out of this indictment, btw. it took multiple watches for the other shoe to drop.

the kim & park parents were both born middle class. the difference is that one family was downwardly mobile, while the other was upwardly mobile. you see this with the kim parents being a former small business owner, and a formerly celebrated athelete who's college educated. you see this with the park parents, with how the film emphasizes how dong-ik/nathan's wealth was self-made, and the general cluelessness the family has about high culture.

i feel like it's forgivable to not see this until you've watched something multiple times, but i'm still annoyed this flew by my head.

[papaya2000s]

Master List:

The posts listed below are all my own, except for the fanfics, which include original links to the sources where I discovered them, giving credit to the respective creators and writers of their work.

Old Korean Movies:

Emergency Act 19 (긴급조치 19호) - (08/08/2024)

Let's Meet at Walker hill (워커힐에서 만납시다) - Coming Soon!

Crossroads of Youth (청춘의 십자로) - Coming Soon!

The History of Korean Acts - 1900s-Now:

History of Korean music over the past century.

The History of Korean Male Groups (Rewrite):

Part 1 - (13/08/2024)

Part 2 - (21/08/2024)

Part 3 - (29/08/2024)

Part 4 - (29/08/2024)

Part 5 - (15/09/2024)

Part 6 - Coming Soon!

The History of Korean Girl Groups (Rewrite):

A preview on what groups will be mentioned down below. This series will be coming out in the later part of next year.

Coming Soon!

Korean Soloists from the 20th Centaury:

Enjoy the history of some of famous Korean performers that lived in the 20th centaury that have been lost with time.

Female:

Yun Sim Deok/ (Rewrite 1, 2)- (29/04/2024)

Lee Ari Su - (05/03/2024)

Kim So Hee - (05/10/2024)

Park Nok Ju - Coming Soon!

Lee Hwa Jung Seon - Coming Soon!

Jeon Hae Nam - (13/10/2024)

Male:

Kim In Sik - (21/09/2024)

Choi Nam Seon - Coming Soon!

Lee Eun-sang - (27/09/2024)

Hyun Je Myeong - Coming Soon!

Lim Dong Hyeok - Coming Soon!

Kim Saeng Ryeo - Coming Soon!

Lee In Beom - Coming Soon!

Kim Seong Tae - Coming Soon!

Jeong Jeong Ryeol - Coming Soon!

Im Bang Ul - Coming Soon!

Han Seong Jun - Coming Soon!

Kim Min Ik - Coming Soon!

Photo Collection of Kisaeng's:

All photos below have been AI enhanced for a more clear viewing (there may be some errors in the pictures).

Part 1 - (17/07/2024)

Part 2 - (17/07/2024)

Part 3 - (17/07/2024)

Part 4 - (21/07/2024)

Part 5 - (21/07/2024)

Part 6 Finale - (24/07/2024)

Women considered to be the most beautiful in Korean History:

More than a century ago, a remarkable group of women known as Kisaengs captivated the elite with their captivating performances, without ever compromising their dignity.

These extraordinary women, often referred to as the celebrities of their era, were renowned for their beauty and talent, as evidenced by historical records that ranked the most enchanting kisaengs of that time!

Part 1 - Oh San-wol (오산월) - (11/07/2024)

Part 2 - Jang Yeon Hong (장연홍) (1) - (14/07/2024)

Part 3 - Jang Yeon Hong (장연홍) (2) - (16/07/2024)

Part 4 - Coming Soon!

The Birth of Korean Girl Groups Preview:

A preview on what girl groups I'll be posting in my series on 'The History of Korean girl groups'.

Part 1 - 1900s-1945 - (28/04/2024)

Part 2 - 1950s - 1960s - (28/04/2024)

Part 3 - 1960s - 1962 - (28/04/2024)

Part 4 - 1963 - 1965 - (28/04/2024)

Part 5 - 1965- 1966 - (28/04/2024)

Part 6 - 1967-1960s - (28/04/2024)

Part 7 - 1970-1972 - (02/05/2024)

Part 8 - 1974 - 1981 - (09/05/2024)

Part 9 - 1983 - 1987 - (09/05/2024)

Part 10 - 1989 - 1997 - (09/05/2024)

Part 11 - 1997 - (09/05/2024)

Part 12 Final - 1998 - 2000s - (09/05/2024)

Michael Jackson & Friends Korea, Seoul:

S.E.S: Part 1 and Part 2

H.O.T: Coming Soon!

H.O.T Kangta - Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2001

H.O.T Kangta - Dreams and Faith - (27/07/2024)

Ensign O'Toole - TV Series 1962-1963

Summary and Ep 1-12 - (26/10/2024)

Ep 13-32 - Coming Soon!

[valentinejaes]

9 characters I loved in 2023

tagged by @jaebeomtual (hi miha 💜)

song kang as jeong guwon in my demon (2023-2024) ✧ kim bum as lee rang in tale of the nine tailed (2020) ✧ yun ji on as im ryung gu in tomorrow (2022) ✧ park hyungsik as jung yihyun in happiness (2021) ✧ han hyojoo as yoon saebeom in happiness (2021) ✧ lee soohyuk as cha joo ik in doom at your service (2021) ✧ ji chang wook as yoon gyeo re in if you wish upon me (2022) ✧ choi sooyoung as seo yeon joo in if you wish upon me (2022) ✧ kwak dong yeon as jang han seo in vincenzo (2021)

tagging (no pressure ofc <3) the mutuals I've discussed dramas with this year: @lee-minhoe @sunminshine @jwooyoung @kimsmingyu

honorable mentions bc I am horrible at following directions

gunwoo & woojin (bloodhounds) • do dohee (my demon) • doom (doom at your service) • samdal (welcome to samdalri) • yongpil (welcome to samdalri) • lee yeon (tale of the nine tailed) • park junmo (the worst of evil) • jung gichul (the worst of evil) • koo ryeon (tomorrow)

[survivalistghost]

doom at your service

this show wrecked me and healed me then wrecked me and healed me again. send help.

one of the most beautiful shows I've seen, made me giddy and happy at 2 am. there's something abt the trope of 'guy who hates everyone but her' that makes us all weak in the knees.

i. the concept of the series. seriously. chef's kiss. doom falls in love with a human? spectacular. stupendous. amazing. the storyline was executed so well, the cast was great, the twists and turns. everything, top tier.

ii. the acting was amazing, seeing park bo young cry made me want to cry as well. when doom turned from expressionless-humanity-is-shit asshole to i-will-become-human-for-her boyfriend was one of the best arcs ive seen. tak dong kyung was the perfect protag, not "im not like other girls" or "kind to a fault". she was kind, an incredible human being, but not at her own expense. loved that for her.

iii. the! second! couple! they had me more invested than most love triangle shows. cha joo ik was so fucking iconic, bad boy supreme but not an asshole somehow. i never thought someone would be able to toe this line so well tbh. na ji na, perfect example of girl stuck in the past, and a perfect arc as well. the third guy, lee hyun kyu, sort of annoyed me a bit but then he redeemed himself. good on you, hyun kyu, for growing up.

iv. i do think the whole forgetting thing was a bit unnecessary, but ig some might depict it in terms of "they tried everything but it still didn't work". also, the scene where they remember was so worth it.

v. special thanks to korea for giving me beautiful words for doom (멸망, myul mang) and fate (운명, unmyeong).

i always love it when tragic themes/ideas which are inherently seen as bad are portrayed in a positive way. doom at your service gave me that and more. love u guys.

[greensparty]

Remembering Lee Sun-kyun 1975-2023

Sad news that South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun has died at 48 of an apparent suicide.

International audiences knew him for the excellent Oscar-winning 2019 film Parasite, in which he played Park Dong-ik, the husband/father of the wealthy Park family. The film was the rare time the Academy got it right by rewarding a foreign film that is bonkers, makes a strong statement about class warfare, and was completely original! I included it in my Best Movies of the 2010s list.

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

[dramaddict-and-proud-of-it]

Doom at your service

Year : 2021 | Country : KR | Nb of episodes: 16

My rate: 5/10

Synopsis :

Tak Dong Kyung has been working hard ever since her parents passed away. Her life seemed more stable after working as a web novel editor for 6 years, but then she gets diagnosed with glioblastoma (brain cancer). She blames her unlucky life and wishes to curse everything to disappear, which unintentionally calls Myeol Mang, Doom himself - neither human nor god - to appear.

Myeol Mang says that he can grant Dong Kyung's wishes. As her last hope, she makes a contract with Myeol Mang for a hundred days to live how she wants, risking her everything.

Main cast :

Park Bo Young as Tak Dong Kyung

Seo In Guk as Kim Sa Ram/ Myeol Mang

Lee Soo Hyuk as Cha Joo Ik

Kang Tae Ho as Lee Hyun Gyu

Shin Do Hyun as Na Ji Na

My thoughts on this drama :

I don't know what I was expecting when I started this one. Certainly not what I got. I wasn't expecting to laugh with such a title. The end is also anticlimatic. No spoiler here but I would have prefered it to end is a not so happy ending. No rewatch value whatsoever for that one.

A Favorite ?

NO

[loveseriesnmovies]

Under the queen's umbrella

Cast

Kim Hye-soo as Queen Hwa Ryeong

Kim Hae-sook as Queen Dowager

Choi Won-young as King Yi Ho

Bae In-hyuk as Crown Prince

Moon Sang-min as Grand Prince Seongnam / Crown Prince

Yoo Seon-ho as Grand Prince Gyeseong

Yoon Sang-hyun as Grand Prince Muan

Park Ha-jun as Grand Prince Ilyeong

Kang Chan-hee as Prince Uiseong

Also:

Kim Min-gi as Prince Bogeom

Moon Sung-hyun as Prince Simso

Ok Ja-yeon as Royal Consort Gwi-in Hwang

Kim Ga-eun as Royal Consort So-yong Tae

Woo Jung-won as Royal Consort Gwi-in Go

Seo Yi-sook as Deposed Queen Yoon

Kim Eui-sung as Hwang Won-hyeong

Jang Hyun-sung as Yoon Soo-kwang

Han Dong-hee as Crown Princess Min

Park Jun-myun as Court Lady Shin

Kim Jae-bum as Physician Kwon / Yi Ik-hyeon

Kwon Hae-hyo as Master Toji / Yoo Sang-uk

Oh Ye-ju as Lady Yoon Cheong-ha / Crown Princess

---------------------------------------------------------------

Synopsis

This KDrama was aired on October 15 of 2022, going for 16 episodes.This drama is set on a fictional Joseon dynasty, with a strong queen who would give up all protocols as she struggles to make her trouble making sons into princes.

Opinion

This is a very good series, I binge watched it in a few days. I loved the queen! How strong, resourceful, and independent she was. I loved all the characters, especially the queen and prince Seongnam. I also loved how the king was very supportive of her. The series had a lot of different topics, from motherhood to sexuality. It's a drama series. There are no gore or sex scenes. I recommend this series to anyone who likes history dramas.

You can watch on Netflix

[polarisjisung]

list your top 10 biases and answer the following questions

thank u my dearest duckie for the tag <3

jisung park <3

ji changmin <3

ning yizhuo <3

sim jaeyun

dong sicheng

jung jaehyun

sana minatozaki

kim doyoung (didn't think he'd be so low)

jeon wonwoo

nishimura riki

questions <3

between 1 and 4 who would your rather kiss? jisung

between 2 and 7 who would be your best friend? CHANGMIN FS!! we could be dancer buds <3 and ik for a fact he's the kinda bs to be super invested in your love life

between 5 and 10 who has a better voice? this is kinda hard because they both have great vocals but purely for the fact that I've listed to more of nikis vocals (or maybe I feel more aware of them since wayv as a whole hasn't been super active)

between 1 and 8 who is the funniest? doyoung? he's got a unique sense of humour !

between 6 and 9 who would you date? in the most respectful way possible they are both way out of an acceptable age (imo) to date but I'll say jaehyun because if I dated wonwoo both our blind asses would he done for

between 9 and 10 who would you do a collaboration with? this is questioning my love for wonu (I love him I promise!!) but I'd say niki because he's a god tier dancer and what I wouldn't give to dance with him

between 3 and 5 who would you most likely marry? NINGNING HAND IN MARRIAGE NOW!!!

between 1 and 7 who would you nurse when they are sick? I promise I love love love sana with my WHOLE heart but I'd literally choose park jisung over the whole world, the grip that man has on me is strong, he could ask me to sell my soul to the devil and I would

between 2 and 3 who has a better smile? this question was not made to be answered, its literally impossible

between 6 and 8 who would you vacation with? I would probably say jaehyun because way back when him and jisung got locked out of their hotel room in osaka, I feel like we'd both do such mindlessly stupid things and instead of getting stressed we'd just enjoy it?

tags : @justalildumpling @jaehunnyy @pastelsicheng @jenobubbles I literally have no moots so that's on me for not branching out ;)

[mochingblog]

Parasite -Decoding & Deconstructing

Released in 2019, Parasite is a film by director Bong Joon-ho that deals with the issues between the poor and the rich people in society. It is more like a smaller version of South Korea, conveying the stereotype that the rich are happy and the poor are always unhappy. The actors in the film are perfect, but the director put the plot into a movie full of holes. To express and show the problem, it is an ideal commercial film, but it does not reflect the real social issues and is not worth more analysis and reflection. Generally speaking, for a movie with a strong story, there is a minimum requirement for the plot development to conform to the basic logic. Of course, some degree of factual and logical sacrifice is necessary for theme expression and dramatic effect. But this sacrifice of the actual parasite plot does not achieve the same thematic expression effect, which is empty.

First, arranging four family members into the wealthy family, which takes up the first 1/3 of the film, is very dramatic and does not go smoothly with common sense. Suppose the director asked Choi Woo-Sik for a job interview on the first day and suggested that a clip of his sister Kim Ki-Jung would show the character's ingenuity. (19:45 -- 20:37) In the latter part, the director arranged all the members of the Kim family into the Park family was too deliberate. Although the director uses this plot to express the unfairness of wealth and status in the character of the rich who are "naive" and "easy to fool," Bong Joon-ho forgot that the art of cinema comes from the reality of life, above life. This has wholly ignored the plot elements that can foreshadow a character.

If the Kim family moving smoothly into the mansion is necessary for the development of the plot, then they can also be unobtrusively qualified for the work of the mansion; it seems too false and strange. First, being a nanny and a driver for a wealthy family is not a simple job, especially for Gook Moon-gwang nanny, who had worked for years under a former builder before getting used to it. Apart from the work content, the nanny's mannerisms and appearance are entirely different from those of the old couple living in the slum environment. From 50:30-52:00, the director asked Jang Hye-jin to play the role of the nanny, and it can be seen that she was able to do the job very quickly. Then, of course, to convince the audience of the Kim family s deceitful tactics and loopholes, the director features Choi Woo-Sik rehearsing at home (42:00-43:01) and questioning the taste of Jang Hye-jin and Kim Ki-taek with the Park family s son. However, these passages are illogical and undermine the legitimacy of the characters. Let the wealthy family's "easy to fool" side becomes "stupid"; the poor become "Superman."

The screenwriter and director do not understand the appearance of the actual poor and the real rich, divorced from the background of the time to show the characters, will become an artistic puppet that overhead reality. The rich man in the film does not look like the rich man, although the director does not set the image of the successor of the chaebol status or a man born with a silver spoon but is a company boss. Because , the director sets the level of a successful person to be inferior to that of a chauffeur, making people think Park's family got rich by lottery. For example, in the clip (48:00-50:30), Kim Ki-taek made Park Dong-ik and Choi Yeon-gyo believe their fake company, The Care, by using fake business cards to make his wife become the nanny of the Park family. The Park family quickly believed them and did not investigate the company. The rich image played by Lee Sun-kyun is untenable after such content development. Just imagine which wealthy company boss can easily trust others to recommend the company; capitalists rely on exploitation that also has to be social elite. The director does not pave the way for this unexplained plot, nor does he explain the follow-up. Although Bong wanted to use such stories to construct the differences and a follow-up story about the development of parasitic behaviors between the rich and the poor, his characterization was always on the surface. It cannot convince the audience that this is real life. In the movie, the director made Choi Woo-sik and Park So-dam's poor family characters not look even poor. Society has different kinds of poor families because they may have no ability and no chance to get work, but the director only created the poor family with a thoughtful mind, quick-witted, capable of faking and deceiving and planning out the proper lines in advance. For such a family, it would be completely impractical for the director to let them live in a semi-basement setting. If the family's personality is based on reality, it's more likely that viewers will believe that they've already cheated their way to little success.

In addition, on a rainy night of camping, the Kim family occupied the host's house but suddenly encountered a visit from Gook Moon-gwang. Gook Moon-gwang's husband had been hiding in the basement of the house. Both families lived tough, and both think each other is a good person just because of poverty, so there is no surplus sympathy to share with others. They also believe that if they are rich like the Park family, they will naturally live sincerely and kindly. (1:02:55 -- 1:09:17) The director is trying to say that poverty is the reason for them or that poverty is the reason for the original sin. To maintain the most basic survival needs, people can break all moral bottom lines and harm others. But why poor? The director didn't expand the content and touch on fundamental reasons. Gook Moon-gwang's family owes money to loan sharks because her husband failed in business. The Kim family doesn't take things seriously on the job. Here, the director's explanation of the social government is absent. The Park family's rich and the Kim family's poor have also become synonymous with good and evil. The conclusion that rich people tend to be good should be based on the premise that everyone has the same moral height, regardless of the rich and poor. However, the movie does not describe the story of the characters played by Lee Sun-Kyun and Cho Yeo-Jeong, but highlights the characteristics of being easy to deceive. The Kim family always wants more after work by cheating. Gook Moon-gwang's husband even thinks life in the villa's basement is so good that he can always live there. Compared with the generosity of the Park family, the director's plot expression made the poor people deprived of even the people's eyes of sympathy.

It would be impossible if the director did not think to express the difference between the poor and the rich, the rich despise the poor. On the contrary, the director is very self-centered in his expression. For example, "smell" is his focus in this film. In the story, the Kim family has many poor appearance plots and loopholes as they become fake rich workers, but the director would not make the Park family notice. Instead, he uses "smell" as a metaphor to make Park feel the taste of the poor. Of course, there's no problem with "smell" as a cinematic metaphor,  but he mistakenly deliberately highlights it so that this element is overused and boring. The director was afraid that the audience could not see what he wanted to express, and he let Lee Sun-Kyun repeatedly say it from beginning to end, regardless of whether it was reasonable. It seems that whenever the director thinks it's time for a "smell" to appear, it should. As for what reason it occurs, no one knows. For example, it's understandable that the killer escapes from the basement and is filled with hatred to seek revenge on the main character's family. The killer stabbed So-dam Park's Kim Ki-Jung because he saw her in the first spot, which is also understandable. However, the problem came when Park Dong-ik picked up the car keys from underneath the killer after he got killed in reverse. (1:52:50-1:55:50) This time, the appearance of the smell is straightforward, as if all the previous preparation is for this moment; all smells created are meant to rationalize Park Dong-ik's killing. The director thoughtfully clarifies Kim's father's "bad" charges, even not evil people into bad ones.

The climax of the conflict that the director has to create when he starts the story but cannot solve the ending. The same goes for the movie ending (1:55:56-1:58:47), where the director keeps the people he needs and cuts out the characters he feels he can't reasonably explain. An inexplicable appearance at the scene of the criminal, the reporter only said "a homeless death" as the result of the investigation; After Kim killed Park and disappeared from the house, the police did not investigate the house and concluded the investigation with the verdict of "Kim Ki-taek is missing." These are places where the ending of the movie doesn't make sense. But the director doesn't seem to care because he only wants to express this parasitic problem of poverty and wealth that can never break through through Kim, who stays in the basement and writes letters, and Kim's son, who gets letters outside. Kim Ki-taek does not know when her son will see the signal but types Morse code once a day (1:59:20 -- 2:04:06). As you can see, the light flash is visible outside but also inside the house. The director doesn't explain whether the Germans will find out about the ending.

As a drama with the gap between the rich and the poor as the main contradiction, it leads to the intensification of the contradiction in reality, and brings a kind of impersonal negative feeling of "yes, life is like this". As a purely entertaining commercial film, it kind of passes, but as a film that provokes human reflection, it does not make any sense, and even has the opposite effect.

Cited Works

Ho, Bong Joon. Parasite. Neon, 2019.

Venkoba, Kandi Sachin, et al. “Parasite (2019) Is a Paradoxical Experience Where in It Houses inside You and Provides Food for Thought.” FilmSpell, 10 Feb. 2020, https://filmspell.com/parasite-2019-is-a-paradoxical-experience-where-in-it-houses-inside-you-and-provides-food-for-thought/.  

Seo, Bo. “'Parasite' and the Curse of Closeness.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 11 Feb. 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/10/parasite-and-curse-closeness/600385/. 

[agendaculturaldelima]

   #ProyeccionDeVida

🎬 “PARÁSITOS” [Parasite / Gisaengchung]

🔎 Género: Intriga / Comedia / Drama / Thriller / Familia

⌛️ Duración: 132 minutos

✍️ Guión: Bong Joon-ho y Han Jin-won

🎼 Música: Jung Jae-il

📷 Fotografía: Hong Kyung-pyo

🗯 Argumento: Tanto Gi Taek (Song Kang-ho) como su familia están sin trabajo. Cuando su hijo mayor, Gi Woo (Choi Woo-sik), empieza a dar clases particulares en casa de Park (Lee Seon-gyun), las dos familias, que tienen mucho en común pese a pertenecer a dos mundos totalmente distintos, comienzan una interrelación de resultados imprevisibles.

👥 Reparto: Lee Sun-kyun (Park Dong-Ik), Cho Yeo-jeong (Yeon-kyo), Park So-dam (Ki-jung), Choi Woo-shik (Ki-woo), Park Seo-joon (Min), Song Kang-ho (Kim Ki-taek), Jung Ji-so (Da-hye), Park Myung-hoon (Geun Se), Jang Hye-jin (Choong sook), Lee Jung-eun (Moon-gwang) y Jung Hyeon-jun (Da-song).

📢 Dirección: Bong Joon-Ho

© Productoras: Barunson, CJ Entertainment, TMS Comics, TMS Entertainment, CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics

🌎 País: Corea del Sur

📅 Año: 2019

📽 Proyección:

📆 Martes 04 de Junio

🕗 8:00pm.

🎦 Cine Caleta (calle Aurelio de Souza 225 - Barranco)

🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Ingreso libre

🙂 A tener en cuenta: Prohibido el ingreso de bebidas y comidas. 🌳💚🌻🌛

[darkhumourcas]

Parasite - A Divide In Class

Title – Parasite (2019)

Director – Bong Joon-Ho 

Cast – Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jang Hye-jin 

Plot – Parasite revolves around the Kim family of four living below the poverty line, struggling to make ends meet. But then (!!) the son of the family, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), gets a business venture from his friend, Min (Park Seo-joon), to work as a tutor for the daughter of the rich, well-off Park family. This is the initial catapult into this story… Slowly (but surely), the Kims worm their way into the lives of the Parks like parasites…

At its core, this film is a social commentary on the deep-rooted societal issues of class division and economic inequality present in South Korea. It gives insight into the divide between the two classes and serves as a device to portray the grim contrast of the ever-growing gap between the rich and the poor. Parasite is a story that doesn’t necessarily have villains or heroes, just people who are products of their environments. This thriller-comedy explores the lengths people will go to support their families.

Before I delve into these influential characters that were created for this film, I want to address the recent passing of Lee Sun-kyun. Lee played the role of Park Dong-ik, the patriarch of the Park family, and he did an exceptional job of portraying a pompous businessman. Sadly, the actor took his own life on the 27th of December, 2023. This came as quite a shock, not only in South Korea but to the rest of the world. Lee Sun-kyun was a well-known K-drama actor known for his notable role in Coffee Prince (Lee Yoon-jung, 2007). The circumstance revolving around his death is one that I hope gives South Koreans an awakening to the worrisome problem of famous Korean stars feeling pressure into committing suicide as the only option for their personal issues. Lee Sun-kyun will be remembered as an outstanding actor.

The cast of this film worked insanely well together, which is reflected in how the characters interacted with one another. Each character brings a different aspect and perspective to the story. 

Park Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong), the mother of the affluent family, fell for the scheme of the Kim family, thinking that she was making the best choices for her family. While this can be seen as wrongdoing by the Kims, they were left in a dire situation where this seemed like the best option. The system they are living in South Korea does not favour them, so why should they oblige to it?

From a technical standpoint, Parasite exceeds all expectations for a successful film. Places where this film truly excels are in the use of sets and props. One prop detail that stands out to me is the waste bin in the Park household. It can be a detail that is easily overlooked, but the waste bin is completely silent and only for $2300! This is obviously quite a hefty price for a bin, and Bong Joon-ho thought so as well, stating that he “and my (his) crew members were like: ‘What the f**k? What kind of idiot would buy a trash can that’s going to smell anyway?” The absurdity of the price of the bin is funnily enough fitting to something that would definitely be in the Park’s house. 

Bong Joon-Ho is able to convey his message in the division of class between the Kims and Parks through the different sets for their houses. The Kim family live in a basement flat at the bottom of a hill, symbolising how they are at the lowest, not only literally but also financially. They are crammed into a filthy apartment that is regularly mentioned as being pungent, to the point where it leaves a smell on them. Meanwhile, the Park family lives near the top of a hill, representing their financial prospects. This house is depicted as a grand architectural masterpiece that is always clean and tidy, thanks to the domestic housekeeper.

Bong Joon-Ho truly created a cinematic masterpiece with this film, and I am not saying this to be biased; he literally did. Parasite received the Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival and four Academy Awards from the Oscars, including the ones for Best Picture and Best Directing. Bong achieved an incredibly difficult feat by receiving the most prestigious awards, and all for the same film. This mass international recognition from a South Korean film to a Western audience was a challenge, considering the language barrier, but despite that, in a historical moment, Parasite was the first non-English film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. All these awards only further prove how Bong Joon-Ho is one the most credible and decorated directors of this age in cinema.

Concluding Thoughts – In the end, Parasite is a film that was deserving of all the awards and praise it received. I’m embarrassed to say it took me four years after its initial release to view the film; I feel that I missed out on its original hype, but regardless of that, I am very glad I thoroughly enjoyed it. This film captivates through brilliantly thought-through dark humour in a way that many other films strive to. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has yet to watch it!

My final rating – ★★★★★