Decoding the Parasite Ending

This article contains spoilers for Parasite.

Highlights

Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite achieved a historic milestone at the Academy Awards, becoming the first non-English film to win Best Picture. Alongside numerous other accolades, the film masterfully combines various genres such as dark comedy, drama, thriller, and horror. Its compelling and impossible-to-ignore narrative offers a captivating blend of entertainment and thought-provoking themes.

Parasite's ending serves as a haunting reminder of the cyclical nature of social inequality, accentuating the themes of class disparities and the exploitation of the working class by the affluent bourgeoisie.

To say that Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite made cinematic history would be an understatement. In 2019, this foreign language film became the first of its kind to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, an unprecedented accomplishment. It also garnered recognition for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. Initially seen as a clever comedy involving a poor family outwitting a wealthy one, the narrative and atmosphere take a dramatic shift halfway through, intensifying the tension and leading to a profound and chilling conclusion.

What Is Parasite About?

In addition to captivating viewers throughout its two-hour duration, Parasite skillfully combines different genres like dark comedy, drama, thriller, and even elements of horror. Moreover, it cleverly saves its most shocking twist until the end. From the very beginning, the film is laden with foreshadowing and symbolism, laying the groundwork for a captivating and thought-provoking narrative that cannot be ignored. Ultimately, Parasite concludes with a powerful reminder of its overarching theme, leaving a lasting impact that reinforces the cyclical nature of social inequality.

Parasite, the highly-regarded South Korean dark comedy thriller, delves into the lives of two families from contrasting socioeconomic backgrounds—the Kims and the Parks. Living in a basement apartment, the struggling Kim family cunningly and intricately infiltrates the lives of the affluent Park family. Each member of the Kim family secures a position within the Park household, concealing their true identities and maintaining the secrecy of their familial connection. Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), the son, becomes a tutor for the Park's daughter, while Ki-jung (Park So-dam), his sister, assumes the role of the young son's art therapist. Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin) and Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), the parents, take on the positions of housekeeper and driver respectively. The Kims gradually manipulate the Parks as they aim to win their trust.

As the film progresses, the Parks embark on a camping trip while unbeknownst to them, the Kims decide to stay in their lavish home and indulge in their luxurious lifestyle. Unexpectedly, Moon-gwang, the former housekeeper of the Parks, returns to their residence claiming to have left something in the basement. Shockingly, she unveils a dark secret: her husband, Geun-sae, has been secretly kept in an underground bunker beneath the Park's house. Simultaneously, Moon-gwang uncovers the true identities of the Kims and their cunning plan. Meanwhile, a violent storm forces the Parks to cut short their trip and return home early. This unforeseen turn of events leads to a tense confrontation between the Kims and the couple, resulting in Moon-gwang's unfortunate demise and her husband being trapped in the basement. Miraculously, the Kims manage to escape unnoticed by the Parks. However, upon their return to their basement apartment, they are disheartened to discover that it has been flooded by the storm, forcing them to seek shelter for the night.

How Does Parasite End?

Unaware of the previous night's events, the Parks host a birthday party at their home and invite the Kims. Meanwhile, Geun-sae manages to escape from the bunker and inflicts a serious injury on Ki-woo by striking him with a rock. The film reaches its climax as chaos erupts during the birthday celebration. Seeking revenge for his wife's death, Geun-sae barges into the party and fatally stabs Ki-ju with a knife. Witnessing Geun-sae, whom he believed to be a ghost, the young son of the Park family experiences a seizure and collapses on the floor. Ki-taek rushes to rescue his daughter, while Mr. Park, seemingly indifferent to Ki-ju's wounds, instructs him to take his son to the hospital. As Mr. Park reacts to the odor of Geun-sae, who had lived in hiding for years, Ki-taek seizes the opportunity, grabs the knife, and kills Mr. Park in front of everyone. He swiftly escapes the scene thereafter.

After Ki-woo recovers from his injuries, he and his mother are convicted of fraud and put on probation, while his father remains missing. Ki-woo spends his time hiding in the mountains, secretly observing the Park family's former home, now occupied by a German family. One day, he notices a Morse code message transmitted through the house's lights. Discovering that Ki-taek is hiding in a bunker and transmitting the message in hopes of communicating with Ki-woo, he feels a glimmer of hope. The film concludes with Ki-woo visualizing his future, determined to attend school, amass wealth, and acquire the Park family's house in order to reunite with his father. In a poignant moment, Ki-woo is seen mapping out his plan in his basement apartment. Director Bong Joon-Ho explained that he wanted the ending to deliver a definitive message to the audience, demonstrating the harsh reality of the situation. He believed that ending the film with a mere hug and fading out would allow viewers to whimsically believe in the possibility of Ki-woo's success, while descending to the half-basement exposed the cruel truth. It was a somber, yet honest choice, acknowledging that in reality, Ki-woo's aspirations are unlikely to come to fruition.

The title of Parasite alludes to the disparities in social class and how individuals exploit one another. Although it may initially seem that the title refers solely to the Kims infiltrating the Parks' lives in pursuit of their wealth, the film reveals that there are multiple parasites within the story. Moon-gwang and Geun-sae have also been parasitically dependent on the Parks for a significant period of time. Geun-sae, in particular, has been living in their house and subtly leeching off them like a real parasite. Instead of recognizing the true issue, the couple harbors resentment towards the Kims, despite having much in common with them. Additionally, the Parks themselves are parasites in an obvious sense, as their opulent lifestyle is sustained by the labor of the working class. They purposefully turn a blind eye to the rest of society, all while profiting off others' work.

The film concludes with Ki-woo imagining his future, leaving it ambiguous to the audience whether he accomplishes his goal or not. However, the audience possesses this knowledge. And herein lies the brilliance of Parasite. Although it would be satisfying to witness Ki-woo's plan succeed and witness his reunion with his father, the film refuses to provide viewers with an unrealistic resolution. Instead, it unequivocally portrays that Ki-woo will never be able to afford that house. Beginning from the bottom, burdened with a criminal record and a brain injury, achieving such a feat is nearly impossible. This harsh and gloomy reality embodies the socioeconomic system that Bong Joon-Ho so astutely depicts.