Parasite: How the film was inspired by the life of Bong Jun-ho

With four Oscars and a Golden Palm, the approval of the public and critics, the parasite, which came out in cinemas in 2019, is a real phenomenon. But did you know that the film that aired on Arte last night was partly inspired by the life of its director Bong Jun-ho?

When he was thirty, Bong Jun-ho, who was in financial trouble, convinced his girlfriend that he had worked as a math teacher in a wealthy family in Seoul. If this means anything to you, that’s normal! Recall, the parasite tells the story of a modest unemployed family (kimchi) working in other (parks) much richer, the son gets a job as a teacher. English teacher, yes, but the inspiration is clearly there.

Bong Joon-ho, taking this post as a math teacher, was very irritated. “My girlfriend offered me as a trusted friend, even though I was very bad at math”He admits With the microphone of The Hollywood Reporter. A parasite-like situation where the Kims have no experience in the jobs they are applying for.

Bong Joon-ho was released two months later, not because he was a poor math student, but because he especially liked talking to his student about his personal life. It was this relationship with his student that inspired the parasite. “When you work as a private tutor or governess, you are in the most personal space, the two sides are united in great closeness”– Says the film director. “I did not have bad intentions, but it was the inspiration for the film.”

With the parasite, Bong Jun-ho wanted to describe the growing inequality not only in Korean society but in the whole world where capitalism reigns. Only employment allows different social classes to meet, “When one servant is engaged in the service of another”Notes the filmmaker.

“In today’s capitalist society there are ranks and castes that are invisible to the naked eye”He continues. “We leave them out of sight of the class hierarchy as relics of the past, when there are still impassable boundaries between social classes. I think this film describes what happens when two classes oppose each other in this increasingly polarized society.”

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