5 ms·

One unrealistic part about the poor family in the movie is that, there is no way a family of four healthy adults can be that poor in S.Korea (unless they have a

by httpz 7y ago

One unrealistic part about the poor family in the movie is that, there is no way a family of four healthy adults can be that poor in S.Korea (unless they have a large debt payment). If all four of them worked 40hrs/wk doing a minimum wage job ($7/hr in S.Korea), it puts them around $59k/yr, which is above the median household income.

hristov 7y ago
I think the main point is they couldn't get jobs. At one point in the movie they said that every job opening for a security guard draws 500 applicants with college degrees. None of them had college degrees. I am not sure what the actual job situation in S. Korea is. Perhaps someone that lives there can enlighten us.
- claudeganon 7y ago
  Yes, at the start of the film they’re folding pizza boxes as a kind of piecework and pleading with the person picking them up to let one of them have a job opening at one of the stores. They’re all unemployed.
- kaiabwpdjqn 7y ago
  Exactly. All of them were qualified for the jobs they did. They did a good job too. The daughter is a bit of an exception. The daughter is constantly depicted at someone who is exceptionally talented, although has no paper credentials for the job she does. The family makes multiple comments about good she is at things and how she belongs in the wealthy lifestyle. When everyone is wading through the sewage water (motif for poverty) she sits sort of dry on the toilet just barely above the others (incredible scene imo). She does an excellent job. I think it’s to make a point about the lack of meritocracy even within class or something.
  - abvr 7y ago
    Aslo ends up being ironically, kinda of the scapegoat for no fault of hers, other than the fact that she was the mastermind of the whole operation?
- teshier-A 7y ago
  They are smart enough to outsmart anyone but not to get jobs ? As always in Korean movies the protagonists had to be smart. It seems that they are not interested in anyone who's even slightly dumb.
L_Rahman 7y ago
Which they did. The movie mentions an unsuccessful attempt to be a franchisee of a food chain that later turned out to be a scam. That ended up bankrupting the family.
- hocuspocus 7y ago
  And this is not a view of the mind, the franchise that is hinted at in the movie is infamous. I don't think it was a scam per se, but a lot of people got burnt: https://blog.lewislee.net/parasite-the-tragedy-of-taiwanese-cake-shop/ https://blog.lewislee.net/parasite-the-tragedy-of-taiwanese-...
onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
What would life be like for 4 people on median wage, though? Did they live in a slummy part of Seoul? Or were they in an expensive part in a crappy house? If a family of four tried to live in Santa Monica on $59k -- they would only have $39k after taxes. You can't rent even a single shitty room for less than $1k per month. That leaves them $500 a month per person. Health care would take at least $58 (the fine if you don't have health care). That leaves you $440 ($14.50 a day) for everything else. It wouldn't be Parasite bad. But it would be awful. If you just moved to Compton or San Bernardino, it would be fine.
- pkaye 7y ago
  How did you determine the $39k after taxes. Are you considering 2 parents and 2 dependents? They could probably get covered under Covered California also.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
    You can claim an adult that has a job and income as a dependent???
    - pkaye 7y ago
      I think the dependent has to be a qualified relative and there is a very low income threshold. And with the tax reforms I think there is not much benefits. So at that point, maybe its 2 parents and 2 single adults so you cannot combine their income for tax purposes. Maybe each makes $15k which is a very low amount for paying any taxes.
- Melting_Harps 7y ago
  > If a family of four tried to live in Santa Monica on $59k I've been watching K-cinema on/off for a few years, old boy really f'd me up even though I thought I got used things like Bijita Q type J-films. But, if you're looking for what that would look like via a Korean-Californian perspective watch Ms. Purple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYh3MAE0b4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYh3MAE0b4 It makes the plight of the Korean immigrant, and ultimate success in LA, all the more poignant. I was a SoCal kid during the LA riots when K-town was burned to the ground and many were left destitute and went bankrupt, now K-town is most of DTLA and has expanded into a lot of Orange County displacing a lot of the Japanese and even some of the mainly Chinese influences.
dba7dba 7y ago
Unemployment/underemployment has been a huge problem in S. Korea for a long time such that a college graduate getting a career track job (any like Police officer, government worker, job in a chaebol, etc) is a cause for celebration. One thing Americans might fall into thinking is that they poor family in the movie is similar to welfare queens in US. Afaik, there isn't enough support for one to live as a welfare queen in S. Korea. Another different factor is Jeonse. In S. Korean real estate rental market, monthly rent is rare. Most are rented out as Jeonse. With Jeonse, instead of paying monthly rent, a renter will make a lump-sum deposit on a rental space, at anywhere from 50% to 80% of the market value. This allow a poor family to have relatively secure housing (although it would be undesirable) while having no money for other essentials.
- hocuspocus 7y ago
  With interest rates that have been divided by 4-5x in the last 15 years, small deposits and monthly rents aren't that rare anymore. I'm not sure how it affects the poorest families, I imagine that you can stay in a decrepit "villa" on jeonse alone for many years. More often than not, real-estate loses value and it might not be in the landlord's interest to kick you out. But in recent years there are definitely a lot of lower-income families that bought property and got out of jeonse, since it makes no sense anymore.
stebann 7y ago
If you can't get any job then you're done. Even if there're jobs but employers want the prices to fall for a specific occupation, then you're don too. This is not specific to South Korea though. I believe that this situations could get better if HR companies weren't thriving everywhere just cutting down any opportunities for the people with stupid assessments, even universities graduates, and letting the experienced and trained personnel that belong to a business make their calls, but this depends on the business willingness.

by httpz 7y ago

hristov 7y ago

I think the main point is they couldn't get jobs. At one point in the movie they said that every job opening for a security guard draws 500 applicants with college degrees. None of them had college degrees. I am not sure what the actual job situation in S. Korea is. Perhaps someone that lives there can enlighten us.

claudeganon 7y ago
Yes, at the start of the film they’re folding pizza boxes as a kind of piecework and pleading with the person picking them up to let one of them have a job opening at one of the stores. They’re all unemployed.
kaiabwpdjqn 7y ago
Exactly. All of them were qualified for the jobs they did. They did a good job too. The daughter is a bit of an exception. The daughter is constantly depicted at someone who is exceptionally talented, although has no paper credentials for the job she does. The family makes multiple comments about good she is at things and how she belongs in the wealthy lifestyle. When everyone is wading through the sewage water (motif for poverty) she sits sort of dry on the toilet just barely above the others (incredible scene imo). She does an excellent job. I think it’s to make a point about the lack of meritocracy even within class or something.
- abvr 7y ago
  Aslo ends up being ironically, kinda of the scapegoat for no fault of hers, other than the fact that she was the mastermind of the whole operation?
teshier-A 7y ago
They are smart enough to outsmart anyone but not to get jobs ? As always in Korean movies the protagonists had to be smart. It seems that they are not interested in anyone who's even slightly dumb.

L_Rahman 7y ago

Which they did. The movie mentions an unsuccessful attempt to be a franchisee of a food chain that later turned out to be a scam. That ended up bankrupting the family.

hocuspocus 7y ago
And this is not a view of the mind, the franchise that is hinted at in the movie is infamous. I don't think it was a scam per se, but a lot of people got burnt: https://blog.lewislee.net/parasite-the-tragedy-of-taiwanese-cake-shop/ https://blog.lewislee.net/parasite-the-tragedy-of-taiwanese-...

onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago

What would life be like for 4 people on median wage, though? Did they live in a slummy part of Seoul? Or were they in an expensive part in a crappy house? If a family of four tried to live in Santa Monica on $59k -- they would only have $39k after taxes. You can't rent even a single shitty room for less than $1k per month. That leaves them $500 a month per person. Health care would take at least $58 (the fine if you don't have health care). That leaves you $440 ($14.50 a day) for everything else. It wouldn't be Parasite bad. But it would be awful. If you just moved to Compton or San Bernardino, it would be fine.

pkaye 7y ago
How did you determine the $39k after taxes. Are you considering 2 parents and 2 dependents? They could probably get covered under Covered California also.
- onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
  You can claim an adult that has a job and income as a dependent???
  - pkaye 7y ago
    I think the dependent has to be a qualified relative and there is a very low income threshold. And with the tax reforms I think there is not much benefits. So at that point, maybe its 2 parents and 2 single adults so you cannot combine their income for tax purposes. Maybe each makes $15k which is a very low amount for paying any taxes.
Melting_Harps 7y ago
> If a family of four tried to live in Santa Monica on $59k I've been watching K-cinema on/off for a few years, old boy really f'd me up even though I thought I got used things like Bijita Q type J-films. But, if you're looking for what that would look like via a Korean-Californian perspective watch Ms. Purple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYh3MAE0b4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYh3MAE0b4 It makes the plight of the Korean immigrant, and ultimate success in LA, all the more poignant. I was a SoCal kid during the LA riots when K-town was burned to the ground and many were left destitute and went bankrupt, now K-town is most of DTLA and has expanded into a lot of Orange County displacing a lot of the Japanese and even some of the mainly Chinese influences.

dba7dba 7y ago

Unemployment/underemployment has been a huge problem in S. Korea for a long time such that a college graduate getting a career track job (any like Police officer, government worker, job in a chaebol, etc) is a cause for celebration. One thing Americans might fall into thinking is that they poor family in the movie is similar to welfare queens in US. Afaik, there isn't enough support for one to live as a welfare queen in S. Korea. Another different factor is Jeonse. In S. Korean real estate rental market, monthly rent is rare. Most are rented out as Jeonse. With Jeonse, instead of paying monthly rent, a renter will make a lump-sum deposit on a rental space, at anywhere from 50% to 80% of the market value. This allow a poor family to have relatively secure housing (although it would be undesirable) while having no money for other essentials.

hocuspocus 7y ago
With interest rates that have been divided by 4-5x in the last 15 years, small deposits and monthly rents aren't that rare anymore. I'm not sure how it affects the poorest families, I imagine that you can stay in a decrepit "villa" on jeonse alone for many years. More often than not, real-estate loses value and it might not be in the landlord's interest to kick you out. But in recent years there are definitely a lot of lower-income families that bought property and got out of jeonse, since it makes no sense anymore.

stebann 7y ago

If you can't get any job then you're done. Even if there're jobs but employers want the prices to fall for a specific occupation, then you're don too. This is not specific to South Korea though. I believe that this situations could get better if HR companies weren't thriving everywhere just cutting down any opportunities for the people with stupid assessments, even universities graduates, and letting the experienced and trained personnel that belong to a business make their calls, but this depends on the business willingness.