FILM · 2019 · SOUTH KOREA
Parasite
- Directed by
- Bong Joon Ho
- Runtime
- 133 min
- Studio
- Barunson E&A
- Original title
- 기생충
42 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Summary: TMDB
19 Facts From the Making of Parasite
- #001
The idea for Parasite began in 2013, when a theatre actor friend encouraged Bong Joon Ho to write a play while he was working on Snowpiercer.
- #002
Bong Joon Ho drew on his early twenties experience as a tutor for the son of a wealthy Seoul family, considering turning it into a stage production.
- #003
Bong Joon Ho chose the title Parasite for its double meaning and had to convince the film's marketing group to use it.
- #005
Han Jin-won, Bong Joon Ho's production assistant on Snowpiercer, expanded that treatment into three separate drafts of the Parasite screenplay.
- #006
Bong Joon Ho returned to Parasite after finishing Okja and completed the script.
- #007
Han Jin-won is credited as a co-writer of Parasite.
- #008
Bong Joon Ho cited the 1960 Korean "domestic Gothic" film The Housemaid as an influence on Parasite, noting its story of a middle-class family whose stability is threatened by a disruptive household helper.
- #009
The story of Christine and Léa Papin, two live-in maids who murdered their employers in 1930s France, was an influence on Parasite according to Bong Joon Ho.
- #010
Bong Joon Ho's own experience tutoring for a wealthy family informed Parasite; he described feeling as though he was infiltrating the private lives of strangers and imagined friends doing the same one by one. Moon-gwang's peach allergy was inspired by a university friend of Bong's who had that allergy.
- #015
Principal photography on Parasite started on 18 May 2018 and wrapped on 19 September.
- #016
Parasite was filmed in and around Seoul and in Jeonju.
- #021
As part of scripting Parasite, Bong Joon Ho designed the home's basic layout, describing it as its own universe in which each character and team has spaces to take over, infiltrate and keep secret.
- #032
Parasite was made for a colour release, but a black and white version was completed before the film's world premiere at Cannes.
- #033
The monochrome edition of Parasite premiered on 26 January 2020 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
- #034
The black and white version of Parasite was shown again at the International Film Festival Rotterdam from 29 to 31 January 2020.
- #035
The monochrome version of Parasite also received a limited release in some countries.
- #039
The soundtrack for Parasite was released in Korea in digital and physical formats by Genie Music and Stone Music Entertainment on 30 May 2019.
- #040
Milan Records issued the Parasite soundtrack internationally on 11 October 2019.
- #042
Sacred Bones Records, a division of the American film production company Neon, and Waxwork Records released the Parasite soundtrack on double-vinyl in multicolour variants on 14 February 2020.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Parasite (2019 film) — Wikipedia
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work