Summary
- Parasite is a dark film that tackles themes of class inequality, crime, and violence, resulting in its R-rating.
- The Parasite cast delivers nuanced performances, with Song Kang-ho leading as Kim Ki-taek and Lee Sun-kyun as Park Dong-ik.
- The film features a stellar ensemble, including Cho Yeo-jeong as Choi Yeon-gyo, Choi Woo-shik as Kim Ki-woo, and Park So-dam as Kim Ki-jung, who bring depth to their respective characters.
The Parasite characters feature Bong Joon-ho's most renowned cast, thanks to the global success that the 2019 thriller garnered. From winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes to creating history as the first non-English-language film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture, Parasite introduced its acclaimed writer-director and its Korean-language-speaking cast to a larger audience. Revolving around a poor family's deceptive scheme to gain employment in a rich household, Parasite doubles as an anti-rich satire and an anxiety-inducing thriller. As is the case with Bong Joon-ho movies, Parasite is characterized by drastic tonal shifts, and the SAG Award-winning ensemble makes the best use of these transitions.
From capturing the amusement of mundane everyday activities to going down a dark path of homicidal chaos, the Parasite characters go through a lot. The sheer unpredictability of its plot makes Parasite one of the best movies to switch its style halfway through. Bong's cast plays a pivotal role with their nuanced performances not foreshadowing any of the final shocks. Reuniting with his frequent collaborator Song Kang-ho, the filmmaker assembled a stellar group of acting veterans and then-new faces from his home country. Here's a guide to the Parasite characters, the actors who play them, and what else each actor is known for.
Why Bong Joon-ho's Parasite Was Rated R
Bong Joon-Ho’s thriller film, Parasite, is a dark film with themes of class inequality, crime, and violence, ultimately leading to its R-rating.
Song Kang-ho As Kim Ki-taek
The Patriarch Of The Kim Family
Song Kang-ho leads the Parasite cast as Kim Ki-taek, the patriarch of the Kim family. He's a cheerful person and tries his best to provide for his wife and children even as they dwell in a congested semi-basement flat in Seoul. His aspirations to earn more for his family leads him down a spiral of dark events to Parasite's ending. Song previously collaborated with Bong Joon-ho on three films before being cast in Parasite, playing Detective Park Doo-man in the crime thriller Memories of Murder, snack vendor Park Gang-du in the monster film Host and train designer Namgoong Minsoo in the sci-fi action thriller —and Bong's English-language debut — Snowpiercer.
Many of Song Kang-ho’s best movies are cult favorites in South Korea. Apart from working for Bong, he has also collaborated with renowned Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, acting in three of his films. He appeared in Joint Security Area as Sgt. Oh Kyeong-pil, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance as revenge-seeking father Park Dong-jin, and Thirst as priest-turned-vampire Sang-hyun. Song also portrayed the titular protagonist in the historical action drama A Taxi Driver. After Parasite, he notably appeared in Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Korean-language drama Broker.
Lee Sun-kyun As Park Dong-ik
The Father Of The Park Family
Lee Sun-kyun appears in the Parasite characters as Park Dong-ik, the male head of the Park family. He is a wealthy businessman, and even though he represents the parasitic elite class, he is otherwise a mild-mannered person. After being relegated to minor TV roles, Lee broke out as music producer Choi Han-sung in the romantic series Coffee Prince. In movies, he collaborated with arthouse auteur Hong Sang-soo, playing North Korean student Yoon Kyeong-soo in Night and Day, short film director Nam Jin-gu in Oki’s Movie, and film studies professor Lee Seong-joon in Nobody’s Daughter. He sadly died on December 27, 2023.
Cho Yeo-jeong As Choi Yeon-gyo
The Mother Of The Park Family
The Park family matriarch is a homemaker and mother of two. Despite her efforts to be a caring parent, she can’t form a close bond with her children, relying on servants to take care of them. She's as kind as her husband but can come across as tone-deaf in front of people who are of a lower social status. The character is played in Parasitte by Cho Yeo-jeong, who appeared in the historical romance The Servant as Seong Chunhyang, the heroine of the Korean folktale Chunhyangjeon. She also starred in the erotic romance films The Concubine and Obsessed and the TV shows Divorce Lawyer in Love and I Need Romance.
Choi Woo-shik As Kim Ki-woo
The Son Of The Kim Family
One of the most intelligent Parasite characters, Kim Ki-woo is the Kims’ son who comes up with a plan to infiltrate the Park household. An academically gifted student, he poses as an English tutor to teach the Parks’ daughter, with whom he also starts a romantic relationship. He is highly intelligent but shy and mild-mannered in terms of his personality. The character is played by Choi Woo-shik, who first gained recognition as troubled teenager Yeong-jae in the coming-of-age drama Set Me Free. The Parasite cast member also reached a wider audience with the zombie survival thriller Train To Busan, where he played high school baseball player Min Yong-guk.
Park So-dam As Kim Ki-jung
The Daughter In The Kim Family
The Kims’ daughter and Ki-woo’s sister, Kim Ki-jung gets recruited into the Park household as an art therapist for their younger son. She is skilled at Photoshop to forge documents, and it’s this deception that makes it possible for her brother — and later the rest of her family — to gain employment at the Parks’ residence. She also adds to one of Parasite’s most surprisingly funny moments as she sings a jingle to remember her new alias’s backstory. Apart from Parasite, Park So-dam gained recognition for playing the allegedly demonically possessed girl Young-shin in The Priests and high-school athlete Eun Ha-won in the romantic K-drama Cinderella with Four Knights.
Jang Hye-jin As Kim Chung-sook
The Mother Of The Kim Family
Kim Chung-sook is the matriarch of the Kim family who works as a housekeeper at the Park house. A generally kind-hearted person, Chung-sook is an efficient problem solver and remains calm even in some of the most intense moments of the thriller. Before joining the Parasite cast as Chung-sook, Jang Hye-Jin was known for appearing in the popular Korean romance series Crash Landing on You, in which she played protagonist Dan’s ambitious mother, Ko Myeong-eun. She also collaborated with Korean director Lee Chang-dong, playing Park Myung-Suk in Secret Sunshine, which also starred Parasite's Song Kang-ho. She reunited with the filmmaker for Poetry, being credited as Mr. Kang's second daughter-in-law.
Lee Jung-eun As Gook Moon-gwang
The Parks' Original Housekeeper
Gook Moon-gwang is the Parks’ original housekeeper who is fired from her job after the Kim family orchestrates a complicated plan to oust her. Though she vows vengeance against the Kims, she is otherwise depicted as a caring housekeeper who is loyal to her employers. She has had a deeper connection with the house as she also served its previous owners. Just like Song Kang-ho, Moon-gwang's actress, Lee Jung-eun, is also a frequent collaborator of Bong Joon-ho’s, first appearing as a murdered girl’s relative in Mother and then voicing the titular creature in Okja. She gained further acclaim with her first starring role as time-traveling film director Ji-wan in Hommage.
Park Myung-hoon As Oh Geun-sae
Moon-gwang's Husband
The Parasite cast also features Park Myung-hoon in the role of Oh Geun-sae, Moon-gwang’s husband who secretly lives in the basement of the Parks' house. His shocking reveal sets the stage for Parasite’s disturbing horror-like ending. Oh Geun-sae is strongly devoted to the Park family and shows his gratitude by constantly yelling “Respect." However, his violent rampage also proves his unpredictable persona. The Parasite cast member appeared in the romance TV series Crash Landing on You, in which he played the cheerful North Korean Major General Ko Myeong-seok. He also played the Mint Bureau Director Cho Young-min in the Money Heist spinoff Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area.
Jung Ji-so As Park Da-hye
The Park's Oldest Daughter
Park Da-hye is the elder child of the Park family, learning English under Kim Ki-woo. She initially comes off as a spoiled brat, but it turns out that she cares more about love than her family’s wealth. This is more than evident from her romantic feelings toward her tutor and the moments when she tends to his injuries. Park Da-hye is played in Parasite by Jung Ji-so, who broke out as a child star in May Queen as a younger version of the supporting character Jang In-hwa. She also appeared in the romantic K-drama W, in which she played a younger version of its surgeon protagonist, Oh Yeon-Joo.
Jung Hyeon-jun As Park Da-song
The Park's Youngest Child
The youngest member of the Park family, Park Da-Song is an inquisitive young boy. In fact, it is his curiosity that almost leads to the Parks discovering the Kims' secrets. The character is played by Jung Hyeon-jun, who played Kim Seo-won in the action thriller Special Delivery. That 2022 film found him yet again playing the son of a wealthy man. The Parasite cast member also played the younger versions of the lead characters in several shows, including Bad Prosecutor, Moonshine, The King: Eternal Monarch, and Sisyphus: The Myth. He also starred in the mystery thriller series Mine as a top actress's stepson, Han Ha-joon.