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Parasite opens in the Kim family home, a cramped semi-basement apartment in a poor neighborhood of Seoul. Kim Ki-woo, his father Kim Ki-taek, his mother Kim Chung-sook, and his sister Kim Ki-jung earn money by folding pizza boxes and doing other odd jobs. Their home has terrible ventilation, little natural light, and it faces an alley where drunk men often stop to urinate. The family is so strapped for money that they allow fumigation from the street to come through their windows as a chance to get free pest control, despite the choking smoke filling their home. One day, Ki-woo's friend Min-hyuk visits the Kims. He brings a “scholar's rock” as a gift, claiming it can bring wealth to anyone who possesses it. He also tells Ki-woo that he is leaving to study abroad, and that until he returns, he wants him to take over his job tutoring a wealthy girl named Park Da-hye. Min-hyuk trusts Ki-woo to take good care of his former student, especially since he plans to formally date her once she finishes school. Ki-woo agrees, despite lacking any of the formal training he needs for the tutoring job.  

Because Ki-woo never attended university, the Kims forge a diploma for him. He then heads to the luxurious home of the Park family. Mr. Park is a wealthy executive, and his wife, Park Yeon-kyo, seems naive and fixated on the family’s social status. They have two children: Da-hye, a high school student, and Da-song, a younger boy with behavioral issues who sometimes has seizures. Ki-woo gives himself the Western name “Kevin” and charms Yeon-kyo. She hires him immediately. During the interview, she also mentions needing an art therapist for Da-song. Ki-woo, thinking on his feet, immediately suggests Ki-jung for the job without revealing to Yeon-kyo that Ki-jung is his sister. 

Soon after, Ki-jung arrives at the Park house pretending to be an expert art therapist called “Jessica.” She quickly convinces Yeon-kyo that she can nurture Da-song’s artistic side with her own specialized approach. The Park family hires her, still unaware of her real identity. Ki-jung later deliberately leaves her underwear in the car of the Park family’s driver, leading Yeon-kyo to believe the driver has been behaving inappropriately. She fires him, and Ki-taek, who’s in on the scheme and is pretending to be an experienced chauffeur, is then introduced as a possible replacement; he’s also almost immediately hired. Finally, the Kim family targets Moon-gwang, the housekeeper who has worked in the house since the time of the previous owner. She has a serious peach allergy. The Kims trigger an allergic reaction by exposing her to peach fuzz in an elaborate montage scene, and use her coughing fits as evidence to convince Yeon-kyo that she has tuberculosis. Alarmed and paranoid about illness, Yeon-kyo fires Moon-gwang, allowing Chung-sook to take her place as the Parks’ new housekeeper. With this final step, the entire Kim family is now employed by the Parks—each posing as a stranger and pretending not to know the others.  

One weekend, the Park family leaves for a camping trip to celebrate Da-song’s birthday. The Kims take full advantage of the opportunity and move into the house temporarily. They lounge around on the immaculate couches, drink the Parks’ alcohol, eat expensive food, and enjoy all the luxuries their basement home lacks. During their night of celebration, the doorbell rings. Moon-gwang appears, claiming she left something important in the basement. Chung-sook hesitates but eventually lets her in. Moon-gwang rushes to the basement and reveals a hidden door concealed behind a shelf. Behind it lies a secret underground bunker, where her husband, Geun-sae, has been secretly living for years to evade loan sharks. She begs Chung-sook to let her continue caring for him and even offers to pay for the chance. As they argue, the rest of the Kim family accidentally falls down the stairs, exposing their connection. Realizing they’re all related and posing under false identities, Moon-gwang discreetly records a video of them and threatens to send it to the Parks. A struggle breaks out, and the Kims ultimately overpower Moon-gwang and Geun-sae, locking them in the bunker. 

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Yeon-kyo calls Chung-sook. The rain has interrupted their birthday trip, and  they are returning home in eight minutes. The Kims scramble to clean up the mess they have made in the house. Chung-sook prepares food while the others scurry to hide. Moon-gwang manages to escape the bunker and tries to alert the Parks. Chung-sook kicks her back down the stairs, and Moon-gwang sustains a serious head injury as she falls. The Parks decide to sleep in the living room to watch over Da-song, who is camping in the backyard. The remaining Kims are forced to hide under the living room table until they fall asleep. They remain as still and quiet as they can, though they’re increasingly enraged as the Parks talk about Ki-taek’s “subway” smell. The Kims remain awkwardly silent until they can sneak out. They return home to find their basement apartment flooded with sewage due to the heavy rain. Ki-woo, desperate, quickly grabs the scholar’s rock before they evacuate. With no other choices in front of them, the Kim family spends the night in a crowded gymnasium that’s been turned into a temporary public shelter.  

The next day, Yeon-kyo organizes a party for Da-song’s birthday and calls all of the Kims in to help. The Kims have to pretend everything is normal despite the events of the previous night. Ki-woo, still shaken from the flooding and trying to regain control of the situation, brings the scholar’s rock down to the bunker—not with the intention of using it as a weapon, but possibly as a misguided gesture of help or symbolic offering. When he enters and discovers that Moon-gwang's died of her injuries during the night, he's horrified and distracted. At that moment, Geun-sae ambushes him. In the scuffle, Geun-sae seizes the rock from Ki-woo and uses it to brutally bludgeon him in the head, leaving Ki-woo seriously injured and unconscious. 

Afterward, Geun-sae makes his way upstairs and crashes the garden party, stabbing Ki-jung in the chest in front of the stunned guests. Chaos erupts. Da-song sees Geun-sae and immediately begins to have another seizure. Chung-sook kills Geun-sae by stabbing him with a meat skewer. As Ki-taek tries to help his wounded daughter, Mr. Park demands the car keys. Ki-taek throws them, but they land beneath Geun-sae, and when Mr. Park reaches for the keys, he recoils in disgust at Geun-sae’s body odor. In the Mr. Kim—overwhelmed by grief and suddenly enraged by Mr. Park’s reaction to Geun-sae’s body—unexpectedly stabs Mr. Park in the chest, killing him. Mrs. Park faints, and Mr. Kim vanishes in the confusion that follows.   

Ki-woo wakes up in the hospital after spending weeks in a coma. He has undergone brain surgery and now suffers from bouts of uncontrollable laughter. His sister, Ki-jung, has died from her injuries. Ki-woo and his mother are arrested for their role in the incident at the Park house but are ultimately given probation. Ki-taek, however, has disappeared and remains missing. Later, while wandering near the Park home—now owned by a different family—Ki-woo notices the lights flickering in a pattern. Realizing it's Morse code, he deciphers a message from his father, who has been secretly living in the underground bunker, just as Geun-sae once did, surviving off scraps from the new residents. At night, Ki-taek sends signals in the hope that his son will notice. Ki-woo imagines a future where he earns enough money to buy the house and free his father. The film ends with this imagined reunion—before cutting back to the grim reality of Ki-woo alone in the family’s semi-basement apartment. 

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