Ki-taek: They are rich but still nice.

 

Chung-sook: They’re nice because they’re rich.

This short exchange occurs after the Kim family has fully infiltrated the Park household. Ki-taek comments on how kind the Park family seems, and Chung-sook’s response cuts to the heart of the film’s message about wealth and morality. Her statement suggests that the Parks’ kindness isn’t a reflection of good character—rather, the Parks can afford to be nice, and their “niceness” is a side effect of their financial security and luxurious lifestyle. They are able be polite and even generous because they have never felt desperate or defensive. This moment forces the audience to consider how privilege can shape behavior. The Kims, who live in a cramped, semi-basement apartment and survive on precarious gigs, don’t have the luxury of always being “nice.”

The line also hints at how superficial the Parks’ goodness is. They aren’t deliberately or overtly cruel, but they are also utterly uninterested in the general well-being of their employees, and they never acknowledge the humanity of those they consider “below” them. Mr. Park never learns the names of his employees’ relatives, and he casually mocks Ki-taek's body odor. Mrs. Park is quick to panic about possible illness in her home but doesn’t show any concern about Moo-gwang after she has an allergic reaction to peach fuzz (beyond her concern for how Moo-gwang's health could affect her own family). Ki-taek and Chung-sook’s exchange emphasizes that it’s easy to appear generous when you have never had to struggle or suffer. 

 This is so metaphorical.

Ki-woo says this line jokingly when Min-hyuk gives him the scholar’s rock, a supposed symbol of prosperity and academic success. The line is ironic—he’s calling attention to the rock’s symbolic weight even as he literally holds it—but it also becomes one of the film’s most significant moments. Ki-woo wants to believe the rock can change his family’s fate, and as the film unfolds, the rock reappears as a symbol of his hope for upward mobility: he clings to it during the flood, then finally releases it into the river, symbolizing the collapse of that dream. What begins as a joke becomes a deeper truth—Parasite suggests that the rock, as well as the Kim family’s attempts to climb the social ladder, are powerless against the harsh realities of poverty and class.

It’s a rich person’s house. We have to act like we belong.

Ki-jung makes this comment while coaching her family how to behave during their early days in the Park home. Her statement points to how deeply ingrained the idea of class performance is in the story of Parasite. The Kims don’t just lie about their identities, they carefully study ways to appeal to the Parks: how to speak with confidence, how to move through the house as if they belong there, and (for Ki-woo and Ki-jung) how to convincingly talk about therapy and college. This quote shows that Ki-jung understands that social acceptance depends on successfully keeping up appearances. As long as the Kims can “fake it,” they can “make it,” and the Parks won’t look beyond the facade. The line also points to how much effort the Kims must expend in maintaining that illusion. Unlike the Parks, they can never relax into who they really are; doing so would risk exposing everything.

You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all.

 Ki-taek delivers this line after the flood destroys the Kim family’s home, forcing them to take shelter in a crowded emergency public shelter. This pessimistic moment shows the extent of Ki-taek’s disillusionment. Earlier in the movie, the Kims’ carefully crafted plan to infiltrate the Park household seems to be working—until Moon-gwang’s unexpected return threatens to expose their lies. Faced with the imminent failure of their scheme, Ki-taek concludes that planning is futile. For poor families like the Kims, even the best plans can fall apart without warning. While the upper class can rely on their wealth and privilege to protect them, the poor are often vulnerable to forces beyond their control, making hope itself feel like a risk they might as well not take.

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