Bong’s ‘Parasite’ focuses on plight of South Korea’s poor

South Koreans are reveling in writerdirector Bong Joon Ho’s dark comic thriller, “Parasite,” which won this year’s Academy Awards for best film and best international feature. The movie itself, however, doesn’t put the country in a particularly positive light.

No doubt, the international acclaim for “Parasite,” which also won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival last May, highlights South Korea’s emergence as a global cultural power, a reflection of decades of focus on building world-class industries in one of the most vibrant democracies in Asia.

But it also hints at an uncomfortable truth: While the national successes have been spectacular — from Samsung’s rise as a global economic powerhouse to the explosion of K-pop in Asia and beyond — many South Koreans recognize that there’s been a dark side to that rise. Only a few years ago, Bong himself was blacklisted by the government, and the characters in his film reflect a society where many feel intense hopelessness.

South Korea’s rapid emergence from the devastation of the 1950-53 Korean War also saw a bloody transition from dictatorship to democracy. Its association with neat smartphones and cars came amid a constant threat from nuclear North Korea. For every international success, there’s also widespread worry that South Korea will forever be overshadowed by regional giants Russia, China and Japan.

But “Parasite”’s main characters portray South Koreans who have been left behind by the country’s dramatic changes. It’s a biting commentary on deepening inequality and other problems that have many young and poor people describing their lives as a hellish nightmare.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who frequently praises mega-popular K-pop boy band BTS, tweeted that he’s grateful to Bong for “giving courage and pride to our people overcoming difficulties.”