Misamis University College of Arts and Sciences

Soc Econ 1 – The Contemporary World

Reflection Paper
by Margarette B. Angulo

Parasite - How the Poor Get Poorer and the Rich get Richer

The change brought about by rapidly developing technology is both a blessing and a

curse for Asia. Regions who were able to adapt quickly and capitalize on this rapid growth

in the tech sector were able to amass wealth and influence very quickly. An example for

this is Singapore and it’s rapid development under the leadership of former Prime Minister

Lee Kuan Yew.

While fairly developed countries thrive because of the 4 th Industrial Revolution

(4IR), other Asian countries who heavily relied on their labor market got displaced due to

automation. The reliance on them by other regions significantly declined and their

economic situation has gotten even worse than before. Moreover, these are the very

countries without the means to keep up with the developing technology. This is a sad

reality for developing or third world countries such as the Philippines. This makes the

inequality between countries even more stark.

While on a larger scale it is easy to detach ourselves from these impacts. The Korean

movie Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho depicts the divide between the rich and the poor

vividly on a personal level. The film shows the struggles of the Kim family, a low-class

Korean family and how each of the members of their family got employed one, by one by

the Park family, a family presumed to be part of the top 1%. It beautifully portrays how

different the realities are between the two families, and why the poor stay poor.
 Misamis University College of Arts and Sciences
Soc Econ 1 – The Contemporary World

Reflection Paper
by Margarette B. Angulo

The movie opens showing the Kim family leeching off of the Wi-Fi of a café near

their home when it was suddenly cut as they were about to reply to a potential employer.

Even more depressing was that because they poor, they had their phone lines and mobile

data cut, which was their only way of communicating with their clients and potential future

employers. The trouble they went through and the efforts they made just to find a Wi-Fi

signal beautifully showed exactly how stressful a situation the gap between technological

development is for a poorer region.

Sadly, this hits very close to home for me as a Filipino. During this pandemic where

daily transactions such as shopping and paying bills have been moved online, this gives the

well-off regions and individuals a better edge. Take for example online classes. An upper-

middle class family would be alright with, or possibly even prefer online classes because

they had already invested in devices and internet earlier. This sudden dependence on

technology would barely impact their lifestyle or it might even give them an edge.

While the rich benefit off of this change, a lower-class family would struggle to keep

up in this area. Without having previously acquired a laptop or a stable internet connection,

they will be forced to risk not having dinner on the table for a month and shell out a

relatively huge sum of money to invest on these technologies or to keep on using whatever

technologies they already have and risk not being able to get an education.

It was also made clear in the movie that the head of the Park family, the wealthy

father, was either the owner or the CEO of a tech company. It is evident that the tech
 Misamis University College of Arts and Sciences
Soc Econ 1 – The Contemporary World

Reflection Paper
by Margarette B. Angulo

industry is one of the sectors advantaged by the 4IR. On the other hand, while the other

father, Mr. Kim, not lacking skills nor knowledge was employed by a castellan cake shop,

which is an equivalent to our local bakery. These are one of the industries which are highly

at risk because of the 4IR due to automation and the use of tech instead of labor for certain

job functions. We later learn that the cake shop failed and closed which caused Mr. Kim to

be unemployed.

In our country, the situation is no different. Especially during this pandemic where

the country was forced to quickly adapt to new technologies, we can see which industries

remain strong and which are strongly affected. The tech, communications and digital

service giants have only become stronger while non-tech startups have been hit the most. A

lot of local businesses, especially small ones have struggled with the sudden changes

needed to be made because of the pandemic and have opted to close down instead.

Another point made in the movie is that Kim children were not only smarter, but

more competitive and creative than the Park children. But the movie also made it clear that

even with this advantage, the system we are all in fails the Kim children and will likely set

the Park children up for success for the sole reason of their economic standing. The Park

children are likely to finish college, or even further studies, which will earn them jobs made

due to connections. The Kim children, however had to pretend they were a different social

standing, essentially scamming their way to the to get employed by the Parks. It’s not that

they were not qualified or lacked skill, they just never had the opportunity to earn those
 Misamis University College of Arts and Sciences
Soc Econ 1 – The Contemporary World

Reflection Paper
by Margarette B. Angulo

merits. In one scene, one of the Kim children said as he printed out his fake diploma, “This

isn’t fake, this just came in early. I will earn this degree from this school soon.” That scene

beautifully showed the difference in the realities between the rich and the poor in getting

merit-based job opportunities.

While the entire movie was a beautiful depiction of the class divide in Korea, the

rain scene stands out the most for me. It is a beautiful symbol of how one event has

severely different impacts on the rich and the poor classes. Parasite showed how a

torrential downpour had almost destroyed all of the Kim family’s belongings since their

home was underground, in a semi-basement. They were also forced to evacuate and spend

the night at the neighborhood gymnasium along with other families with the same fate. We

later learn that the Park family was glad that the rain happened because it had saved them

from using the sprinklers because their lawn was getting pretty dry. What the Kim family

went through hell because of the rain, the Park family viewed it as a blessing.

Yes, there are a lot of injustices. And there’s even more with the dawn of the 4 th

Industrial Revolution. This however is not a lost cause. We can always change it. We can

always come up with new policies that support the integration of the lower classes to this

rapidly changing world of ours and hopefully bridge the gap between the two classes.

While sadly, the change happens in the government, the change starts with us realizing that

there is an issue, and that it can be addressed.