Seoul City Councilor Kim In-ho Praises the Remarkable Success of the Film 'Parasite'

"Political Sphere Ahead of General Election Must Propose Alternatives and Communicate on Inequality Highlighted by Semi-Basement Living"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim In-ho, a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Democratic Party, Dongdaemun 3), praised the film Parasite, which showed remarkable achievements at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards, and expressed his admiration for the film industry personnel who returned home triumphantly on the 12th.

The film Parasite won four major awards including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards held in Hollywood, USA on February 10, delivering a fresh shock to the world.

In particular, it became the first 'non-English language' and 'Asian' film to win Best Picture, setting numerous 'first' records.

Previously, at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival in May 2019, Parasite also won the Palme d'Or (Best Picture), making it a rare film to simultaneously win both Cannes and the Academy Awards for the first time in 64 years since the 1955 American film Marty.

The four major wins of Parasite at the Academy Awards were an achievement that neither film experts nor foreign media had anticipated.

As director Bong Joon-ho stated in an interview with the New York cultural magazine Vulture in October 2019, "The Oscars are local," it was extremely rare for foreign films, especially Asian films, to win awards at the Oscars.

Therefore, the four major wins of Parasite at the Academy Awards attracted global attention as it signaled a groundbreaking change in the Academy Awards worldwide.

In fact, director Bong Joon-ho expressed respect for the Academy's change by saying, upon receiving the Best International Feature Film award, "I support and applaud the direction the Oscars are pursuing."

Councilor Kim In-ho praised, "The four major wins of Parasite at the Academy Awards is a great achievement that demonstrated the strength of Korean cinema to the world," and added, "I am grateful that it provided positive energy to the public as a case that brilliantly overcame the discrimination and prejudice prevalent in our society."

He also said, "The semi-basement life of our country witnessed by the world through the film had significant implications," and added, "I hope our society, which experiences wealth disparity and inequality daily, will face each other and communicate for better alternatives and policies."

Especially, he emphasized, "The political circles ahead of the 21st general election should pay more attention to the great achievement of Parasite, a film depicting structural wealth disparity, which gained empathy worldwide and simultaneously won at Cannes and the Academy Awards," and stated, "It is time to consider what the people who deeply resonate with the pride in the development of Korean cinema and the message of the film truly need."