'Parasite' Filming Location Designated as Tourist Attraction, Who Is Responsible for Residents' Inconvenience?

Movie 'Parasite' Wins 4 Awards at the 92nd Academy Awards
Seoul City Plans Tourist Routes for 'Parasite' Filming Locations
Citizens Concerned About "Trash and Noise Damage Burdening Residents"
Seoul Tourism Foundation Plans Measures Including "Quiet Tourism Campaign"

Filming location of the movie 'Parasite.' 'Dwaeji Ssalg Super' located in Mapo-gu, Seoul / Photo by Mayena PD sw93yena@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] The film "Parasite," directed by Bong Joon-ho, won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards in the United States, and some of its filming locations are being developed into tourist courses. However, controversy has arisen as these courses include residential areas, with concerns about privacy invasion due to visitors to the tourist routes.

On the 9th (local time), Director Bong won four major awards at the Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Foundation announced on the 13th that they plan to introduce four filming locations of "Parasite" in Seoul and develop a tourist course linking these with filming locations from other works by Director Bong. The main filming sites disclosed by the foundation include Dwaeji Ssalsuper in Mapo-gu, the stairs in the neighborhood of Ki-taek (played by Song Kang-ho), the stairs at Jahamun Tunnel in Jongno-gu, and Sky Pizza in Dongjak-gu.

Joo Yong-tae, Director of Tourism and Sports at Seoul City, said in a press release, "The major filming locations of 'Parasite' in Seoul have become a pilgrimage course visited by fans not only from Korea but also from abroad, creating a syndrome and representing Hallyu tourism itself," adding, "We will actively strive to make this an opportunity to inject new vitality into our tourism market."

Filming location of the movie 'Parasite'.
Photo by Mayena PD sw93yena@asiae.co.kr

Some movie fans expressed excitement, saying, "It's great to be able to visit the filming locations of a favorite movie in person," while some residents voiced concerns, saying, "It could cause inconvenience to the existing residents."

This is because residents bear the brunt of issues such as trash, noise, and smoking caused by outsiders and tourists.

In fact, the filming location of the globally popular movie "Joker" last year faced similar controversy. Tourists flocked to a stairway in the Bronx, New York, famous for the scene where Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix) dances down wearing a red suit, causing discomfort among local residents.

According to local media, signs and flyers stating "No filming by residents" and "No entry" were posted at the stairs. As conflicts between tourists and residents deepened, an incident occurred where a resident threw raw eggs at tourists.

Filming location of the movie 'Parasite'. 219 Jahamun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul / Photo by Mayena PD sw93yena@asiae.co.kr

A 25-year-old office worker, A, said, "Of course, even if Seoul City does not designate it as a tourist site, people will still go," but added, "However, developing the area into a tourist course to attract domestic and foreign tourists is a completely different matter."

Another office worker, B, aged 29, expressed a negative view, saying, "Rather than revitalizing the local economy, existing residents might end up being pushed out."

B said, "I saw an interview with the owner of one of the filming location supermarkets, and they said that people just come to take pictures and leave, so there is no actual financial benefit," adding, "In the end, people visit the area to take photos for SNS. This will not help the local economy, and even if the local economy improves, it will inevitably lead to gentrification as outsiders with capital move in."

Some have also argued that this is a form of "poverty porn," a kind of voyeuristic consumption of poverty. Citizens pointed out that since the areas were depicted as slums in the movie, the residents living there might be unfairly labeled as "poor."

One netizen commented, "People who visit the filming locations after watching the movie naturally associate the place with the movie's image," adding, "Designating poverty as a tourist product is strange, and exhibiting the actual lives of residents as 'poverty' is a serious problem."

Filming location of the movie 'Parasite'. Photo by Mayena PD sw93yena@asiae.co.kr

The foundation stated that it plans to prepare measures to minimize residents' inconvenience.

Park Jin-hyuk, head of the Tourism Content Team at the Seoul Tourism Foundation, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 14th, "We plan to promote a quiet tourism campaign for future visitors by February," adding, "We are also considering producing a video including quiet tourism guidelines to inform tourists about related matters."

He added, "In places like Bukchon and Ihwa-dong, quiet tourism campaigns have been ongoing for some time, and in Bukchon, visiting hours for tourists are designated," emphasizing, "We are not planning to implement this immediately but will proceed step-by-step considering the number of tourists."