Parasite exploded this past weekend on Oscar night when it became the first international film to win four Academy Awards, including the coup de grace, Best Picture. The film centers on two families, one poor and one rich and the interactions between them that end explosively.
Each character in Parasite is unique, but they definitely differ in levels of intelligence. Here are our rankings of the most intelligent and least intelligent characters. (Note: One of these ranked characters is a huge spoiler for one of the plot’s biggest twists, so if you still haven’t seen Parasite, get on it and then come back and read this!).
Min-hyuk, Ki-woo’s Friend
Min-hyuk is a friend to the Kim family, primarily Ki-woo. Min-hyuk offers Ki-woo his tutoring job while he’s away noting that the family of the girl he tutors is not necessarily the best judge of character. Min-hyuk believes that Ki-woo poses no threat to his chances of eventually connecting with his student, Da-hye, and he knows that Ki-woo needs the money, so it is a kind gesture.
It is a rather short-sighted one on his part because not only does Ki-woo end up pursuing Da-hye, but he ruins any possible opportunity to tutor for the Park family again. Maybe you’re the one who isn’t a good judge of character, Min.
Yeon-gyo, Mother Of The Park Family
Yeon-gyo is a well-meaning mother and wife, but she’s rather gullible. Not only does she completely fall for Ki-woo’s masquerading as an English tutor to Da-hye, but she proceeds to hire every other member of the Kim family without doing very much due diligence. She is easily deceived by Ki-jeong’s framing of the Park family chauffeur as explained by Dong-ik.
She is also too easily swayed by Ki-taek’s fakery of Moon-gwang’s supposed tuberculosis diagnosis. You would think that maybe before you hire someone else, you stop to think if maybe your household staff is disappearing faster than usual?
Dong-ik, Father Of The Park Family
Honestly, it may be a tie between Dong-ik and Yeon-gyo here as they both fall for the deceptions of Ki-jeong and the rest of the Kim family. Dong-ik isn’t a terrible guy, but he isn’t a great one either. He’s pretty checked out as to what’s going on in his home until it’s ready to smack him in the face.
We can’t blame him too much for developing such trust in Ki-taek that he doesn’t see his impending death coming right for him. But that he doesn’t press Yeon-gyo for replacing Moon-gwang, who has been with the family for quite some time is really when his fate is sealed.
Geun-sae, Moon-gwang’s Husband
Guen-sae may not be the brightest of the bunch, but he’s not entirely an idiot either. Guen-sae manages to get the jump on Ki-woo after he fails to murder Guen-sae with the rock given by Min. But rather than simply getting out of the Park house and trying to make it in the outside world, he goes on a rampage at the party for Da-song.
Perhaps he had just gone crazy, but choosing to go after more of the Kim family guaranteed that he would either be killed himself or that he’d land behind bars. Managing to never get caught up to that point, though, was definitely a feat on its own merits, even if it was in a basement.
Da-song, Son Of The Park Family
There is more to Da-song than meets the eye. He may be the youngest of the Park family, but he is by no means the dumbest. He almost outs the Kim family on their scheme when he realizes that both Ki-taek and Chung-sook smell the same. But, probably because of his age, his parents don’t take his observation very seriously, to their ultimate doom. Da-song was perhaps the only hope the Park family had and still they collapsed.
Ki-woo, Son Of The Kim Family
Ki-woo is what really gets the Kim family through the Park family’s door. It is his success in passing as a competent English tutor that allows him to invite Ki-jeong into the home and so on. He also does a great job in coaching his father’s performance for Yeon-gyo so that she will get rid of Moon-gwang.
Ki-woo makes some rather poor choices, too, though. Trying to make long term plans for him to eventually marry Da-hye are laughed off by his family. More importantly, his failure to dispose of Geun-sae with the rock eventually proves to be not only his undoing but both the Park and Kim families alike.
Moon-gwang, The Housekeeper
Moon-gwang is pretty remarkable in that she has not only managed to ward off people from taking her job up until the Kim family, but she has also managed to keep her husband hidden in the Park family basement for a long time. Moon-gwang may first appear as an easy person to take advantage of, but when she returns to the Park family’s home to care for her sick husband, we see that she didn’t get to where she is by chance. If not for the homicidal tendencies of the Kim family, she may well have lasted longer.
Chung-sook, Mother Of The Kim Family
Chung-sook, the Kim family matriarch, not only knows how to be a good housekeeper but also knows when to call her family members out when they’re full of it. However, she makes a grave mistake by letting Moon-gwang back into the Park family home, thereby unleashing a Pandora’s box she can’t close. She does an excellent job getting the house back in order before the Park family returns and discovers Moon-gwang and her husband, but she’s unable to stop what’s coming by then.
Ki-taek, Father Of The Kim Family
Ki-taek may be out of work, but he’s no dummy. He has the hardest part to play in getting rid of Moon-gwang. Not only does he have to create suspicion about her, but he has to then convince Yeon-gyo to dispose of Moon-gwang without actually advocating for it. Yes, he receives help from Ki-jeong and Ki-woo with the peaches, but he is the one who must do the talking afterward.
His decision to kill Mr. Park at the end is a shocking and perhaps poor one, but not entirely unjustified. That he also manages to go into hiding in the Park’s basement as did Geun-sae is pretty impressive given all the people that had to be going in and out of the house.
Ki-jeong, Daughter Of The Kim Family
Ki-jeong is usually one step ahead of Ki-woo and really solidifies getting the Kim family into the Park family home. Yes, it wouldn’t have taken as much skill as she demonstrated to convince Yeon-gyo to be Da-song’s new art therapist, but she plays the part so well that it positions her charge an exorbitant sum of money.
And by the time she’s left the Park family home, she is already making her next play by taking off her underwear and hiding them discreetly, but not so discreet that they can’t be found by Dong-ik. She is seamless in her execution and rarely makes a misstep.
