To judge by Parasite - Bong Joon-ho's Golden Globe-winning portrait of three Seoul families thrown into queasy proximity by the country's wealth divide - South Korea is an Asian version of Brazil or South Africa.
The poor in Bong's black comedy are unable to escape the bottom of the heap - living in overcrowded basement apartments, or even (in a horrifying twist) farther below ground. The wealthy enjoy a life of careless riches and open skies in Seoul's hilly outskirts, cosseted by armies of staff whom they hold in thinly veiled contempt.
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