'Parasite' effect: Seoul city government to help families living in semi-basement apartments
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Bong Joon Ho's 'Parasite' effectively showed the wide gap that exists between the rich and the poor and now the film has to lead to authorities in Seoul to take note of those living in the city's semi-basement apartments.
Good cinema not only entertains, inspires but also acts as an agent of social change. On February 9, South Korean film 'Parasite' created history at Oscars by becoming the first non-English language film to win the coveted Best Picture award.
Since then, the film has been a point of discussion across the world. Filmmaker Bong Joon Ho's film effectively showed the wide gap that exists between the rich and the poor and now the film has lead to authorities in Seoul to take note of those living in the city's semi-basement apartments similar to how the poor family lived in Bong's film. Read 'Parasite' film review here.
According to a report in the Korea Herald, the Seoul City government will financially support 1,500 households living in semi-basement apartments and help them to improve their living conditions.
Semi-basement apartments are in fact quite common in the city of Seoul as they are affordable options for the urban population. According to reports, nearly 78 per cent of those living in such apartments are from the low-income bracket.
There were approximately 383,000 semi-basement apartments in South Korea, with 59.5 per cent of them in the capital itself.
These spaces are cramped, damp and smelly due to lack of ventilation and sunlight. In summers, these dwellings get majorly affected due to floods- a fact that was accurately depicted in 'Parasite'.
The government aid is part of the city’s ongoing project to repair old apartments. Authorities reportedly will be giving priority to improve these semi-basement apartments first.