The best dialogues from the movie Parasite include Ki-taek’s “You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all”, Chung-sook’s “Nice because she is rich”, Ki-woo’s “It’s so metaphorical” and Geun-se’s “Respect!” Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film uses these lines to turn a con-family comedy into a sharp story about class.
Parasite follows the poor Kim family as they get jobs, one by one, with the wealthy Park family by posing as unrelated, qualified workers. Bong Joon-ho co-wrote it with Han Jin-won. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2019, the first South Korean film to do so, and in February 2020 it became the first non-English-language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
Quick facts about Parasite (2019)
| Director | Bong Joon-ho |
| Cast | Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Lee Jung-eun, Jang Hye-jin |
| Oscars | Four wins: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature |
| Box office | About US$262 million worldwide on a budget of about US$11 million |
| Where to watch in India | Listed on Vi Movies and TV by JustWatch India (October 2026) |
The Kims and the Parks: who’s who
- Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho): the Kim father, hired as the Parks’ driver.
- Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin): the Kim mother, hired as housekeeper.
- Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik): the son, the English tutor.
- Ki-jung (Park So-dam): the daughter, posing as art therapist Jessica.
- Dong-ik (Lee Sun-kyun) and Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong): Mr and Mrs Park.
- Moon-gwang (Lee Jung-eun) and Geun-se (Park Myung-hoon): the former housekeeper and her husband.
20 best dialogues from the movie Parasite
1. “You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all.”
Who says it: Ki-taek. Ki-taek says this to Ki-woo in the flooded gymnasium shelter. It is the film’s bleakest joke: when life keeps flattening you, not planning is the only way to avoid disappointment.
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2. “We are all gathered here today to celebrate the reconnection of our phones and this bounteous wifi.”
Who says it: Ki-taek. An early toast in the semi-basement flat after the family finds a free wifi signal. It sets up the Kims as broke but funny, and very good at making do.
3. “When it comes to English, you can teach 10 times better than those drunken college pricks.”
Who says it: Min-hyuk. Ki-woo’s friend Min-hyuk, played by Park Seo-joon, talks him into taking over his tutoring job with the Park family. Everything that follows starts with this pitch.
4. “I don’t think of this as forgery or a crime. I just printed out a document a bit early.”
Who says it: Ki-woo. Ki-woo justifies the fake university certificate his sister made for him. He plans to get into the university next year, so in his head it is just early paperwork.
5. “It’s so metaphorical.”
Who says it: Ki-woo. Ki-woo says this about the scholar’s rock Min-hyuk gifts the family. The line became a meme, and the rock keeps coming back in the story in ways that are anything but metaphorical.
6. “The perspective of a young artist eludes understanding.”
Who says it: Ki-woo. Ki-woo uses this to sell his sister as an art therapist to Mrs Park, and it works perfectly on a mother anxious about her son.
7. “The lower right region of a painting is called the schizophrenia zone.”
Who says it: Ki-jung. Posing as art therapist Jessica, Ki-jung studies Da-song’s painting and makes up a confident diagnosis on the spot. Mrs Park is completely sold.
8. “This is all a black box in Da-song’s mind. Would you like to open that box with me?”
Who says it: Ki-jung. Ki-jung’s next line in the same con. Park So-dam plays it with such calm authority that the scam feels believable.
9. “People who ride the subway have a special smell.”
Who says it: Dong-ik. Mr Park says this about Ki-taek while the Kims are hiding under the table. The comment about smell becomes the film’s sharpest symbol of class contempt.
10. “He won’t be working for us anymore. A slightly shameful incident.”
Who says it: Yeon-kyo. Mrs Park explains the old driver’s sudden exit, which the Kims engineered. Her polite phrasing hides how quickly the rich discard staff.
11. “It may look simple, but it’s one of the fundamentals.”
Who says it: Ki-taek. Ki-taek shows off his driving skills to win Mr Park’s trust. A small line, but it shows how carefully the family performs competence.
12. “To extract a woman like that, we need to prepare well.”
Who says it: Ki-jung. Ki-jung plans how to get rid of Moon-gwang, the long-serving housekeeper. The family’s scheming turns from comic to cruel here.
13. “If he hears I brought a TB patient into our home, I will be hanged and quartered!”
Who says it: Yeon-kyo. Mrs Park panics after being told Moon-gwang has tuberculosis, which the Kims staged with peach fuzz and hot sauce. She fires her immediately.
14. “What the hell is ram-don?”
Who says it: Chung-sook. Chung-sook asks this when Mrs Park calls with a last-minute request for ram-don, an instant noodle dish served with expensive Hanwoo beef. The dish became one of the film’s most talked-about details.
15. “If we put all four of our salaries together? The amount of cash coming from that house is immense!”
Who says it: Ki-taek. Ki-taek counts what the family earns once all four have jobs with the Parks. It is the high point of their success, just before the plan falls apart.
16. “After four years of hiding, those creditors are still after him.”
Who says it: Moon-gwang. Moon-gwang reveals that her husband Geun-se has been living in the hidden bunker under the house to escape loan sharks. The film changes completely from this point.
17. “Not ‘rich but still nice.’ Nice because she is rich.”
Who says it: Chung-sook. Ki-taek calls Mrs Park rich but still nice, and his wife corrects him. She adds that money is like an iron that smooths out all the creases.
18. “Honey, the send button is like a missile launcher.”
Who says it: Geun-se. Geun-se warns Moon-gwang as she threatens to send the video exposing the Kims. A tense standoff turns darkly funny.
19. “Da-song saw a ghost in the house when he was in first grade.”
Who says it: Yeon-kyo. Mrs Park tells this story about her son’s trauma. The ghost turns out to be the man in the basement, one of the film’s best reveals.
20. “Respect!”
Who says it: Geun-se. Geun-se’s repeated tribute to Mr Park, whom he has never met but thanks for keeping him alive. He taps it out in Morse code with his head on the light switch.
Parasite in 2026
Parasite remains Bong Joon-ho’s biggest success. His next film, the English-language science fiction comedy Mickey 17 starring Robert Pattinson, released in March 2025. Lee Sun-kyun, who played Mr Park, died in December 2023, and the film is often revisited as one of his finest performances.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous line from Parasite?
“You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all.” Ki-taek says it to his son in the flood shelter, and it sums up the film’s view of poverty.
What does “It’s so metaphorical” mean in Parasite?
Ki-woo says it about the scholar’s rock gifted to his family, which he sees as a symbol of wealth. The phrase became a popular meme after the film’s success.
How many Oscars did Parasite win?
Four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film, at the Academy Awards held in February 2020.
Where can I watch Parasite in India?
JustWatch India lists Parasite on Vi Movies and TV as of October 2026. Streaming rights change often, so check before you plan a watch.
Sources: Wikipedia: Parasite (2019 film), JustWatch India: Parasite, Wikipedia: 92nd Academy Awards.
