18/08/2026
For some, heavy rains clear up the sky. For others, heavy rains sweep away everything they have—their homes, their belongings, and the last piece of dignity they are trying to hold on to.
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The rain may fall on everyone, but it does not affect everyone the same way. The Korean film Parasite captured this divide so painfully.
When I first saw the scene where a wealthy family expressed gratitude for the rain that washed away the pollution, I only saw it as a portrayal of privilege—a family that could appreciate the storm because they were protected from its consequences.
Years later, I realized it could also be seen as a reflection of how people with comfort and power can become disconnected from the realities faced by those who struggle the most.
This sentiment echoes what B**g Joon Ho, the director of Parasite, said about the scene: we are all aware of the gap between the rich and the poor. But what is even more frightening is the fear that this divide will remain unresolved in the future.
That fear becomes even more painful when those with the power to create change fail to understand the urgency of the problems that need to be addressed. When you have never stood in floodwaters, never feared that rising waters could take your home or your life, it becomes easier to see floods as numbers and statistics instead of a nightmare that forces people to choose what they can save and what they have to leave behind.
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Here’s to hoping that one day, B**g Joon Ho’s Parasite will no longer feel relevant—not because its message has been forgotten, but because the reality it reflects no longer exists.
Perhaps, as a nation, we can start by putting the right people in power.