Where Is the Rich House in 'Parasite' Filmed?

Cho Yeo-jeong plays rich matriarch Yeon-kyo in CJ Entertainment's 'Parasite' (2019).

The world of "Parasite" is not too far off from real, everyday life in South Korea. The subterranean, subhuman banjiha homes in the movie, contrasted against the hillside mansions of the upper crust, show the wide canyon between the country's haves and have-nots.

Going from the gritty streets of Seoul to its posh neighborhoods is a tough hill to climb, figuratively and literally. Yes, I scaled the steep roads of Seongbuk-gu, one of the city's most luxurious enclaves, in search of Park Dong-ik's house.

In case you're wondering, the Parks' fictional address is at 18, Seonjam-ro 8-gil, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul (서울특별시 성북구 선잠로8길 18).

Walking the path of Kim Ki-woo, I was immediately reminded of my place in life. I sweated bullets as I passed imposing gates that looked like they could easily hide a chaebol or two. Luxury cars sped by, navigating the incline with ease while this stranger faced an uphill battle. 

Arriving at my destination, I realized I was not only in an affluent district. This was home to the rich and the powerful. 

That memorable shot of Choi Woo-shik, flanked by towering, ivy-covered walls, was just outside the Residence of the Ambassador of Türkiye. 

Outside the lofty fences, you couldn't tell director Bong Joon Ho actually created a dedicated set somewhere else to house the fictional Park family. 

While the Turkish ambassador's house loomed over the location shooting, the Park family's house was primarily a constructed set in Jeonju, over 100 miles from Seoul. The production team built the first floor, with a view to the garden, on an empty lot while the second-floor interiors and basement were erected on a soundstage at a film studio. 

The second-floor exterior was added through computer-generated imagery, using over 400 visual effects shots to give the whole thing a semblance of a multistory house.

Besides the dark upstairs-downstairs dynamic, the set is known for the strategic placement of clean vertical lines, creating visual divisions onscreen between the broke and the bounteous. 

Production designer Lee Ha Jun summed it up best when he said the team had to construct a house "so real that the audience could accept the idea the characters were actually living in it." 

What's scary is that audiences won't just buy into this idea of a real-life house. At some point in the movie, they might actually want to buy it and live in it. 

That's a parasite that burrows into the mind.