Kim Da-hye, a 29-year-old South Korean, stated that shifting right into a Basement Dwellers condominium was her least-preferred possibility when she was searching for a brand new place to reside.
However after a rigorous search and an in depth examination of her funds, she was pressured to accept a “banjiha,” the Korean phrase for a cramped basement flat.
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning movie “Parasite” has introduced banjiha dwellers like Kim to worldwide consideration, because of its depiction of two households — one residing in a semi-basement condominium and the opposite in an ethereal mansion — and the variations of their social standing.
In 2015, round 1.9% of South Koreans lived in semi-basement residences, in response to information from Statistics Korea. It is an reasonably priced alternative for city dwellers in Seoul, probably the most costly cities in Asia.
The residences, which are sometimes cramped and generally squalid, usually price between $210 and $500 a month with a hefty deposit.
Kim, who moved into her $211-a-month banjiha condominium after leaving her job to deal with her mom, isn’t any fan of her present lodging, which flood throughout the wet season.
“Throughout one summer season, I left the home with the window open,” she stated. “Once I got here again, there was water throughout and the partitions have been moist.”
She says that when she dries her laundry, “the partitions get damp and my laundry smells.”
Previous to shifting in, she was very involved in regards to the condominium’s bathroom, which sits a lot larger than the ground in an effort to forestall flooding. “My rest room has stairs similar to that place,” Kim stated, referring to the basement bathroom within the movie that spews out filthy sludge throughout a flood that destroys the home.
“I might slip whereas climbing the steps,” Kim stated, laughing and pointing on the two steep steps resulting in the sq. rest room. She joked that she does not try to go to the toilet when she’s drunk.
Because the condominium is half underground, it’s troublesome for daylight to seep by the window, inflicting the partitions to mould.
“It is easy to see inside from exterior and vice versa,” Kim stated, including that her window additionally invitations mud from vehicles and bikes on the road.
She stated she has combined emotions in regards to the movie regardless of sharing her title — Da-hye — with the daughter of the prosperous household.
“Firstly of the film when a picture flashed of a drunkard who was peeing on the road, I did not discover it humorous,” she stated. “I felt a bit bitter as a result of (the film) had moments I might completely relate to. I had combined emotions as a result of it did not really feel like another person’s story.”
“I assumed it actually resembled actuality,” Kim stated. “(The daddy within the film) wished to climb larger however ended up going decrease than the place he was earlier than. That is just like how I really feel about my future.”
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