The Parks' House
The Parks' house is an architectural marvel, the image of austere and stylish wealth. It is minimally furnished, with a huge window looking out into a pristine yard. Bong Joon-ho had the house built especially for the film, and wanted it to fit his image of the Parks' opulent life perfectly.
The Bunker
Contrasting with the Parks' beautiful and spacious home is the secret bunker in the basement, a concrete cell at the bottom of several long flights of stairs. It is the antithesis of the Parks' home, a utilitarian holding pen built for emergencies, and the image of the desperate Geun-sae's life down there shows us the vast difference between the lives of the poor and the wealthy.
Flood
When Ki-taek, Ki-woo, and Ki-jung escape from the Parks' house and return to their neighborhood, they find it completely flooded with sewage water, and they must wade through the depths of brackish liquid to salvage some of their personal belongings. Perhaps the most memorable image within this sequence is that of Ki-jung sitting on top of the toilet seat, which is spewing septic water, and lighting up a cigarette.
Party violence
The imagery of Geun-sae attacking Ki-jung in the middle of the beautiful party in the backyard is terrifying and evocative. In the midst of the creams and pastels of the clothing of the party guests, the sight of the bloody-faced man wielding a kitchen knife is particularly horrifying and disruptive.
