![Ki Taek From "Parasite" Driving screenshot from the 2019 film parasite](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/mobile/000/034/738/kang.jpg)
Ki Taek From "Parasite" Driving
Part of a series on Parasite. [View Related Entries]
This submission is currently being researched & evaluated!
You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation.
About
Ki Taek Driving is a reaction image macro series featuring a frame from the 2019 Korean thriller film Parasite. In the film, a wealthy family hires the character Ki Taek as their chauffeur, who must endure their dehumanizing and belittling behavior, particularly in regard to his body odor. The meme features one instance in which the character Yeon Kyo discussing his smell on the phone as Ki Taek drives her. Online, people use the image of Taek driving her to express feelings of class resentment.
Origin
On May 21st, 2019, the film Parasite premiered at the Cannes film festival in France. In the film, the character Yeon Kyo (played by Yeo-jeong Jo) and her family hire the character Ki Taek (played by Kang-ho Song) as their chauffeur.[1] In one scene, as Ki Taek drives, Yeon Kyo talks about on the phone about the weather as she holds her nose. Ki Taek notices her disgust and smells himself (clip below).
Following the film's release later, screenshots and GIFs from the scene began appearing online. On August 15th, 2019, for example, Tumblr [2] user @bongjoonsho shared a GIF story from the scene, intercutting it with other thematically-related moments from the movie. The post received more than 40,000 notes in less than one year (shown below).
Spread
Over the next year, the image continued to spread on Tumblr, particularly after the release of Gal Gadot's "Imagine" Video. On March 19th, Redditor Benjamin372 posted an edited version of the image in the /r/moviescirclejerk[4] subreddit, adding Gal Gadot's head to the image and referencing the video as a criticism of class divides. The post received more than 6.400 points (100% upvoted) and 100 comments in less than four months (shown below, left). The following day, Tumblr[3] user radicalgeni-tales shared an object labeling meme that uses the image and references the video. The post received more than 26,000 notes in less than six months (shown below, center).
On March 22nd, Imgur [5] jrabbitmusic posted an object labeling meme that references the $1,200 stimulus checks from the U.S. government to offset the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The post received more than 136,000 views and 2,300 upvotes in less than four months (shown below, right).
![Gal Godot in back](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/279/67a.jpg)
![celebrities singing imagine ALL OF US CELEBRITIES SINGING "IMAGINE" imgflip.com](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/281/c39.jpg)
![One stimulus check one (1) check for $1200 trillion dollar corporate slushfund](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/276/e8d.jpeg)
Various Examples
![Ellen really is the worst brain genius @Millerheighife · Apr 7 Ellen really is the worst. Mike Sington @MikeSington · Apr 6 Ellen does her first show from home: "Being in quarantine is like being in jail. It's mostly because l've been wearing the same clothes for ten days and everyone in here is gay." elentube 85 17 538 9K my life in the bush of posts @funtimesusa Replying to @Millerheighife 7:00 AM · Apr 7, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone >](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/284/35a.png)
!["We're naming him X Æ A-12..." * Mallorie Udischas @SweetBeansComix "We're naming him X Æ A-12." 7:37 AM - May 5, 2020 · Twitter Web App >](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/289/bf3.png)
!["Yeah we can play Tennis and Golf again isn't that great? And my cleaner and nanny can come back to work! So good to see the TechnicallyRon O @TechnicallyRon "Yeah we can play Tennis and Golf again isn't that great? And my cleaner and nanny can come back to work! So good to see the country getting back to normal!" 2:52 AM - May 14, 2020 · Twitter Web App](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/292/c79.png)
![EU Spain Italy EU Spain Italy](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/296/eb5.png)
![Parasite: You think it’s about a virus but it’s actually about how the rich are exploiting the working poor. The Pandemic: witch from home @StarWarshipper Parasite: You think it's about a virus but it's actually about how the rich are exploiting the working poor. The Pandemic: You think it's about a virus but it's actually about how the rich are exploiting the working poor. 8:12 PM · Apr 30, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/295/f80.png)
![Haters di Parasite: *Esistono* Io: terry @sherlockify Haters di Parasite: *Esistono* lo: Translate Tweet 3:18 PM · May 8, 2020 · Twitter for Android >](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/877/298/03b.png)
Templates
![template](https://a.kym-cdn.com/assets/blank-b3f96f160b75b1b49b426754ba188fe8.gif)
Search Interest
Not available.
External References
[2] Tumblr – bongjoonsho's Post
[3] Tumblr – radicalgeni-tales' Post
[4] Reddit – /r/moviescirclejerk
[5] Imgur – jrabbitmusic
Recent Videos
There are no videos currently available.
There are no comments currently available.
Display Comments