The southern white-faced owl is a fairly small owl in the family Strigidae. It is native 41 the southern half of Africa. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the northern white-faced owl but the two are now commonly treated as separate species. It is 22–28 centimeters 42 and weighs 185–220 grams. The upperparts are grey with dark streaks and there are white spots on the scapular feathers. The underparts are whitish with dark streaks. The face is white with a black border and black around the large orange eyes. The head has two short ‘‘ear’’ tufts with black tips. Juvenile birds have a greyish face. Their call is a series of fast, 43 hoots. It is uttered at night and frequently repeated. These fast, staccato notes followed by a longer and higher pitched ‘hoot’ are extensively used during breeding season and pairs of owls often sing together. 44 range extends from Gabon eastwards to southern Kenya and southwards to Namibia and northern South Africa. It inhabits savanna and dry woodland. It is usually seen alone or in pairs. It mainly hunts large insects, as well as the occasional small mammals, birds and reptiles. The eggs are usually 45 in the old nest of another bird. The clutch contains two or three eggs which are incubated for about 30 days. The young birds leave the nest about a month after hatching.

 Parasite, the stealth hit by legendary director Bong Joon-ho, is a twisted tale of the haves and have-nots. The extreme disparity between the two families - the affluent Parks and the poor Kims - is shown through their two homes. One a gleaming mansion up on the hills above Seoul; the other a dingy semi-basement. In real-life Seoul, though, banjihas are where thousands of young people end up living, while they work hard and hope for a better future.

   The banjihas are not just a quirk of Seoul architecture, but a product of history. These tiny spaces actually trace their roots back decades, to the conflict between North and South Korea. In 1968, North Korean commandos slipped into Seoul on a mission to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee. The raid was thwarted, but the tension between the two Koreas intensified. That same year, North Korea also attacked and captured a US Navy spy ship, the USS Pueblo. Armed North Korean agents infiltrated South Korea, and there were a number of terrorist incidents. Fearing an escalation, in 1970 the South Korean government updated its building codes, requiring all newly built low-rise apartment buildings to have basements to serve as bunkers in case of a national emergency. Initially, renting out such banjiha spaces was illegal. But during the housing crisis in the 1980s, with space running short in the capital, the government was compelled to legalize these underground spaces to live in. In 2018, the UN noted that despite having the world’s 11th largest economy, South Korea’s lack of affordable housing was a substantial barrier - particularly for young people and poorer people. 

    For under-35s, the rent-to-income ratio has remained at around 50% during the last decade. So the semi-basement apartments have become an affordable response to rapidly-growing housing prices. Monthly rents are around 540,000 Korean won ($453), with average monthly salaries for people in the 20s around 2m won ($1,679). Nevertheless, some banjiha dwellers struggle to overcome the social stigma. But not all.