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Jobless Korean Man Kills Rivals to Secure Career in Dark Comedy
10 Oct
Summary
- Unemployed paper mill worker resorts to murder to find a new job
- Film based on American novel, adapted with a "new premise" by director
- Selected as South Korea's Oscar submission for Best International Feature
As of October 10, 2025, the South Korean black comedy "No Other Choice" is set to receive a limited theatrical release in the country ahead of a wider release in January. The film stars Lee Byung-hun as Yoo Man-soo, a family man who resorts to murder to secure a new job after being made redundant from his 25-year position as a health and safety officer at a paper mill in South Korea.
After several months of unemployment, Man-soo decides to take a radical approach to job-seeking by killing off his competition. The film is based on Donald Westlake's 1997 American novel "The Ax," which director Park Chan-wook says provided "a lot of room to develop a bitter sort of comedy." Park added a "new premise" in which Man-soo shares similarities with each of his victims, "like he's facing a mirror" and "destroying himself" while killing others.
Last month, the Korean Film Council selected "No Other Choice" as South Korea's submission to the Best International Feature category of the 2026 Oscars. The film will be distributed in North America by Neon, while MUBI has acquired the international distribution rights.
