Park Jang Wook has witnessed the crisis in Korea firsthand.
Korean films face the steepest scenery of 20 years, with national enrolments plunging to just 40.7 million people in the first half of 2025, falling below the iconic 100 million annual mark, the first since 2004, from 62.9 million the previous year. A shortage of domestic blockbusters, increased competition from streaming platforms, and consumer belt tightening are the drivers of a slump that could raise one of Asia’s most dynamic theatre markets. The industry is currently facing existential threats to the theatre culture of its former days.
“I don’t think it’s a cinema crisis. It’s a cinema crisis,” says Variety at the Busan International Film Festival. “But I also think that the cinema crisis is actually a cinema crisis.”
He adds: “The audience is all coming together in front of a huge screen where technology is standardized. You are almost trapped in this dark, dark room. You can’t leave, you can’t pause it, you’ll be completely disconnected from all sorts of seduction and internal and external elements.
However, Park has expressed hope that “there are no other options,” featuring A-list stars Lee Byung-Hun and Son Ye-Jin.
The quest for middle class despair and automation films could not be made more timely. Lee plays Man-Su, a layoff paper manufacturing expert who relies on serial killings to eliminate competitors for a single job to discover that there is a position to oversee AI testing.
“This is a story about middle class desires today,” Park explains. “Whatever difficulties you may encounter, it’s very difficult. They denies accepting the current disruption of life you’ve maintained.”
The director draws off an unpleasant parallel between his main character’s light-form and broader labor concerns. “How long will his earning position last as a result of eliminating all his human competitors? Was it all in vain?” According to Park, the final scene in the film states that AI’s automated light-out system is driving Man-Su out of the factory. “Is Man Su’s struggle all in vain? Is it all meaningless?”
Park also describes his recent expulsion from the American Writers Guild along with co-author Don McKellar, who allegedly wrote during the 2023 strike while working on HBO’s “Relaxer.”
“I never thought or thought of writing during a strike,” Park says. “Not only am I a writer, I am a director and a producer, and there are certain things that require me to share ideas that are not actually an act of writing.
Despite the controversy, Park emphasizes his support for the union’s mission. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t agree with the mission or purpose of the WGA strike. We fully understand and fully agree and support their actions.
Looking back at Biff’s 30-year history, Park looks back at the festival’s transformational role in expanding the horizons of Korean audiences.
“For a very long time, for Korean film fans, when I think about films, it usually focused on Korean and American films, especially large Hollywood films,” he says. “I think it brought a realization to the fact that when Busan International Festival was founded 30 years ago, we always knew that Asian films existed, but we really didn’t recognize that.”
The director points out that the festival helped the audience. “It makes it possible to understand how racially and geographically people are very close to us, what they think, and how far we were, how far we were, to really understand how it can impact it through it.”
“No Other Options” features an incredible ensemble that includes Park Hee Thorne, Lee Sung Min, Yom Hae Ran and Cha Seung Won. The film previously competed at the Venice Film Festival and was produced by Moho Films and KG Productions.
