As much as HR professionals and recruiters try to uphold their part of the bargain, the interview process these days is taking a toll on workers. Hiring is still frosty for certain industries and job ghosting is more commonplace — or at least, more people are having the conversation about it on social media. And to top it off, AI job replacement fears may potentially have merit, depending on the tasks jobs require.
Some people are taking matters into their own hands, including Man-su, the protagonist of Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice. (The Korean film had a limited run in late 2025 but expanded to more U.S. theaters in January 2026.) Moviegoers watch as Man-su, laid off unceremoniously from his paper manufacturing plant, descends into the demoralizing world of job hunting.
Our lead slowly starts to crack, irritated that he and his wife must give up their creature comforts and deeply uncomfortable with the way adult problems are now seeping into his kids’ consciousness. But instead of using the Korean equivalent of LinkedIn and networking, Man-su hatches a simple solution to his job woes: Kill all his competition.
Along with its thriller plot and dreamlike cinematography, the film’s cast of characters draws the watcher in. Viewers meet the other men affected by layoffs whose esteem, masculinity and sense of self are shattered from falling victim to reductions in force.
These include other white-collar professionals and knowledge workers who take up retail jobs to put food on the table or who drink all day to pass the time.
And while this film makes for an absurd take on the world of work, there may be truth buried beneath the dark comedy. Job-seeker desperation has reached a boiling point. Here are seven stories from HR Dive that illuminate why No Other Choice is resonating with audiences.
