The internationally acclaimed South Korean director, Park Chan-wook has never been Oscar-nominated. This time, the Academy didn’t break the customary snub of the director once again, as No Other Choice (2025) was one of the strongest contenders for final nominations in the Best International Feature Category for the upcoming Oscars in March 2026.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the final nominees for the said category are The Secret Agent from Brazil, It Was Just an Accident from France, Sentimental Value from Norway, Sirat from Spain, and The Voice of Hind Rajab from Tunisia.
No Other Choice was shortlisted for five categories, but unexpectedly, it was shut out of all, receiving zero category nominations at the end. Parasite (2019) was nominated for six categories and won in four.
Park’s Decision to Leave (2022) was widely considered a major snub at the 95th Academy Awards despite being a critical favorite, Cannes winner, and shortlist finalist. The South Korean thriller was entirely shut out, surprising the critics and general public alike, sparking debate over the Academy’s recognition of Asian cinema.
The case is a bit different for Oldboy (2003), as it was never formally submitted by South Korea for the Best Foreign Language Film category, making it ineligible for a nomination. Sadly, the film did not have a proper qualifying release in the United States at that time, which hindered its chances.
How Park Chan-wook has never been Oscar-nominated despite his acclaimed career?
Ever since Parasite won multiple Oscars, the Korean industry thought that the door had swung open for a non-English language film to claim the honors. No Other Choice checked all the boxes: receiving a nine-minute standing ovation at Venice, earning the inaugural International People’s Choice Award at Toronto, grossing $7 million domestically, becoming the second-highest-grossing Korean film ever in the US after Parasite, and bagging three nominations at the Golden Globes.
Each year, as the Oscars approach, conversations inevitably turn to the season’s biggest contenders—and its most glaring omissions. Yet once again, one of the most influential filmmakers in contemporary international cinema has been left out of the Academy’s nominations. The continued absence feels less like a coincidence and more like a persistent blind spot.
It’s no secret that Park Chan-wook’s films confront audiences rather than comfort them. His subject matter is often provocative, morally complex, and emotionally unsettling. The narratives can twist and spiral in deliberately chaotic—yet meticulously controlled—ways. His characters are rarely gentle or easily likable; instead, they are flawed, obsessive, and deeply human.
But that difficulty is precisely the point. Park’s cinema challenges viewers to sit with discomfort, to question morality, and to embrace ambiguity. Few directors balance aesthetic precision and emotional intensity with such confidence.
His films are dark and tend to deal with heavy subject matter, but surprisingly, these are the same qualities of Bong Joon-ho’s films, as Parasite became a landmark moment in Academy Awards history by winning four Oscars. It is the same film that has a heavy subject matter similar to No Other Choice—a comedy-thriller that serves as a profound social commentary on systematic class inequality.
It is the same idea behind No Other Choice, where Yoo Man-soo (played by Lee Byung-hun) was struggling to get a job in desperation to maintain his standard of living and support his family. It is the same comedy-thriller about a middle-aged worker who has been laid off abruptly after serving in the paper industry for the past 25 years.
Both films talk about parasitic metaphors and class conflicts that set a stark contrast between those who are highly privileged and those who are wrestling to climb the social ladder. Both films are designed to show that the poor/less fortunate are kept in their place.
So why has Park Chan-wook never received an Oscar nomination? The disparity in their Oscar success often comes down to timing, film accessibility, and industry politics rather than talent.
Chan-wook’s films can be considered too extreme for conservative Oscar voters and have a cynical factor, which is less populist and more challenging than Parasite’s social commentary. Park’s work is often more intellectual and nihilistic because there is always a streak of cynicism running beneath the surface. This tone can make his work far more confrontational.
Other reasons have also played their part. First and foremost, this year’s international feature slate for the Oscars is too packed with bangers. The Secret Agent won best director and best actor at Cannes. It Was Just an Accident won the Palme d’Or, and Sirat won greatly at the European Film Awards. Then there is a special entry, The Voice of Hind Rajab, whom few were expecting to make it this big and be listed in the final nominations.
Obviously, four out of five international feature nominees were under Neon’s distribution. Neon had to look after them all at once, causing problems for a single distributor to sweep an entire category. It is not unprecedented for one film to be overshadowed by the rest when one distributor is pushing five different films simultaneously.
Neon didn’t hold back to show its objection over the Academy’s snub by putting up a perfect billboard, changing “For Your Consideration” to “F Your Consideration.”
Chan-wook’s latest masterpiece, failing to secure even a single nomination at the 2026 Academy Awards, may also be viewed through the lens of industry politics. His decision to continue working during the 2023 WGA strike—a move some perceived as crossing a professional picket line—sparked controversy within parts of the filmmaking community.
Park maintained that his scripts had been completed before the strike and therefore did not violate union guidelines. For some voters, the episode may have complicated his standing during awards season.
While it is impossible to know how much such factors influence Academy members, the Oscars have always reflected not only artistic merit but also the broader cultural and professional climate of Hollywood. In that context, even a filmmaker of Park’s stature is not immune to the ripple effects of controversy.
About the Author
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Madiha Ali is an experienced entertainment writer with over five years of expertise in covering movies, TV shows, celebrity news, and pop culture. Her bylines appear on trusted platforms like Screen Anarchy, High on Films, Ary News, The Express Tribune, Tea and Banter, Show Snob, CelebFeedz, Snapfeedz, Daily Planet Media, The Irish Insider, and Movie Insiderz.
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