The news hit like a gut punch from one of his own films. Park Chan-wook, the South Korean maestro behind Oldboy's brutal elegance and The Handmaiden's labyrinthine seduction, has been expelled from the Writers Guild of America. Alongside him, Don McKellar, his co-creator on HBO's The Sympathizer, faces the same fate. The reason? They allegedly kept writing on the seven-episode miniseries during the 2023 WGA strike, a 148-day standoff that ground Hollywood to a halt. The guild's announcement on August 8, 2025, wasn't just a footnote—it was a seismic ripple through an industry still licking its wounds.
I remember watching Oldboy in a dingy LA theater in 2004, the kind with sticky floors and a projector that hummed like a dying engine. Park's vision—raw, precise, mythic—felt like a revelation. Now, two decades later, he's a global titan, his latest film No Other Choice set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in August 2025. Yet here he is, caught in a labor dispute that feels more like a Hollywood plot twist than a career-defining moment.
The Sympathizer, which aired on April 14, 2024, was a bold swing. Adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer-winning 2015 novel, the series starred Hoa Xuande as a double agent navigating the Vietnam War's aftermath, with Robert Downey Jr. chewing scenery in multiple roles. Critics praised its ambition, though some found its tonal shifts jarring. Park and McKellar, both credited as writers, didn't just shape the series—they gambled on it during a time when pencils were supposed to stay down. The WGA's rules were clear: no writing during the strike, which ran from May 2 to September 27, 2023. Breaking that line wasn't just a misstep; it was a betrayal of the guild's collective fight for better pay and conditions.
What stings is the silence. Neither Park nor McKellar appealed their expulsions, a choice that suggests either resignation or defiance. The guild's memo, as reported by Variety, didn't mince words: the duo's actions were a violation, plain and simple. Another writer, Anthony Cipriano, faced a lighter but still harsh penalty—suspension until May 1, 2026, for writing on the supernatural thriller The Last Breath, plus a lifetime ban from serving as a strike captain. The WGA's message is unmistakable: rules are rules, no matter how big your name is.
This isn't Park's first brush with controversy, but it's his most public. His films thrive on moral ambiguity—think of Oldboy's gut-wrenching reveal or Decision to Leave's elusive romance, which earned him Best Director at Cannes in 2022. Yet ambiguity doesn't fly in a union dispute. The WGA's 2023 strike was about solidarity, a stand against studios and streamers squeezing writers dry. Park, a South Korean filmmaker working in Hollywood's orbit, might've seen himself as an outsider to that fight. McKellar, a Canadian with credits like Last Night (1998), might've felt the same. But the guild doesn't care about your passport or your Palme d'Or.
The fallout could be steep. Park's expulsion means he's barred from working on projects under WGA jurisdiction—think Disney, Netflix, or HBO. For a filmmaker who's danced between Seoul and Hollywood, that's a real shackle. The Sympathizer was a high-profile project, Emmy-nominated no less, but its legacy now carries this stain. Meanwhile, No Other Choice, a black comedy co-written with McKellar, Lee Kyoung-mi, and Lee Ja-hye, is unaffected—it's a Korean production, outside the WGA's reach. Its Venice premiere and North American debut at TIFF 2025, starring Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin, will likely keep Park's star burning bright. But in Hollywood? The doors might creak shut.
I can't help but draw a parallel to Elia Kazan's blacklist era. Kazan's testimony in the 1950s HUAC hearings made him a pariah to some, a survivor to others. Park's no snitch, but his choice to write during the strike echoes that same tension: individual ambition versus collective loyalty. In a town built on egos, it's a dangerous line to cross. The WGA's decision to name Park and McKellar publicly—unlike the three other disciplined writers who stayed anonymous until August 2025—feels like a deliberate flex. They're not just punishing; they're warning.
The industry's watching. Fans on X are buzzing, with posts from @FilmUpdates and @Variety amplifying the news. Some defend Park, arguing his global perspective might've clashed with Hollywood's rigid union culture. Others see it as justice for strikebreakers. The truth, as always, is messier. Park's not a villain, but he's not a martyr either. He's a filmmaker who made a choice, and now he's paying for it.
Key Takeaways from Park Chan-wook's WGA Expulsion
A High-Profile Fall: Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar were expelled from the WGA for writing on The Sympathizer during the 2023 strike, a rare public punishment for two industry heavyweights.
Strike Rules Are Ironclad: The WGA's 148-day strike demanded total compliance, and even a director of Park's stature wasn't spared for breaking ranks.
Hollywood's Loss, Not Seoul's: Park's upcoming No Other Choice, premiering at Venice in August 2025, remains untouched, but his U.S. projects may face hurdles.
Silence Speaks Volumes: By not appealing their expulsions, Park and McKellar leave the industry to speculate on their motives—defiance or acceptance?
What's next for Park? Will Hollywood's studios take a chance on a filmmaker who's now persona non grata with the WGA? Or will he lean harder into his Korean roots, where his genius has always thrived? Drop your thoughts in the comments, share this piece, or follow Filmofilia for more industry deep dives.
