[Current Drama 2022 & 2024] Pachinko, 파친코 - Lee Min Ho, Youn Yuh Jung, Jin Ha, Anna Sawai, Minha Kim, Soji Arai, Kaho Minami - Streaming on Apple TV+ | Season 1 & 2

[syntyche]

Pachinko review: Lee Min-ho’s profound Apple show is a potion for our toxic times

 

Pachinko review: Two of the best shows of the year now belong to Apple TV+. Youn Yuh-jung and Lee Min-ho lead a sprawling cast in this epic family drama based on Min Jin Lee's novel.

 

A family drama that matches The Godfather saga not just in combined length but also in sweeping epicness, the eight-episode adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s novel Pachinko is the second great television show of the year. It’s worth noting that like the first—the cerebral sci-fi drama Severance—Pachinko also hails from Apple TV+.

 

Meticulously plotted and often overwhelmingly moving, it’s a tale rooted in the emotional reality of a very specific community, but so resoundingly universal in its themes of decency, identity, and human resilience that you’ll be convinced that you’re watching a show specifically about yourself. Four generations of one Korean family experience displacement and death in a story that seamlessly weaves the past into the present. They suffer humiliation for how they speak, what they eat, and where they come from—first at the hands of Japanese invaders and then American overlords.

 

It’s a tale that spans nearly a century; Pachinko begins in rural Korea in the 1910s, and over the course of eight lush episodes, travels to 1920s Yokohama and Osaka of the 1980s. Sunja, played by Jeon Yu-na as a child, Kim Min-ha as a young adult and the Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung as an elderly woman, is the connective tissue that binds the story as it goes back and forth in time with the grace of a debutante walking down an intricately carved wooden staircase. This is perhaps the show’s most significant deviation from the source novel, which presented its story in chronological order.

Like the pachinko gambling machines that both the book and the show are named after, Sunja’s life is shaped as much by events outside of her control as it is by her sheer determination to challenge her destiny. In an early flashback scene, we’re shown how the house rigs the pachinko machines ever so slightly in its favour. The gamblers are led to believe they have power, that with a slight variation in their hand movements, they can control the game. But they do not realise that power is an illusion; without hope, they’d have no reason to continue playing.

 

Priorities change with time; when Sunja was young, she experienced unspeakable hardship as she struggled to survive as an outsider in a foreign land. As a teen, she moved to Japan with her pastor husband, and there, started a kimchi business as a means to provide for their struggling family. As an old woman, she can only hang her head in shame as she watches her successful investment banker grandson Solomon, who is trapped (unknowingly) in an endless pursuit of wealth. Having assimilated into American culture, or so he believes, he returns to Osaka to close a real-estate deal that could help him move up the corporate ladder. There, he reconnects with the past that he was convinced he’d left behind.

 

In a terrific scene midway through the season, Solomon uses his grandmother as a trump card in his attempts at convincing another expat Korean lady to sell her prime property to his firm. She offers them a meal, and after one spoonful of rice, Sunja is almost reduced to tears. A confused Solomon asks her what’s wrong, and Sunja tells him that she has just been transported back to her homeland—what they’ve been served is Korean rice; it’s nuttier, chewier, Sunja tells him. When she was young, white rice would be a luxury; now, they eat it with every meal. No wonder Solomon doesn’t understand; he was sent to America as a teen, a privilege afforded for him by the sacrifices made by his elders.

She buys jarred kimchi these days, Sunja says, recalling the days when she would hustle on the streets of 1930s Osaka, selling the condiment to passers-by who’d scrunch their noses at its fermented aroma. We’re often told about Sunja’s stint as a hawker, but we see what this time in her life was like only towards the end of the season’s magnificent finale.

 

Pachinko values the art of storytelling; tales of the past, and the desire to tell them, is often the only thing that older people have left. This is an idea that the show doubles down on in its stirring final moments, which I won’t spoil here.

And so, Pachinko allows its dense story room to breathe. Because of its non-linear structure, the emotional payoffs arrive late. The kimchi-selling sequence is just one example. The penultimate episode, for instance, focuses entirely on one character—the suave yakuza enforcer Hansu, played by perhaps the most famous person in the ensemble, Lee Min-ho. Hansu, we’re told, decided that the only way to survive as a Korean under Japanese rule was to pretend he’s one of them. Like so many other characters in the show, he fooled himself into believing that social ascension can only be achieved through appeasement. He enters into an illicit affair with Sunja, and remains a distant presence in her life in later years. But in episode seven, centred around The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, we’re taken into his past.

This episode, like three others, is directed by Kogonada, who brings a remarkable stillness to the story. I’ll assume that it was his idea to set the opening credits sequence to a vibrant dance number in which every cast member shakes a leg in the aisle of a pachinko parlour, since he did something similar in his recent sci-fi feature After Yang. The other half of the show is directed by Justin Chon, who has a gift for capturing an undercurrent of rage in his films, usually about minorities. In another example of the show’s visual inventiveness, the subtitles are colour-coded according to languages.

 

I’d imagine that most people who’ve been making trips to theatres in our country recently, to watch a certain film about the violent displacement of a persecuted community, might not be interested in watching a heartfelt eight-hour drama almost entirely in foreign languages. But Pachinko is a terrific example of how to highlight the harsh realities of the immigrant experience in a humanist manner, without compromising on anger against the oppressors, but making sure to not incite hate against them.

 

An important lesson imparted upon Sunja by her father is passed down from generation to generation, like an intangible family heirloom. Never underestimate the power of kindness, he told her. And it is out of this very kindness that the show, and the people in it, are offering us a piece of this inheritance. We mustn’t turn it down.

 

https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/pachinko-review-profound-apple-show-lee-min-ho-7834179/

[Ameera Ali]

Will you throw this shirt away ? 
why would I do that 

 

 

 

 

[confusedheart]

Alrighty, done with ep 1. Waited the whole episode for LMH to make an appearance.LMH is looking so dapper!

The FL is so pretty. She really suits the role. She is fresh as a daisy. Lovely  indeed. 

 

It was tough waiting to see LMH on screen. Almost an hour's wait to catch sight of him in ep 1. That was too cruel to make us wait this long.   Anyway, the first 'meet' was beautifully done. I wish he wasn't such a jerk and we actually got a beautiful love story. 

 

The cinematography is breath taking. I loved the opening credit. 

 

And can we please give a big round of applause to young Sunja? She has won our hearts .

 

My only quibble is the use of 'modern' songs. I feel it kind of ruins the mood, the feel. 

 

Also, they need not have dragged by including an episode of something which wasn't needed. At least it wasn't there in the book, Part 1.  

 

Also, was it me or was it a little too dark? Lightning?

 

Anyway, overall, not disappointed and can't wait to catch the other two episodes. LMH is looking sexy and is definitely going to break few hearts.  

Quote

Definitely the best Korean drama serial in 2022, beating SBS's Through the Darkness.

 

@Newbie21SG I won't say that. Through the Darkness was superb. And it is unfair to compare the two dramas as they belong to two different genres.  I'd wait till it airs the last episode to see if it really 'surpasses' TTD. 

[Ameera Ali]

Am loving them together .. 

 

 

 

[sweetroad]

OK guys. About to start the episode. It will be my first time ever seeing LMH "in motion".

 

Too bad we have to wait until the last part of Ep 1 @confusedheart!

[CallieP]

 

https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/video-pachinko-cast-and-producers/

 

[backstreetboysfan]

Just started episode one .

[sweetroad]

Just watched Episodes 1 and 2. Very nice! I enjoyed seeing LMH in something, although he did NOT bring me to my knees @Ameera Ali . Though gosh, he certainly moved quickly with Sunja.

 

I'm really impressed with how far they went to film the show (Japan, Korea, America), and the ease with which the actors speak all the different languages.

 

6 hours ago, confusedheart said:

Also, they need not have dragged by including an episode of something which wasn't needed. At least it wasn't there in the book, Part 1.  

 

What part wasn't in the book, chingu?

[backstreetboysfan]

They filmed in Canada as well (Vancouver).

[syntyche]

Apple TV + Twt update

 

#Pachinko is a gripping family saga told over four generations. 

 

Based on the New York Times Bestseller, Pachinko follows the life of Sunja and how the society around her changes throughout it.

 

 

Spoiler

 

The story starts during the Japanese occupation of Korea, where Sunja meets Hansu, played by

@ActorLeeMinho

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

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@confusedheart yep, tough wait for LMH to show up on screen. But a treat to see a different dimension to his acting; different from the swoony roles he played before. Eye-catching, nevertheless.

@the_sweetroad while I was watching the Hansu and Sunja scenes, I was actually thinking, "is this that part?" lol. But yes, he did move quickly with her.

[backstreetboysfan]

Episode one was good, and omg LMH at the end.

[syntyche]

#Pachinko stars Lee Minho and Minha Kim share their method of how they connected before filming to create such an intimate romance on the screen. 

 

 

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appletv IG stories

 

"Even though this is a specific story about Koreans and their lives over the last century, many of the hardships they face are universal. The heart endures the test of time."

 

[CarolynH]

I watched the first two episodes during lunch and dinner.  I have to rewatch both because I was too busy chowing down .  During ep 1, I paused it to look for more food, then it froze.  I restarted later, then a message popped up that there was some problem, but I got it going again.  At dinner, I was thinking, hey this kimchi (I had to get in the mood, you see) juice tastes pretty good on this roasted chicken, instead of paying attention.  I guess I'm food driven lol.

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@confusedheart I prefer LMH in more intense roles, a complicated romance like Pachinko.  I also like young Sunja.  She certainly had some spunk!

[backstreetboysfan]

Just finished Episode 2, Will take a break and watch episode 3 sometime this weekend.

 

I so agree young Sunja is very spunky.

[syntyche]

cr: justinchon IG

 

 Pachinko characters

 

 

 

 

 

[backstreetboysfan]

Thanks for sharing the stills @syntyche.

[syntyche]

5 hours ago, backstreetboysfan said:

They filmed in Canada as well (Vancouver).

 

@backstreetboysfan, yup, they filmed the Yeongdo fish market scenes in Britannia Shipyards, Canada, where LMH was spotted by fans  

 

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Apple TV's "Pachinko" transforms Canadian city into 1915 Korea 

 

 

Richmond, BC plays a surprise starring role in Apple TV’s highly anticipated drama series Pachinko.

 

Based on The New York Times bestselling novel by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee, the show follows an epic family saga that journeys between Korea, Japan, and America.

 

Executive producer Michael Ellenberg told Daily Hive that BC was the perfect canvas to recreate 1915 Japanese-occupied Korea and urban, pre-war Japan.

 

“Urban, pre-war Japan doesn’t really exist anymore, so we were always intending to build that in Vancouver,” explained Ellenberg. “And then the topography and landscape for British Columbia also match Korea to a degree.”

 

Pachinko was shot in BC last year during the height of the pandemic. The filming caused a stir among Canadian fans of famous Korean drama actor Lee Minho, who stars as Hansu in the show. Minho was spotted filming scenes at Steveston, a neighbourhood in Richmond that’s by the water.

 

The location is almost unrecognizable in the show, transformed into a fish market in the rural, Korean town of Yeongdo in the early 1900s.

 

“That set, in particular, took so much care and love because it’s where so many of our most important events happen,” said Ellenberg.

 

Without giving away any spoilers, it’s where Hansu (Minho) exerts his power and where the main character Sunja (played by Minha Kim) makes a connection that changes her entire life.

 

 

Ellenberg says they wanted that setting to feel completely realistic, down to the detail of the different kinds of fish available in the region back then.

 

“We wanted the audience to be there with Sunja, that was the goal for the entire production,” he said.

 

The province’s sweeping landscape of lush mountain ranges and peaceful waters is hard to miss in the trailer for Pachinko.

 

It opens up on a misty mountainous backdrop that screams BC.

 

The show was also filmed at Surrey Studio City, which housed their production office staff and allowed for indoor and outdoor shoots.

 

The massive building, which is formerly the printing plant for The Vancouver Sun and The Province, is 197,000 square feet and sits on 13.81 acres of land.

 

The studio is located on 88th Avenue near Scott Road and was also notably home to Netflix’s Altered Carbon.

 

Pachinko, which premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, March 25, not only serves beautiful cinematography but more importantly, a story about a family that endures.

 

“It’s ultimately about the courage of immigrants,” said the show’s executive producer Theresa Kang. “It’s about the courage of families during hardship and about individual choices that each one of us has to make, and that there’s no bad or good, it’s just that humans are very complicated.”

 

The series also stars legendary actress Yuh-Jung Youn, who won an Oscar for her role in Minari, as the older Sunja, and Jin Ha as Solomon, Sunja’s grandson.

 

Justin Chon, who has directed and starred in Gook and Blue Bayou, executive produced alongside Kogonada, director of Columbus. They each directed four episodes, with Kogonada directing the pilot.

 

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/apple-tv-pachinko-transforms-richmond-1915-korea

[backstreetboysfan]

58 minutes ago, syntyche said:

 

@backstreetboysfan, yup, they filmed the Yeongdo fish market scenes in Britannia Shipyards, Canada, where LMH was spotted by fans  

 

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Yeah I thought so, thanks for the info @syntyche! .

[Ameera Ali]

7 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

I enjoyed seeing LMH in something, although he did NOT bring me to my knees @Ameera Ali . Though gosh, he certainly moved quickly with Sunja.

Lol , she most experienced love at first sight , to move that quickly with him  
@the_sweetroad @confusedheart

 what kind of pick up line is [ let’s go pick up a mushroom ]  naughty oppa picking up more than a mushroom  

 

 

 

 

[twinkle_little_star]

 

episode one of Pachinko was quite moving, the 1989 half of things just felt like set up though and like a lot of streaming stuff. such dedication to Sunja's early life, especially her young adulthood, makes the series incredibly focused, leaving many questions unanswered.  Pachinko is attractive and impactful as it presents the music and settings given are fit to the situations. the show's vibrant and joyful opening sequence. furthermore, the heart-rending storyline, all together delivered a masterpiece in first three episodes. I believe we can see a newer not seen before version of Min Ho plus, Min Ha Kim's soulful acting will capture our hearts.  Min Ho Ssi and Min Ha Ssi have the best chemistry here and have never rush onto characters or their moments of elation and grief. only when Hansu and Sunja see the full combination of traits in both partners can begin to predict their compatibility.  I really like when Hansu trying to rebuild that spark, to do so, focus on how he and Sunja first met and what brought them together and try to relive those initial moments. it's human to be anxious. at the same time, there are lot's of reasons not to be scared. the characters were fleshed out in great detail. Hansu has the added responsibility to attempt not to panic if that intense initial attraction wanes over time.  I caught myself waiting for the next episode and leave me mind-blown, it comes as no surprise that Min Ho's comeback ended with peak ratings that merit it's inclusion in the top 10 list of highest-rated drama that graced the silver screen this year. 

 

 

source :

 

https://tv.apple.com/us/show/pachinko/umc.cmc.17vf6g68dy89kk1l1nnb6min4