[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]

Emmy Predictions: Lead Actor in a Drama Series

 

Other notable contenders include Lee Min-Ho, etc.

 

OTHER TOP-TIER CONTENDERS

14. Lee Min-Ho     “Pachinko”     Apple TV+

 

https://variety.com/feature/2022-emmy-predictions-lead-actor-drama-1235232790/

 

 

[nina_mitrokhina]

Lee Min Ho Didn’t Want To Dance Pachinko, How Did You Convince Him?

 

May 26, 2022 by Admin

 

 

One of the premieres that caused the greatest impact this year was Pachinko, a dramatic series that tells the story of a family in different and important historical periods. Despite the tragic plot, the series added a fun intro with the entire cast dancing happily, but Lee Min Ho didn’t want to dance with the rest, how did you convince him?

 

Lee Minho caused a great sensation in his role as Koh Hansu in Pachinko. A drama inspired by an international best seller about Korea in the Japanese occupation period. For him introall the characters dance happily but Lee Min Ho refused to dancewhy?

Fans of Lee Min Ho know that for the renowned actor nothing is impossible. After all, he is considered to be one of the main representatives of Hallyu worldwide because of his great talent in acting.

 

However, even Lee Min Ho lacks certain qualities that are beyond his reach and refuses to perform some actions required for certain scenes in dramas, such as dancing.

 

Why Didn’t Lee Min Ho Want To Dance At The Pachinko Intro?

 

Recently, Pachinko production company Apple TV+ revealed that Lee Min Ho didn’t want to dance in the show’s intro where all of the main characters show off their best dance moves in what looks like a casino hallway.

 

The company confessed that the reason Lee Min Ho left denied emphatically was that, for the actor, his dance steps were lousy and how I didn’t know how to dance he refused to try to make a couple of steps in the scene. Wishing not to be out of place compared to his companions, who shone with his best steps.

 

However, the production insisted that even if he did not dance, he would do something so that he would remain on the scene. So Lee Min Ho surprised with a turn and a charming smile that was perfect for the Pachinko intro. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it in full here:

 

Where can you see the complete Pachinko series?

 

Lee Min Ho’s drama is available through the Apple TV + streaming platform. Pachinko was an American production set in three different countries and is the first drama to speak in three different languages which are Korean, English and Japanese. The series is now over, so all episodes are available. In case you already saw it, what was your favorite scene?

 

https://www.shkmgmcnuh.org/lee-min-ho-didnt-want-to-dance-pachinko-how-did-you-convince-him/3519502022/

[syntyche]

FYC (For Your Consideration) campaign billboard ad for PACHINKO spotted at Beverly Center in Beverly Hills by 

@appletvplus. Hoping for an Emmy award for Pachinko...best of luck to entire cast and production team!!

 

cr: leeminka71920

 

[CarolynH]

That would be great if the LA Times did an interview with LMH

[twinkle_little_star]

Pachinko cast Kim Min Ha talks about her reaction.

 

source:

 

[syntyche]

@CarolynH, after LMH being included in the probable contenders for best actor in the Emmys, all the more reason for LA Times to do a feature on him. 

 

@twinkle_little_star LMH's costars are consistent on saying that he has relaxed vibes and is carefree on the set, of course aside from hardworking.

 

***************************************

 

'Pachinko', history and memory

...

This coexistence of different times is a contribution of the series, since the book tells the story chronologically, beginning in the ten years and advancing without time jumps. This narrative decision is crucial, because it not only improves the original novel, but also gives the series its uniqueness and all its meaning. Through the parallel montage, the most used resource in the series and in an excellent way, and the fragmentation forced by the constant jumps in time, the echoes and threads between past and present are multiplied, the narrative, emotional rhymes and aesthetics.

 

Echoes, rhymes and threads mark the precious montage work, which makes the temporal distance jump and unites characters and spectators in a single emotion. Someone packs a bundle with their few belongings in the past while another packs a suitcase in the present and it is the same gesture and the same impulse, even though they go to different places and the motivation for the trip is different. The bowl of rice that yesterday was the fruit of love and sacrifice today constitutes a family, cultural and identity legacy that is a refuge from loneliness and anguish. Uprooting unites those who emigrated because they had no other choice and those who left of their own free will: uprooting and emigration are two of the main axes of the series.

...

There is an inevitably random event: being born here or there, which in this case would be Korea or Japan, or rich or poor. And that chance determines some circumstances, makes a difference and the series never lets us forget it.  But after that random act of birth, finding the doors is the result of the search for a way out, perseverance, the ability to resist and survive even in the most adverse. This is the story of Sunja, who begins in poverty and exclusion, but also that of her grandson, Solomon, an executive of a large company, a successful member of the elite and a symbol of the improvement in the social scale of the protagonist family. . Because this is also a story about what is triumph and success in an unequal and unjust society .

 

In Pachinko, History with capital letters marks the intimate story, the individual story, and it is the decisions that each person makes in these circumstances that move the characters and build the story, even if that decision is to let go. Decisions and circumstances that reverberate in others, in the following generations. But that is not a mechanical or simple relationship. What the montage, the fragmentation, the rhymes and echoes build does not only try to show that what happens now is born in the past, or that, sometimes, things are repeated, but to reveal something much more important and profound: that human beings are, above all, history and memory. 

 

https://valenciaplaza.com/pachinko-la-historia-y-la-memoria

[nina_mitrokhina]

My heart is moving!

 

3 best Korean dramas to watch right now
touching korean dramas

Although it is a Korean drama that has swept the world, it is not only romance novels and comedy, but also the best human drama and high-quality social works that touch the heart because they send their country's entertainment to the world. all over the country and so on. This time, we have carefully selected 3 Korean dramas that adults can enjoy.

 

KANA ENDO , May 28, 2022

 

The epic story of a Korean family living in Japan who had to leave the homeland of "Pachinko Pachinko"

 

Based on a novel by Korean-American Min Jin Lee, it was named one of the top ten books of 2017 by The New York Times and a worldwide bestseller recommended by former President Obama. This is the story of a Korean family who left their homeland and moved to Japan for four generations. In the 1910s, Seongja, who lived in Yongdo, off the coast of Busan, on the Japanese-ruled Korean peninsula, lived poor and well off, supporting his mother, who ran a boarding house.

 

A wealthy middleman named Hans shows up there and they fall in love. Sonja has Hans' child, but in reality, Hans had a wife and child. Although Sunja was in despair, the pastor who happened to be at the boarding house turned to Sunja, and the two of them left their hometown and moved to Osaka.

 

The drama consists of crossing Sungja's adult and old life and drawing them at the same time. Korean, Japanese, and English are spoken in the drama. Adult Song Ja is new actor Kim Min Ha, older Song Ja is Yoon Yeo Jung, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Minari, and Hans is the star of a Korean drama. Hana Yori Boys. In addition to Lee Min Ho, it features many actors from different backgrounds such as Minari Kaho, Henry, and Korean-American Jin Ha.

 

 

Image: Kim Min-ha, the new actor who plays Sungja, is in the spotlight for his amazing acting skills. She plays a beautiful girl who is a daughter, crush, wife and mother, and her appearance leads to an aged Sungja played by Yoon Yoo Jung © Apple TV+

 

In addition to the acting skills of actors such as the great actor Yoon Yoo Jung, rising star Kim Min Ha and Lee Min Ho who showed one side of the acting sect, this work is also meticulously done. For example, Moses, Sonji's grandson, was born in Japan and returned from the United States. So after carefully studying lines like talking to my grandma in Korean, talking to my dad in a mixture of Japanese and Korean, and using a lot of English at work, a world where three languages come and go. without any discomfort.

 

In addition, Apple TV+ subtitles are carefully color-coded based on language. In addition, the drama develops in three eras and three places, such as Busan in the 1910s, Osaka in the 1930s, and Tokyo/Yokohama in 1989, but it can be said that this is a gift of historical evidence that you can appreciate. don't get caught. Feelings and regrets of those who were forced to leave their hometown, feelings and regrets about having their hair pulled, as well as great deprivation and discrimination.

 

It is expressed that this is a heavy burden on the hearts of the younger generation. It also depicts scenes that are relevant to contemporary social issues, but in order not to repeat the same mistakes, I would like many people to see this work without looking away.

 

 

Hans yearned for the future, but his fortunes were drastically changed by the Great Kanto Earthquake and he became an outsider. One of the highlights is the clothing and cityscape that change over time
©Apple TV+

 

Translation from Japanese google

https://www.tjapan.jp/entertainment/17543560?page=3

[syntyche]

Pachinko: Discover the main differences between the book and the Korean series on Apple TV+

 

Almost a month after the end of the first season,  Pachinko is among one of the main bets for the Emmy 2022. According to the website GoldDerby, it has chances of being nominated in the best series category, as well as  Youn Yuh Jung with chances to be nominated in the supporting actress category, especially after winning the Oscar for Minari.

On the other hand, the Min Jin Lee novel on which the series is based has had a sales increase in Korea itself since the adaptation came to streaming, and in the year of its release it was already considered a best seller by The New York Times. Pachinko tells the story of a family over four generations, with a lot of focus on the domination of the Korean people by the Japanese and immigration to the United States.

Despite maintaining the multicultural essence of the work, creator  Soo Hugh and director duo  Kogonada and Justin Chon , opted for small changes to transport Pachinko from the pages to the screens in the best possible way. Understand the main differences between the book and the series.
 

CHRONOLOGY

For those interested in reading the book, you will come across an organized summary that divides the generations of the family into chapters and periods such as the 30s or the 80s. However, in the series, the story does not follow such an exact chronological line and several points of view are revealed simultaneously. While we follow the story of Sunja played by  Kim Min-ha early in her life, we also see how she has aged in this world with the brilliant work of Youn Yuh Jung. In an interview with Forbes, showrunner Soo Hugh revealed that the decision was made because film and TV allow us to play with time, instigating our reflection on the past, how we communicate with the present and the future.

 

LANGUAGE

Min Jin Lee is an American-Korean author, and although Pachinko is situated between Japan and Korea, the text of the book was originally written in English. However, the production decided to mix dialogues in Japanese, Korean and English, seeking to achieve maximum authenticity for the characters. The choice was even reflected in the streaming subtitles, which feature Korean dialogue in yellow and Japanese in blue, making it easier to differentiate between the two languages. Showrunner Soo Hugh argued that it would not make sense to tell the story only in English, as the different languages allow for the nuances between cultures.

 

THE SON OF SUNJA

In the adaptation, we gradually discovered more important characters for Sunja's story. Among them is son Mozasu ( Soji Arai ), father of Solomon ( Jin Ha ) and owner of several pachinko parlors, the game that mixes pinball and slot machines. In the book, Sunja has two children. The character known in the book as Noa is the son of Sunja and Koh Hansu ( Lee Minho ), the man she fell in love with as a teenager. 

 

SOLOMON'S ROMANCE

When we are introduced to Solomon, Sunja's grandson, we accompany him on an eternal quest for validation and career success. But in addition to his plot at work, we also discover his love interest for the character Hana ( Mari Yamamoto ), a crush from when he was a teenager. Hana is missing, but keeps in touch with Solomon through phone calls and mysterious messages, until she is finally found by her family. While in the series Solomon is single, in the book the character is engaged to Phoebe, a Korean-American girlfriend he met at Columbia College. Their relationship ends shortly after moving to Japan. 

 

HANSU & SUNJA

Unlike the series, the book features the character Koh Hansu as someone who abuses his power and influence right off the bat. In the adaptation, the two form a connection by sharing similar stories, particularly after Hansu saves Sunja from an attempted sexual abuse. Only after being pregnant, Sunja discovers that Hansu is cold and wants to control her. Already in the original work, Hansu is persistent in pursuing Sunja, which eventually pressures the young woman to accede to his romantic advances.

 

 

https://www.adorocinema.com/noticias/series/noticia-163635/

[syntyche]

11 AAPI Acting Contenders for Emmy Consideration

 

We shouldn’t only celebrate AAPI representation in May, as the artistic contributions of our global talents have produced some of the best television and film productions in the last decade. However, as we come to the close of the annual celebration, it’s worth noting the multiple AAPI acting contenders that are in the running for Primetime Emmy nominations.

 

 

Lee Min-ho ('Pachinko')

Photo : Apple TV Plus

Network: Apple TV+
Season: One
Character: Koh Hansu

 

Category: lead actor in a drama series

 

The episode that proves it: “Chapter Two”

 

Helmed by acclaimed directors Kogonada (“After Yang”) and Justin Chon (“Blue Bayou”) and created by Soo Hugh (“The Killing”), who adapts the popular book series by Min Jin Lee, it’s hard to find a more charismatic and swooning turn than South Korean star Lee Min-ho’s in Apple TV+’s drama. Alongside an all-star Korean cast that includes Academy Award winner Yuh-jung Youn (“Minari”), the passionate fans for the period piece will ensure TV Academy voters won’t, at minimum, know of the series’ mere existence.

 

It should be noted that we are allowed more than one non-English Asian show

and don’t have to shortchange ourselves.

 

https://variety.com/lists/aapi-emmys-pachinko-squid-game-sandra-oh-lee-min-ho/utkarsh-ambudkar-ghosts/

[twinkle_little_star]

On 5/30/2022 at 10:53 PM, syntyche said:

Pachinko: Discover the main differences between the book and the Korean series on Apple TV+

 

Almost a month after the end of the first season,  Pachinko is among one of the main bets for the Emmy 2022. According to the website GoldDerby, it has chances of being nominated in the best series category, as well as  Youn Yuh Jung with chances to be nominated in the supporting actress category, especially after winning the Oscar for Minari.

On the other hand, the Min Jin Lee novel on which the series is based has had a sales increase in Korea itself since the adaptation came to streaming, and in the year of its release it was already considered a best seller by The New York Times. Pachinko tells the story of a family over four generations, with a lot of focus on the domination of the Korean people by the Japanese and immigration to the United States.

Despite maintaining the multicultural essence of the work, creator  Soo Hugh and director duo  Kogonada and Justin Chon , opted for small changes to transport Pachinko from the pages to the screens in the best possible way. Understand the main differences between the book and the series.
 

CHRONOLOGY

For those interested in reading the book, you will come across an organized summary that divides the generations of the family into chapters and periods such as the 30s or the 80s. However, in the series, the story does not follow such an exact chronological line and several points of view are revealed simultaneously. While we follow the story of Sunja played by  Kim Min-ha early in her life, we also see how she has aged in this world with the brilliant work of Youn Yuh Jung. In an interview with Forbes, showrunner Soo Hugh revealed that the decision was made because film and TV allow us to play with time, instigating our reflection on the past, how we communicate with the present and the future.

 

LANGUAGE

Min Jin Lee is an American-Korean author, and although Pachinko is situated between Japan and Korea, the text of the book was originally written in English. However, the production decided to mix dialogues in Japanese, Korean and English, seeking to achieve maximum authenticity for the characters. The choice was even reflected in the streaming subtitles, which feature Korean dialogue in yellow and Japanese in blue, making it easier to differentiate between the two languages. Showrunner Soo Hugh argued that it would not make sense to tell the story only in English, as the different languages allow for the nuances between cultures.

 

THE SON OF SUNJA

In the adaptation, we gradually discovered more important characters for Sunja's story. Among them is son Mozasu ( Soji Arai ), father of Solomon ( Jin Ha ) and owner of several pachinko parlors, the game that mixes pinball and slot machines. In the book, Sunja has two children. The character known in the book as Noa is the son of Sunja and Koh Hansu ( Lee Minho ), the man she fell in love with as a teenager. 

 

SOLOMON'S ROMANCE

When we are introduced to Solomon, Sunja's grandson, we accompany him on an eternal quest for validation and career success. But in addition to his plot at work, we also discover his love interest for the character Hana ( Mari Yamamoto ), a crush from when he was a teenager. Hana is missing, but keeps in touch with Solomon through phone calls and mysterious messages, until she is finally found by her family. While in the series Solomon is single, in the book the character is engaged to Phoebe, a Korean-American girlfriend he met at Columbia College. Their relationship ends shortly after moving to Japan. 

 

HANSU & SUNJA

Unlike the series, the book features the character Koh Hansu as someone who abuses his power and influence right off the bat. In the adaptation, the two form a connection by sharing similar stories, particularly after Hansu saves Sunja from an attempted sexual abuse. Only after being pregnant, Sunja discovers that Hansu is cold and wants to control her. Already in the original work, Hansu is persistent in pursuing Sunja, which eventually pressures the young woman to accede to his romantic advances.

 

@syntyche chingu.. thank you for sharing article with us.  excellently. time flies so fast.

 

 

Spoiler

day by day, Pachinko Season 1 seems that it left us.

  @syntyche .. you're right. yeah there is one way to go back in time. it's through our memory. Pachinko, it brought us to their incredible stories of courage and determination. 

 

 

 

[syntyche]

Appletvplus IG update 

 

Fans cant get enough of Pachinko. Binge watch on Apple tv+

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[syntyche]

A forbidden love that gave birth to the journey of a lifetime. #Pachinko
 

 

 

[nina_mitrokhina]

‘Pachinko’ Composer Nico Muhly Gets Intimate in Scoring Epic Series

 

By Jon Burlingame
Jun 3, 2022

 

 

Pachinko TV Series
Apple TV+

 

Classical composer Nico Muhly rarely writes for TV (the BBC “Howard’s End” was the last one, five years ago), making his score for Apple TV+’s eight-hour “Pachinko” something of an event. The century-spanning epic follows a poor Korean woman and her descendants as their lives intertwine, often unhappily, with those of their Japanese neighbors. Variety talked to Muhly about his sensitive music for the miniseries.

 

Why did you want to tackle this project?

 

I’d read the book, like the majority of Americans. Soo Hugh, the showrunner, had somehow come across a lot of my instrumental music. She called me up and said, “Do you want to do this?” It was a very fast “yes.”

 

What did “Pachinko” need, musically? I noticed that you didn’t really acknowledge the Korean or Japanese settings with your music.

Not at all. That was one of the first things I said to Soo: “If you want someone to do East Asian music, you’ve got to hire someone else.” Yes, it is a story that is so incredibly specific to this one period of time and this one colonial gesture. It does take us to America, and this very modern vision of what Japan and Korea are like now. [But] instead of being temporally specific, the music latches on to the characters a little bit more.

 

How did you begin?

 

I wrote longer pieces of music that could be manipulated and put into appropriate places. The most narratively and emotionally important was the music for the younger Sunja. That’s the genetic material that governs the whole piece. This story is so specific, but it’s also the story of any colonial overseas enterprise, and the story of any large-scale immigrant thing. That’s another way that I thought the music had to function as glue, as a bridge, a way to be with the characters but also float above them a little bit.

 

What were some of the key moments in the score?

 

I laid all the groundwork early; I generated a lot of material. I wanted to do the piece where Hansu sees Sunja from across the fish market at the end of episode 1. I wanted to get the choral music right, when they are making the white rice, which is incredibly important. And I wanted to get some music together for Solomon, knowing that there would be these montages in episode 6 and 8 where we are connecting directly from Solomon back to his grandmother.

Much of the score has an intimate, almost chamber music, feel.

It’s a small ensemble. I don’t think there are more than 10 players, just with clever overdubbing. We did it over three or four sessions. We never had more than five violins, one viola, one cello, flute, oboe and solo voice.

 

How often did you confer with Soo Hugh?

 

A couple of thousand times a day! Soo went into this project knowing exactly how music was going to function. She sent me a [detailed] document before anything had been shot, and where we ended up was more or less there. She already knew what the arc of it was, and she was totally correct. Our meetings were incredibly fast because we both knew what needed to happen. We were so on the same page the whole time.

 

https://variety.com/2022/artisans/news/pachinko-nico-muhly-score-apple-tv-plus-1235283690/

[CallieP]

I really like this video where Min Ha talks about Hansu.  I love the BTS where LMH is laughing after a scene.

[syntyche]

6 Dramas And Movies To Watch If You Love “Pachinko”

 

Based on Min Jin Lee’s best-selling book of the same name, “Pachinko” is a sweeping saga that chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations.

 

The eight-episode series is an epic and emotionally gripping story that covers two storylines concurrently. The first storyline introduces our main character, Sunja (Kim Min Ha), in 1910 during the Japanese occupation of Korea, while the second centers on Sunja’s grandson, Solomon, who works at a New York bank in 1989.

 

The good news is that “Pachinko” will be returning for a second season! While we wait for the series’ return, here are other shows set in similar historical eras you should definitely check out!

 

Spoiler

“Capital Scandal”

 

“Capital Scandal” is set in the 1930s when Korea was under the rule of Japan. Seon Woo Wan (Kang Ji Hwan), the playboy son of a wealthy family, crosses paths with a determined independence activist, Na Yeo Kyung (Han Ji Min), who is the complete opposite of him. Woo Wan becomes involved in the independence movement after betting that Yeo Kyung would fall in love with him. In the process, Woo Wan falls in love with Yeo Kyung, and she also opens his eyes to the social injustice around him.

 

Tonally, the drama is more light-hearted than “Pachinko,” and it strikes a good balance between humor and tragedy. It’s an enjoyable watch for anyone looking for a period drama with humor, action, and romance.

 

“Assassination”

 

This movie takes place during the 1930’s Japanese occupation of Korea, where an assassination plot is underway to take out a pro-Japanese group. Yeom Seok Jin (Lee Jung Jae) is a Korean resistance fighter who hires Ahn Ok Yoon (Jun Ji Hyun), a skilled sniper, to carry out an assassination plot. She works with comrades Big Gun (Jo Jin Woong) and Duk Sam (Choi Duk Moon) to fight for Korea’s independence. Meanwhile, they are also hunted by contract killers Hawaii Pistol (Ha Jung Woo) and Buddy (Oh Dal Soo). With a star-studded cast and an intriguing espionage plot, “Assassination” is one action-packed movie you shouldn’t miss!

 

“Bridal Mask”

 

Also set in the 1930’s, the drama follows Lee Kang To (Joo Won), an ambitious and cold Korean police officer who works for the Japanese colonists. He does this despite his mother’s disapproval, his brother’s past history with the Japanese people, and the hate he has been receiving from the Joseon people. Kang To has been tasked to capture Gaksital, a man who wears a traditional Korean bridal mask and protects the people from the Japanese colonists’ oppression and abuse of power. An unexpected encounter with Gaksital changes the trajectory of Kang To’s life.

 

With complex and well-developed characters, excellent story development, and a fantastic soundtrack, “Bridal Mask” is one of the most epic and mind-blowing Korean dramas set in the Japanese occupation. It will keep you at the edge of your seat and rip your heart to shreds. It’s really that good!

 

“Chicago Typewriter”

 

The drama follows Han Se Joo (Yoo Ah In), a bestselling author experiencing a serious case of writer’s block. After a traumatic event, he discovers a magical typewriter that transports him to his past life during the 1930’s Japanese occupation of Korea. Soon after, he meets Jeon Seol (Im Soo Jung), an ardent fan of his, and a mysterious ghostwriter named Yoo Jin Oh (Go Kyung Pyo), who helps him with his writer’s block. The drama switches back and forth from the present to the 1930’s to slowly unveil the mystery behind the three characters and their past lives.

 

“Chicago Typewriter” is a well-crafted and intricately woven story about love and friendship. It’s also a stirring drama that will move you. And if you enjoy a dose of fantasy in your shows, this is the perfect drama for you!

 

“Gunman in Joseon”

 

The premise of “Gunman in Joseon” is interesting – the last swordmaster of the Joseon Dynasty trades his sword for a gun. The drama takes place during the Japanese Occupation era in 1876. After his father’s death and enslavement of his younger sister, Park Yoon Kang (Lee Joon Gi) embarks on his revenge mission and unwittingly becomes the hero of the people.

 

The cast is splendid; Lee Joon Gi, in particular, is phenomenal in his role. Cool and badass Lee Joon Gi wielding a gun in a historical drama is more than enough reason to watch the show. When you add on the exciting setup and stunning cinematography – you’re in for a treat!

 

“Minari”

 

If you enjoyed Youn Yuh Jung‘s performance in “Pachinko,” you should definitely watch “Minari,” for which she won an Academy Award. Fun fact, the characters she plays in both shows are called Sunja (or Soonja), but they have vastly different personalities. “Minari” follows a South Korean couple, Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica (Yeri Han), who decides to move their American-born children out of the city to live in a small town in Arkansas. Jacob plans to grow Korean vegetables to sell to other immigrant families, but Monica is dubious about the success of his plan, which results in tension in their marriage.

 

Set in the 1980’s, “Minari” is a Korean immigrant story like “Pachinko,” and like it, it’s also a universally relatable story about family, hope, and perseverance. While it’s not as epic in scale as “Pachinko,” it’s a delicate film with a quiet strength.

 

https://www.soompi.com/article/1527445wpp/6-dramas-and-movies-to-watch-if-you-love-pachinko

 

***********************************

 

‘Pachinko’ Production Designer Mara LePere-Schloop, Creator Soo Hugh & Star Minha Kim On Building (And Living Within) Apple TV+ Series’ “Epic” Period World – The Process

 

When production designer Mara LePere-Schloop first met with Soo Hugh in L.A. for Pachinko, she hadn’t yet read Min Jin Lee’s New York Times bestselling novel on which the series would be based. Her initial draw to the project, then, was the “magnetism” of the show’s creator, writer and EP, and her profound “passion” for the story it was telling.

 

LePere-Schloop began reading the book on her flight back home to New Orleans, and it was at this point that she started to ask herself what she’d gotten herself into. “The story was so incredible, but it’s so vast and epic. I was equal parts super excited and also horrified,” the production designer admits. “I was like, ‘This is going to be so hard.’ But I think at that point, I had bit. I was like, ‘I have to do this, but I think this might kill me.'”

 

...Hugh recently sat down with Kim and LePere-Schloop for a conversation as part of Deadline’s video series, The Process, to examine both the process of bringing the show’s world to life, and the experience of living within it.

 

In conversation on The Process, Hugh and LePere-Schloop discuss their intention of bringing a “gritty and visceral” reality to Pachinko, while treating the story with “dignity.” They also get into the “period of isolation and confusion early in the pandemic” and how it ended up benefitting the show; location scouts in Japan, Korea and Canada, which led to a shoot in the latter two countries; historical research, and minor miracles in set construction; shooting at a UNESCO World Heritage site, and building the show’s stunning ’80s Pachinko parlor “from scratch” in Vancouver; visualizing the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 for Episode 7; and their efforts throughout production to “get as much scope and detail into the series as possible.”

 

Kim speaks for her part to her favorite sets and Sunja scenes, seeing elements of history she’d only read about or heard about from her mother come to life before her eyes on set, working with the show’s global cast and crew to tell a specifically Korean story, the very different approaches that directors Kogonada and Justin Chon brought to their work on Pachinko, the joy of dancing barefoot in the series’ title sequence, and more.

 

Pachinko debuted to critical acclaim on Apple TV+ in March, and was renewed for a second season the following month. The series also stars Lee Min-Ho, Jin Ha, Soji Arai, Anna Sawai, Jimmi Simpson aand more. Hugh serves as showrunner and exec produces alongside Kogonada and Chon, Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer for Media Res, Theresa Kang-Lowe for Blue Marble Pictures, and Richard Middleton. David Kim and Sebastian Lee serve as co-executive producers.

 

Watch Hugh’s entire conversation with LePere-Schloop and Kim:

 

https://deadline.com/video/minha-kim-soo-hugh-mara-lepere-schloop-on-pachinko-production-design/

 

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AAPI scribes on Pachinko reveal what it's really like in the writers' room

 

EW gathered three AAPI writers on high-profile shows (all of them alumni of the CAPE New Writers Fellowship, which nurtures emerging writers launching their careers in television and film) to talk about what's changed, what hasn't — and why Asian characters need to "simply exist as humans."

...

 

FRANKLIN JIN RHO

HOMETOWN Richmond, VA

CURRENT JOB Co-producer on the upcoming Netflix series Incarnate. Other credits: Pachinko, The Exorcist, Swamp Thing

FUN FACT He coaches Ultimate Frisbee in his spare time.

 

Do you have any anecdotes from your career that can illustrate some of the struggles AAPI face and how you've dealt with them?

I've definitely struggled with finding the balance between fitting in and playing the dutiful team player and being comfortable in my own skin and having to confidence — and support — to say my piece. I think listening is such an undervalued skill, but if I'm being too quiet, am I fitting a stereotype? If I'm talking too much, am I occupying too much real estate? Fortunately, I've had a number of great bosses who have cultivated safe and nurturing spaces. It probably goes without saying that being a part of the Pachinko writers room was a special experience. My most recent room was similarly a very diverse room with more women than men. It's no coincidence that these rooms felt more egalitarian and empowering. 

 

https://ew.com/tv/aapi-writers-greys-anatomy-house-of-the-dragon-pachinko-progress-interviews/

 

 

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Michael Ellenberg (‘Pachinko’ ...): ‘We’re all trying to be irresponsibly ambitious’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

 

...

His latest passion project is “Pachinko,” which was adapted by Soo Hugh based on the novel of the same name by author and journalist Min Jin Lee. The epic drama about a Korean immigrant family that spans generations follows Sunja, who grows up in Japanese-occupied Korea, tracking her life through old age. The Apple TV Plus saga stars Oscar winner Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari) as the older version of Sunja, with Kim Min-ha co-starring as the teenage Sunja and Yu-na playing Sunja as a child. Korean actor Lee Min-ho and American rising star Jin Ha (“Devs,” “Love Life”) also co-star among a sprawling ensemble that spans decades across two continents. Critics are hailing how the family drama confidently weaves together numerous narrative threads from Sunja’s early life to her twilight years, calling it “miraculous,” “timeless,” “the most impressive series yet on any streamer” and “close to a masterpiece.”

 

“The joy of my job,” Ellenberg admits, is to work “with these really brilliant artists. When you get in sync with what they’re after, you enjoy this incredible partnership, where we’re all trying to be irresponsibly ambitious to help them figure out how to realize their ambitions. ... finally turning to”Pachinko” by adding, “let’s take you to Korea in the twenties, Japan in the thirties and Tokyo in the eighties, and yes, we’re going to integrate all these timelines and in one season and you’re like ‘that’s amazing and then the next day you’re like, oh, we actually have to figure out how to do that!'”

 

https://www.goldderby.com/feature/michael-ellenberg-the-morning-show-pachinko-scenes-from-a-marriage-interview-1204961730/

 

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Flow Of Praise Harvest, Jung Eun Chae Shares Interesting Facts About The Production Process Of 'Pachinko'

 

Jung Eun Chae recently did a photo shoot with Vogue Korea magazine for the June issue. In the accompanying interview, she also discussed her role in the Apple TV+ drama " Pachinko ".

 

Jung Eun Chae said that the process of working on this drama was quite long. However, there were a number of interesting details during the production of "Pachinko" that impressed her greatly.

 

She said, "The journey of the show is quite long. The pre-production is very detailed and the actors also join the drama in a slightly different way than before."

 

"The fact that it's a Korean story made with the capital Hollywood feels really interesting," she continued. "But we also bear a lot of responsibility, which may be due to the weight of the (drama) theme."

 

Jung Eun Chae then revealed her principles in acting. She said, "I like showing variety, both on and off the frame. If I have to move in the same relationship, I think actors should use their voices to enhance a little bit of change in the production."

 

"But 'Pachinko' is different. This time, I tried not to add my own interpretation to the feelings of my character Kyung Hee," concluded the 1986-born actress.

 

https://www.wowkeren.com/berita/tampil/00431832.html

 

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Review: ‘Pachinko’ is the voice of Korean immigrants during Japan’s imperialism

 

History books rarely address the lives of everyday people. But that does not mean the struggles these people went through were insignificant.

 

“Pachinko,” Min Jin Lee’s best-selling novel series, was recently adapted as an eight-episode Apple TV drama series. Starring Yuh-Jung Youn, Lee Minho and Minha Kim, Pachinko is a historical saga that showcases Sunja and her descendants’ living as foreigners in 20th century Japan. It is a story of resilience across multiple generations of Koreans as they endured Japan’s savage and dehumanizing treatments during the colonial period.

...

 

However, strong and resilient people like Sunja fought through these mistreatments and finally emerged triumphant. The story illustrated in Pachinko should not be simplified as “efforts of our ancestors” and “confronting challenges as immigrants.” It is a story that presents generations of struggle Zainichi Koreans suffered due to Japan’s persisting atrocities and genocidal violence against the Korean race.

 

History might only record glamorous and extravagant war heroes. But everyday Korean migrants like Sunja also demonstrated an impressive level of courage by advancing their lives even amid enormous hostility from the surroundings.

 

In fact, these strong individuals who did not back down against the history of Japan’s mistreatments of Koreans should be respected as true heroes.

 

https://highschool.latimes.com/crescenta-valley-high-school/review-pachinko-is-the-voice-of-korean-immigrants-during-japans-imperialism/

[confusedheart]

  NEW EVENT!  

 

Favourite K-Dramas based on Web - Novels, Webtoons & Manhwa  

Vote NOW!  

 

Chingus, love them or hate them! You can’t ignore them. 

K-Dramas inspired from manhwa, webtoons and web-novels are making a big splash in the entertainment industry. Vote for your favourite K-Dramas and let us know the ones you absolutely hated.

 

 

 

 

re:  Your friendly neighbourhood EO Team

 

@confusedheart @Sleepy Owl @agenth and @partyon

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Appletvplus IG stories 

The Beauty of Pachinko 

 

 

[twinkle_little_star]

bits of information that is public about Pachinko.

 

source:

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

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Making of ‘Pachinko’: How Showrunner Soo Hugh Brought the Best-Selling Novel to Television

 

THR goes behind the scenes of Apple TV+’s ambitious, sprawling epic based on Min Jin Lee’s book that featured a multilingual and multinational cast and crew.

 

“How do you follow generational trauma through the decades?” says showrunner Soo Hugh of her approach to the show. “That’s a story I’d never seen before.” Pachinko flashes back and forth in time, with this scene set in 1930s Yeongdo as Sunja (Minha Kim) hears the locals gossip about a rich and powerful new fish broker, Koh Hansu (Minho Lee)

 

It’s apparent within Pachinko’s opening moments that the Apple TV+ adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s best-selling 2017 novel of the same name features some major departures from the source material. The opening sequence cuts between Japanese-occupied Korea in 1915 and New York City in 1989, unlike the book, which unfurls its multigenerational family saga linearly.

 

What’s less apparent is that production on Pachinko’s first season also took place out of order and sometimes simultaneously in multiple locations that included Canada, Japan and seven Korean cities. With two separate timelines occurring half a century apart and directors Kogonada and Justin Chon splitting the eight episodes, the Pachinko team, comprised of a multinational, multilingual crew of 300, was able to operate two units that worked in tandem to pull off the ambitious project, which follows family matriarch Sunja as a young woman (Minha Kim) who leaves Korea for Osaka in 1931 and catches up with her nearly 60 years later as a grandmother (Yuh-Jung Youn) in Japan, where her Western-educated banker grandson Solomon (Jin Ha) is working to close the biggest deal of his career.

 

Yuh-Jung Youn (center) shot Pachinko in Korea and Vancouver last spring in between promoting Minari on her road to winning an Oscar for her supporting role in the film.

 

While each director maintained his signature style — actor Inji Jeong has compared Kogonada and Chon to Monet and Basquiat, respectively — Chon also used different equipment to shoot the different storylines. “We shot all the stuff that’s early 1900s on handheld anamorphics — a wide screen, so you can see more — and on vintage lenses,” he says. “There’s a sleekness to [Solomon’s business deals], so I used Steadicam, Technocranes, dollies on a very clinical German lens. Everything for older Sunja [Solomon’s grandmother] was no camera movement, because she’s much more introspective and thinking about the past constantly. We put it on sticks so it would have a steadiness.”

 

Pachinko’s commitment to authenticity began with presenting the story in its appropriate languages — executive producer Michael Ellenberg says at no point did the team entertain an all-English period reenactment — which for Korean-born American Ha meant not only learning to speak Japanese from scratch, but also working with dialect coach Yu-Mi Kang to master multiple accents for trilingual Solomon: the Kansai dialect of his Osaka hometown, the more standard Kantō of his professional life in Tokyo and even a specific way of speaking Korean that is different from the actor’s own. “I used my coach’s Japanese-accented Korean as the template for Solomon, because he wouldn’t have spoken with an American accent like I do,” he explains.

 

Spoiler

Gambling parlors for pachinko pinball machines became closely associated with Zainichi (ethnic Koreans living in Japan) because it was one of the only businesses they were allowed to own. 

 

 

 

Production designer Mara LePere-Schloop, art director Cho Kim and prop master Dong-man Joo all worked together to build period-accurate sets and locations, including re-creating 1923 Yokohama on two continents (interiors in Korea and exteriors in Vancouver) for episode seven, a part of the story wholly original to the television adaptation that centers on the historic earthquake that rocked the region. “We built this interior room on a gimbal to mimic the earthquake. We could have charged people money because it was such a great ride,” jokes showrunner Soo Hugh. LePere-Schloop worked closely with special effects coordinator Minjae Lee to ensure that the color of the debris choking the atmosphere remained consistent across both sets. “Do you know how much we talked about dust for this show?” Hugh adds.

“There definitely was an audacity to think we could even get something like this made,” admits executive producer Theresa Kang-Lowe, who first brought the novel to Hugh nearly five years ago. “The idea of making a show that’s trilingual with a mostly all-Asian cast — those are all things that were hard to achieve. But while this was a deeply Korean story about real Koreans who live in Japan, it’s also an incredibly universal family story. All these things come into place once you have a creative vision, and having this cast, crew and Soo masterminding all of it gave us confidence.”

 

Hansu (Minho Lee)’s immaculate white suit is a symbol of the fish broker’s wealth as well as who he represents in Sunja’s life. But is he angel or devil?

 

Spoiler

Minha Kim (third from left) says her proudest scenes from the first season were when Sunja bids farewell to her mother and her home: “That whole scene was so powerful and also beautiful.”

 

Soo Jin Kim of Food and Culture Korea Academy served as the production’s culinary director to ensure that the ingredients and cooking techniques were historically accurate.

 

“Right away, she had something,” Hugh says of viewing Kim’s first audition tape. “She was very raw and emotional and powerful.”

 

“If it’s not making me emotional behind the camera, there’s something wrong,” says director Justin Chon, who is also an actor. Adds actor Jin Ha, “Justin understands what we do in front of the camera, and there’s a sense of play as well.”

 

Director Kogonada, whose father is Zainichi Korean, helmed the first three episodes as well as the penultimate installment, which takes place entirely in Yokohama in 1923.

 

“Chapter Five” features a cameo by Kim Young-ok (right), known as Korea’s “National Grandma” for her iconic roles, as the childhood friend who reunites with Sunja after more than 50 years.

 

Soji Arai, who plays Mozasu, is himself a second-generation Zainichi Korean

 

Showrunner Hugh.

 

Pachinko’s surprisingly joyous main title sequence, set to “Let’s Live for Today” by the American rock band The Grass Roots, not only underscores the theme of resilience over adversity but marks the only time the family’s various generations all meet.

 

Pachinko’s producers have joked that the multilingual, multinational crew had more interpreters per capita than any other show.

 

 

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/making-of-pachinko-soo-hugh-novel-adaptation-1235158391/