[Drama 2022] 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

[partyon]

EVENT: Halloween - evil oppas, unnis and mother-in-laws !

 

Join us for part 2 of our Halloween event! Let us know who you think are the most evil dudes out there.

 

 

 

re: @Lmangla

 

PS. Lee Min Ho's drama mamas are featured in this event!

[JoannaID]

On 10/28/2020 at 7:42 PM, msdot said:

I just finished re-reading Pachinko, and I hope they don’t “pretty up” the role of Hansu, or only cover a few years of his life. Hansu is deeply cynical about the world and people in general, and can be very violent. When he has sex with young Sunja, he’s simply taking his pleasure; he’s affectionate and kind, but not particularly interested in what turns her on sexually. On the other hand, he truly falls in love with her and looks out for her and Noa throughout the rest of his life, although she always rebuffs him. He even offers to marry her after his wife has died; by then they are both quite a bit older.  These different sides of him are what make his character so interesting, and they play out over 35 years or so.

 

I’m a bit concerned that the author has dropped out of the project. To me that signals that they’re changing the story quite a bit. I just hope we don’t lose the complexity in Hansu’s character. I think LMH will be terrific in the role and I’m also intrigued to see how he ages himself.

 

Thanks @msdotfor the great summary of Hansu's character from the book, he's a very interesting character indeed. Even though I won't read the book, I'm glad I can read summary from here and there to give a little background.  

 

Regarding the book author involvement in the project, it's not confirmed yet, so far we just heard rumor that she's not involved in the project, but no confirmation yet.

 

On 10/28/2020 at 9:27 PM, Ilmo yens said:

 

I don't think she ever was part of the production team she sold the rights to apple and they will do an adaption of it. So there can't technically be any drop outs and Overall in my opinion she is pretty happy to get her work brought to live and put on the biggest platform with a stellar cast. Her work is getting a global recognition and she is probably pleased with this making it big time.  It's every authors dream to have their work recognized and believe me not many authors or writers ever make it because it's only a few minority that make it this far who get this type of love and recognition

I am not really sure about the author involvement status in the drama project from the beginning, but she's still listed as one of the co-producers in the old IMDB page of Pachinko. I read also in one of the media articles, her name was mentioned and she was repped by a lawyer. 

Anyway, I am going to enjoy the drama whether the adaptation will be close or far from the book, LMH will play an unconventional and complex character, the one he's never played before in a drama and I'm sure he will do justice to this role.  

[msdot]

On 10/28/2020 at 1:06 PM, Kris Silva said:

Sharing this video  where the author Min Jin Lee gave a speech and talked about her book Pachinko among other things and also replied to a question about Hansu character (minute mark 57:37):

Thanks so much for sharing this, @Kris Silva! From her words I think Hansu continues to treasure Sunja for giving him a son, and he's still physically attracted to her many years later, even when she thinks she's just an old woman. Personally I think Sunja really missed out by not having more of a relationship with him, although he was the cause of much suffering for her; everyone was so unforgiving of her for getting pregnant by him. But that was the culture then; I wonder if that's changed much in Korean and Japanese culture by now. 

So funny that the author says about Hansu,  "He's hot!" Power is an aphrodisiac, and LMH is well-cast in the role on several levels! 

 

[Kris Silva]

@msdot   Funny you said that  ( that Sunja really missed out .. )   I shared this video in our LMH thread,  which I found interesting because some readers were rooting for Hansu and Sunja to be together. And the author described Hansu as a sexy character..   again that's our boy.    Minute mark  39:10:   

 

 

[msdot]

1 hour ago, Kris Silva said:

some readers were rooting for Hansu and Sunja to be together. And the author described Hansu as a sexy character.. 

As I think about again, it would probably have been too hard for Sunja, as she has a strong moral compass. I'm thinking back to the Godfather movie, where a wife finally realizes that her husband is an integral part of a mafia crime family. Staying with him would morally compromise her, essentially supporting what he's doing, and she leaves him. I imagine many spouses are faced with this type of moral dilemma. Can you stay with someone you love if they're involved in activities that hurt people?  And I'm sure Hansu never let his activities affect his family, so it would be easy for his wife and children to ignore or deny it. 

[JoannaID]

Possible wardrobe / costume styles and background set of Pachinko and Hansu in the 1930s.

 

 

[syntyche]

With the influx of content dinosaurs such as Apple, Disney, and HBO, the Korean OTT market is beginning to change.  

 
U.S. content dinosaurs with huge capital are preparing to enter the Korean market one after another. The Korean market, where Netflix and Korean OTT have been competing in recent years, is expected to be greatly reshaped.  
 
Apple's Apple TV+ is launching aggressively. The production of the drama "Pachinko," starring Hallyu star Lee Min-ho, has been official, and director Kim Ji-woon's "Mr. Robin," who was originally discussing production with Netflix, is also preparing for Apple TV+. The company is recruiting famous directors, writers and actors with huge production costs.  
...

There is a reason why giant dinosaur OTT companies are paying attention to the Korean market. This is because if Korea is caught, Asia will follow. For them, the Asian market is more important than anywhere else. The fact that 46 percent of Netflix's new paid subscribers came from Asia in the third quarter of this year proves this. Several OTT companies as well as Netflix are jumping into the K-content to conquer the huge Asian market.

 

Besides Netflix, Apple TV Plus is the only platform that officially announced its entry into Korea. However, industry watchers say that the launch of OTTs, which have huge capital, will not be long before they are launched. An official from the Korean film industry said, "These companies have recruited several talents from existing production companies and investment distributors to set up a team to work for their Korean branches. The Korean content production team is also quietly preparing to work with the new OTT platform to create new works.

 

http://isplus.live.joins.com/news/article/article.asp?total_id=23905367

[Min2206]

47 minutes ago, syntyche said:

With the influx of content dinosaurs such as Apple, Disney, and HBO, the Korean OTT market is beginning to change.  

 
U.S. content dinosaurs with huge capital are preparing to enter the Korean market one after another. The Korean market, where Netflix and Korean OTT have been competing in recent years, is expected to be greatly reshaped.  
 
Apple's Apple TV+ is launching aggressively. The production of the drama "Pachinko," starring Hallyu star Lee Min-ho, has been official, and director Kim Ji-woon's "Mr. Robin," who was originally discussing production with Netflix, is also preparing for Apple TV+. The company is recruiting famous directors, writers and actors with huge production costs.  
...

There is a reason why giant dinosaur OTT companies are paying attention to the Korean market. This is because if Korea is caught, Asia will follow. For them, the Asian market is more important than anywhere else. The fact that 46 percent of Netflix's new paid subscribers came from Asia in the third quarter of this year proves this. Several OTT companies as well as Netflix are jumping into the K-content to conquer the huge Asian market.

 

Besides Netflix, Apple TV Plus is the only platform that officially announced its entry into Korea. However, industry watchers say that the launch of OTTs, which have huge capital, will not be long before they are launched. An official from the Korean film industry said, "These companies have recruited several talents from existing production companies and investment distributors to set up a team to work for their Korean branches. The Korean content production team is also quietly preparing to work with the new OTT platform to create new works.

 

http://isplus.live.joins.com/news/article/article.asp?total_id=23905367

Thanks @syntyche on this recent news.  Wow!  46% is a lot!   Smart LMH taking the lead.

[gtLmh0622]

 

[Heilo]

On 10/25/2020 at 2:42 AM, syntyche said:

 

 

@CarolynH I had to do some backreading to find the family tree.  It is indeed a helpful guide on the characters of this novel/drama. Thanks, @1ouise.

 

@JoannaID  thanks for the actor info. 

 

Hello @lupeace @Heilo @Time loop @madmad min @Edgar Pordwed @Wis dom @Ameera Ali @noor ul ain  @Snoe Whyte welcome all to the thread!

 

Thanks alot @syntyche for the warm welcome I appreciate it

[sal2]

18 hours ago, syntyche said:

With the influx of content dinosaurs such as Apple, Disney, and HBO, the Korean OTT market is beginning to change

 

Mixed feelings about this. I think everyone watching Korean dramas love the format of 16/20 episode with an ending. Netflix those this 6/10 episodes with multiple seasons. witch ruin storys flow as you have to wait long for the story to finish and in the mean time you watch other tings losing memory on what happened in the story. SO you have a hard time connect when new episodes comes. I do not trust those streaming sites understanding what is the draw to Korean dramas. I wish they do not ruin the format at least I have come to love. No need to change it to me...but I do not trust them doing that... 

[Therese]

10 minutes ago, sal2 said:

 

Mixed feelings about this. I think everyone watching Korean dramas love the format of 16/20 episode with an ending. Netflix those this 6/10 episodes with multiple seasons. witch ruin storys flow as you have to wait long for the story to finish and in the mean time you watch other tings losing memory on what happened in the story. SO you have a hard time connect when new episodes comes. I do not trust those streaming sites understanding what is the draw to Korean dramas. I wish they do not ruin the format at least I have come to love. No need to change it to me...but I do not trust them doing that... 

yes I feel the same way too! I really hope they don’t do that and that pachinko will have an ending in 8 episodes but I have a feeling there will be season 2 for some reason.

[syntyche]

The New York Times: 

July's Book Club Pick: 'Pachinko,' by Min Jin Lee

Feb. 2, 2017

 

Min Jin Lee’s stunning novel “Pachinko” — her second, after “Free Food for Millionaires” (2007) — announces its ambitions right from the opening sentence: “History has failed us, but no matter.”

 

...

Like most memorable novels, however, “Pachinko” resists summary. In this sprawling book, history itself is a character. “Pachinko” is about outsiders, minorities and the politically disenfranchised. But it is so much more besides. Each time the novel seems to find its locus — Japan’s colonization of Korea, World War II as experienced in East Asia, Christianity, family, love, the changing role of women — it becomes something else. It becomes even more than it was.

 

Despite the compelling sweep of time and history, it is the characters and their tumultuous lives that propel the narrative. Small details subtly reveal the characters’ secret selves and build to powerful moments. 

 

Dozens more characters amplify the vortex of points of views. The numerous shifts are occasionally jolting, but what is gained is a compassionate, clear gaze at the chaotic landscape of life itself. In this haunting epic tale, no one story seems too minor to be briefly illuminated. Lee suggests that behind the facades of wildly different people lie countless private desires, hopes and miseries, if we have the patience and compassion to look and listen.

 

full review:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/books/review/pachinko-min-jin-lee.html

 

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

 

The Guardian:

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee review – rich story of the immigrant experience

15 Mar 2017

 

A vivid, immersive multigenerational saga about life for Koreans in Japan is a tale of resilience and poignant emotional conflict

 

 

The novel’s multi-generational narrative allows this rich history to unfold at a pace that is beguilingly peaceful, opening in a deceptively idyllic coastline setting in Korea, shortly after the Japanese annexing of Korea. Hoonie, the cleft-lipped, club-footed son of a fisherman, marries Yangjin, a 15-year-old “as mild and tender as a newborn calf”. Their first three babies die, but the fourth, Sunja, survives, and blossoms in adolescence. She soon falls for a sharp-suited man who wears white shoes and speaks fluent Japanese and Korean: a married yakuza, a polished gangster whose divided loyalties announce the end of Sunja’s innocence and the beginning of a life of hardship. Pregnant with Noa, her only salvation lies in marriage to an understanding pastor who arranges her escape to Japan, where she quickly becomes accustomed to the life of a Korean immigrant.

 

Much of the novel’s authority is derived from its weight of research, which brings to life everything from the fishing village on the coast of the East Sea in early 20th-century Korea to the sights and smells of the shabby Korean township of Ikaino in Osaka – the intimate, humanising details of a people striving to carve out a place for themselves in the world. Vivid and immersive, Pachinko is a rich tribute to a people that history seems intent on erasing.

 

full review:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/15/pachinko-min-jin-lee-review

[syntyche]

Pachinko review: a masterpiece of empathy, integrity and family loyalty

Aug 5, 2017

 

Pachinko itself is a Japanese version of pinball and while pachinko parlours become the family business later in the novel, it also stands as a metaphor for the lives they lead. In a game of pinball, the initial strike of the ball against the flipper determines how the game will play out. For Sunja and her descendants, it is what happens at birth that determines their fate. Over the years they may bounce off the sides of the machine, ricocheting against the bumpers, kickers and slingshots, but there is a sense that fate has decided how their lives will develop from the moment the plunger hits the ball.

 

full review:

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/pachinko-review-a-masterpiece-of-empathy-integrity-and-family-loyalty-1.3165406

 

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

Culture Clash, Survival And Hope In 'Pachinko'

February 7, 2017

 

 

Lee is at her best describing complex behaviors and emotions with unadorned, down-to-earth language. "Isak knew how to talk with people, to ask questions, and to hear the concerns in a person's voice; and she seemed to understand how to survive, and this was something he did not always know how to do." There are horrors in Pachinko, but the core message remains ultimately one of survival and hope.

 

"Pachinko was a foolish game," Lee writes, "but life was not." The reader could be forgiven for thinking that the reverse might also be true. This is honest writing, fiction that looks squarely at what is, both terrible and wonderful and occasionally as bracing as a jar of Sunja's best kimchi.

 

full review:

https://www.npr.org/2017/02/07/512910187/culture-clash-survival-and-hope-in-pachinko

 

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

REVIEW: PACHINKO

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

 

 

This novel covers a lot of ground, spanning from 1910 to 1989, with chapters set in Korea, Japan, and America. The historical background is filtered through the experiences of this fictional family- making this a story about people, community, and culture rather than a moralizing history lesson. The significance of events are made plain through the consequences these characters face, seemingly through little or no fault of their own. The history is important, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to supplement Pachinko with a little outside reading (or at least Googling) to brush up your knowledge, but Min Jin Lee has penned an ambitious emotional saga here, not a persuasive essay. She emphasizes the complexities of the relationships between countries, between immigrants, and between family members. She leaves the reader to decide what to do with it all in the end.

 

The game Pachinko is looked at with the same disdain as many Koreans are by the majority of the Japanese in this novel. Those who play it, those who work in the Pachinko parlors, and those who have amassed fortunes in the industry are frowned upon by society at large. Many believe the Pachinko bosses to be crooked mobsters, each and every one. But the game also becomes a source of hope and a symbol for Sunja and her family. They make the best of what they’ve got, even when they know the odds are stacked against them.

 

“Man, life’s going to keep pushing you around, but you have to keep playing.” 

 

full review:

https://literaryelephant.wordpress.com/2019/02/22/review-pachinko/

[syntyche]

13 hours ago, sal2 said:

 

Mixed feelings about this. I think everyone watching Korean dramas love the format of 16/20 episode with an ending. Netflix those this 6/10 episodes with multiple seasons. witch ruin storys flow as you have to wait long for the story to finish and in the mean time you watch other tings losing memory on what happened in the story. SO you have a hard time connect when new episodes comes. I do not trust those streaming sites understanding what is the draw to Korean dramas. I wish they do not ruin the format at least I have come to love. No need to change it to me...but I do not trust them doing that... 

 

13 hours ago, Therese said:

yes I feel the same way too! I really hope they don’t do that and that pachinko will have an ending in 8 episodes but I have a feeling there will be season 2 for some reason.

 

Ikr, in shows with multiple seasons, I frequently have a hard time recalling whatever happened to the previous season's ending while watching season premieres. lol. In contrast, the 16/20 episode format of Kdramas do have their advantage, as they tell the story concisely and we get the resolution in just a few weeks.

 

With the length of the novel 'Pachinko,' the thought of having multiple seasons did cross my mind. Remember TKEM fans clamoring for a second season? Maybe we'd finally get such multiple season format for this new project. But when the cast was officially announced, it already encompasses three generations. So maybe the film producers are having a different take on storytelling and are able to condense the story in 8 episodes. Maybe.         

 

@Kris Silva, thanks for the insightful videos! I'm at awe at LMJ's eloquence.

 

@Therese, welcome to the thread! 

[Time loop]

3 hours ago, syntyche said:

 

 

Ikr, in shows with multiple seasons, I frequently have a hard time recalling whatever happened to the previous season's ending while watching season premieres. lol. In contrast, the 16/20 episode format of Kdramas do have their advantage, as they tell the story concisely and we get the resolution in just a few weeks.

 

With the length of the novel 'Pachinko,' the thought of having multiple seasons did cross my mind. Remember TKEM fans clamoring for a second season? Maybe we'd finally get such multiple season format for this new project. But when the cast was officially announced, it already encompasses three generations. So maybe the film producers are having a different take on storytelling and are able to condense the story in 8 episodes. Maybe.         

 

@Kris Silva, thanks for the insightful videos! I'm at awe at LMJ's eloquence.

 

@Therese, welcome to the thread! 

 

I was one of these fans asking for a sequel and if a drama gets a good amount of audience and junk of fans it should get a sequel per American ways of doing things. That is what we do we prolong shows that has an audience and cut these that don't have it and being American myself I am use to it and would like to see Kdramas follow the same pattern 

[CarolynH]

I finally have a copy of Pachinko!  I found it at our city's used book store for $1.50.  I couldn't believe my good fortune when I found the book.  

 

Sorry, if someone posted this, but this excited me.  Caroline Kennedy introduced Min Jin Lee at the Martha's Vineyard Book Festival in 2017.  Caroline Kennedy had this to say about our Hansu "....I also want to congratulate the author on creating a great romantic hero in Hansu:  he is Heathcliff, Percy Blakeney, Mr. Darcy, Rhett Butler all rolled into one--with a gangster twist.  And the real reason I am here is because, even though I know he is a fictional character, I was hoping that somehow I might get to meet him...."  Usually, I don't read any prefaces to a book, I just dive in chapter 1.  I think Caroline Kennedy's name caught my eye, so I read what she wrote.  Now, I am excited to meet Hansu!

[gtLmh0622]

Korea Tourism Organization's promotion video for Andong :
 

 

[syntyche]

Andong Hahoe Folk Village

cr: z_sera

 

 

 

 

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

 

@CarolynH  Good that you secured a copy of the book. I see Minoz also having a hard time getting a copy of it. Now we know who to credit to the recent spike in the sales of the book! 

Quite an intriguing description of Hansu! Enjoy your reading. 

 

@gtLmh0622 Thanks for sharing the entertaining KTO video! Because of the popularity of kpop, KTO has been integrating sing/dance onto their promotional videos. Andong has such great preserved, traditional structures. It fits the story setting of the book.     

[Areumdaun]

Yay @CarolynH. Glad you got your hands on the book. 

I have just finished reading Pachinko. It was a really good and it deserves all the praise it is getting.  It is a story that will resonate with many many immigrants, all over the world.
 

That said - the novel has so many characters - though Sunja is the main character, there are stories of many other characters and Hansu doesn’t even have that much of a solid presence like that of Noa or Moses or Solomon gets.
 

He is the catalyst in my view, so there isn’t much need for him. The story moves because of him at each point and his presence is scattered through out but we never get to see his life as much as the other characters. He is more like the background presence. Like@CarolynH points out - he is the sort of the great romantic hero but also a violent one. It would be hard not to fall for him - he seems to have that glamour and intelligence.  I too like @msdot wish Sunja had given him another chance - but those were the times then and Sunja wouldn’t have even considered it for the shame she would have brought to her sons and her family. Sunja wants to look pretty for him even when she gets on with age and I feel Hansu is the only who makes her feel this way.
 

I am sure LMH would make Hansu his own but honestly I couldn’t imagine him as Hansu - because LMH doesn’t seem to have that mean streak in him at all - so waiting to see how he delivers it.  I am ready to be floored. 
 

I have a feeling this would be like each episode one character kind of story & Sunja and Hansu might be ones linking them. It is more of an ensemble than a male lead female lead kind of story. Can’t wait though. Thanks to LMH I read a good book - even Obama’s list didn’t persuade me to take this.