Pachinko: release date, cast, storyline, trailer release, and everything you need to know.

The 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee serves as the basis for the American drama television series Pachinko, which was created by Soo Hugh and directed by Kogonada and Justin Chon. The first season of Pachinko, which debuted on Apple TV+ on March 25, 2022, was well-received by critics, who praised the show’s writing, cinematography, and cast performances. The second season returns on August 23, 2024.

Pachinko spans four generations, from 1915 to 1989, and depicts a Korean family. In order to establish a new life in Osaka, Japan’s Koreatown, Sunja leaves her family behind while living under Japanese occupation in Korea in 1931. The show goes into detail on the prejudice and living circumstances faced by Korean immigrants in Japan.

What Is the Release Date of Pachinko?

It is officially scheduled for release on March 25, 2022, so be excited. March 25th, 2022 will see the publication of three episodes; after that, on Fridays until April 29, 2022, a new episode will be broadcast. The program Pachinko will only be available on Apple TV+ because it is an Apple Original series.

Plot of Pachinko

The story begins in 1915 in Yeongdo, a small island near Busan, the second-largest city in Japanese-occupied Korea. Yangjin, who is clearly in pain, goes to a female shaman’s home and tells her story of being married to a kind man who has a cleft lip and having three sons, none of whom have lived past the age of one year. Yangjin begs the shaman to “lift the curse” of her childbearing. The story begins up in 1989 in New York City, following a young, well-dressed Korean-American businessman called Solomon who we later discover is originally from Japan as he attends a performance-review conference with two of his bosses.

who tell him that despite his outstanding performance, executives have not chosen him for a promotion to vice president. This news causes Solomon to audaciously suggest during the meeting that he be sent to Japan to finalize a million-dollar business deal that has been stalled because he is sure he can persuade the Korean woman holding up the deal to give him the promotion and pay increase he desires. In the 1920s, Yangjin and her spouse have a daughter named Sunja, who is well-liked, intelligent, and strong even at an early age.

Unnamed in the first episode, Sunja’s parents host male lodgers, at least one of them is an inebriated fisherman who is a contentious figure due to anti-Japanese feelings. Prior to starting his commercial endeavours, Solomon flies to Japan in 1989 and stays at his father’s house. There, he seems to catch up with his father, the old Sunja, his grandmother, and a lady we are supposed to assume is his stepmother. Sunja’s father gets sick in the 1920s and passes away. She is shown as a normal trader at a more advanced fish market nine years after his death. She is still well-liked, intelligent, and capable, and she makes loveable eye contact with Hansu, a young, immaculately dressed businessman who has obviously just recently taken on the role of market broker.

Tensions between Japanese immigrants and Korean locals are apparently still high in Yeongdo in the 1930s, as Sunja’s mother Yangjin warns the adolescent girl not to go alone because she is afraid of allegations that Japanese men are specifically attacking Korean women. Though intelligent and strong, Sunja ignores the advice. However, a few hours later, while on a lone stroll close to the market, she is approached by several young Japanese guys who are about to rape her when the smart and powerful market broker catches them and makes them apologize to Sunja.

In 1989, Solomon travels to Tokyo with two colleagues from his international firm, Shiffley, located in New York City, to attend the wedding reception of the daughter of a well-known Japanese investor. Solomon starts to become fully immersed in the corporate environment of the Tokyo headquarters where Tom Andrews and Naomi work. Simultaneously, the aged Sunja tends to her sister-in-law, Kyunghee, while reflecting on her history. As they exchange information about their dreams, pasts, and worldviews in the 1930s, Sunja and Hansu become closer. When their affection reaches its zenith, they eventually make love in the woods.

When Solomon and his partner try to find Hana, Solomon’s father, who owns a pachinko arcade in Japan in 1989, manages to acquire a sizable loan to grow his business. After Solomon’s attempt to close a commercial transaction with the Korean lady is rejected, Hana who we assume is his childhood friend and/or stepsister who had been mysteriously absent phones him at work and seems to know more about both his personal and professional lives than is reasonable.

A young Hansu and his single father Jong-yul reside in Yokohama in 1923. Jong-yul is a bookkeeper in an underground boxing ring that the yakuza Ryoichi owns. Hansu makes a living by instructing the naive youngster of the affluent American industrialists Holmes family, whose matriarch recommends that Hansu attend Yale with their son. As Ryoichi’s men prepare to execute Jong-yul after he is found to have embezzled money from the yakuza, the city is abruptly hit by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, killing both Jong-yul and the men who were about to carry out the execution. Following the earthquake, Hansu discovers the Holmes family’s remains and takes the pocket watch from them, which he later gives to Sunja. He also meets Ryoichi, who assists in shielding Hansu from a gang of vigilantes who are assaulting Koreans. Hansu still has his “father’s debt to pay,” but Ryoichi promises them that they will take him in when he eventually finds his family.

Who Are the Cast and Crew of Pachinko

The Pachinko cast has a number of well-known Korean performers in addition to seasoned Korean producers and directors to guide the production. The first episode of Pachinko was directed by Kogonada, while the other four episodes were directed by Justin Chon. Additionally, they are both executive producers of the program.

The show’s executive producer, writer, and showrunner Soo Hugh is responsible for turning Min Jin Lee’s massive 490-page novel into a script. The ensemble includes Jeon Yu-na as Sunja in her early years, Kim Min-ha as a breakout star who portrays adolescent Sunja during her formative years, and Youn Yuh-jung, the current Minari star, as Sunja in her senior years.

The news that Lee Min-ho, a well-known actor from Korean dramas such as Boys over Flowers, City Hunter, and Heirs, would play Koh Hansu, a wealthy Japanese businessman who first encounters Sunja when she is a youngster, in Pachinko is sure to delight lovers of K-drama.

Steve Sanghyun Noh portrays Baek Isak, the sick minister who eventually becomes Sunja’s partner, in the Baek family. Mozasu, the son of Sunja and Baek Isak, is portrayed in the program by Soji Arai as Cobra Kai and grows up to be a prosperous owner of a pachinko shop. Later on, Mozasu has his own kid, Solomon, portrayed in the series by Jin Ha. Kaho Minami as Etsuko and Anna Sawai (Fast and Furious 9) as Naomi will also feature in the series.

What Is Pachinko’s Storyline?

A Korean family that immigrates to Japan in the early 20th century is the subject of the expansive Pachinko story, which spans four generations. Through the perspective of one specific mother, Sunja, who hopes to raise her kids, Noa and Mozasu, and provide them with a happy life in their new country, it provides us with insight into the Korean immigrant experience in Japan during the Second World War.

Yangjin and Hoonie’s daughter is Sunja, our primary character. She is raised in Yeongdo, a tranquil Korean fishing hamlet. Teenage Sunja meets wealthy Japanese businessman Koh Hansu one day while doing errands, and she gets pregnant. Yangjin sets up Sunja’s marriage to minister Baek Isak so they may travel to Osaka, Japan, where they would live with his brother and sister-in-law, out of fear for the rumours that will spread.

Sunja discovers that Koreans face harsh discrimination, are forced to reside in specific regions, and are only allowed to work in low-paying occupations after moving to Osaka. The birth of Sunja’s first kid, Noa (the son of Hansu), and the birth of her second son, Mozasu, with Isak.

Their inability to provide for their young family is made worse by Isak’s imprisonment and the disruption of resource availability brought on by the start of World War II. But with time and unexpected help, they progressively make progress, as Noa and Mozasu mature and find their own paths in life. The narrative keeps up with the family’s struggles over the generations as they navigate the war, Noa’s family’s hidden history, and the class and status struggles faced by Koreans living in Japan.

The constant theme of Pachinko is supposed to symbolize the erratic nature of life and the difficulties that accompany the game, and Pachinko does, in fact, meticulously depict the highs and lows of Sunja’s and her family’s lives within the framework of their historical background. Why it was a New York Times bestseller is understandable. That’s right, a really epic story will soon be available on Apple TV+. We can’t wait to see what kind of magic happens on March 25.

The showrunner of “Pachinko” talks about giving the most enigmatic character in the original novel a new backstory.

Each “Pachinko” episode offers two distinct tales. Through the eyes of Sunja, a fish merchant born in Korea during Japanese colonial control, who is compelled to relocate to Japan after falling pregnant out of wedlock, the Apple TV+ epic explores the history of the Zainichi, the ethnic Korean people who live in Japan. Three linear sections make up the original Min Jin Lee novel, which follows Sunja’s life chronologically. However, in turning that tale into a television series, showrunner and executive producer Soo Hugh opted to completely dismantle that framework and instead focus on two distinct timelines: one in which Sunja is portrayed by Min-ha Kim as a young woman in the 1920s, and another in which Sunja is portrayed by Yuh-jung Youn as an elderly woman in 1989. Each episode jumps back and forth between various eras, mostly adhering to the original novel’s language but presenting the narrative in a totally new fashion.

The most significant divergence between the program and the book occurs in “Chapter 7,” whereby the structure is altered for a flashback episode featuring Hansu (portrayed by the renowned Korean actor Min-ho Lee), a criminally connected businessman who impregnates Sunja with her first child, Noa. In the episode, Hansu’s life as a young man in Japan—living with his father and working for a white American family—is seen, along with how his father’s death following the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 caused everything to fall apart. The episode’s director, Kogonada, uses Hansu’s perspective to show the turmoil that followed the earthquake, with special attention on the Japanese military’s and vigilantes’ killing of the Korean people, which is thought to have killed 6,000 Koreans.

The original “Pachinko” novel kept Hansu’s origins a mystery to the viewer and didn’t explicitly show the Kantō Massacre, therefore the episode’s plot is entirely new to the television series. Hugh claims that while though she checked to make sure the history didn’t conflict with the original work, she regarded the adaptation process as a chance to explore a side of Hansu that readers weren’t exposed to.

Hugh claims that whenever you discuss the book with someone, the topic inevitably seems to turn to Hansu. He’s such an engaging character that he just takes up so much space. However, the novel gives him very little biographical information, and it works well. However, when actors play characters on television, additional questions like “Where did this person come from?” arise. Who is this guy? How did he come to be the person he is? And since Hansu has such a distinct outlook on life, we were particularly interested in learning more about his past.

And considering what happened to the Korean populace subsequently, it is undeniably one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century. Suddenly, Hansu’s narrative was that. It seemed so essential to his persona. Hugh chatted to Variety about the creation of the seventh episode of “Pachinko,” reimagining a classic book, and learning more about the obscure history of the Kantō Massacre.

Was there always a plan to alter the structure to accommodate two different timeframes when you came on to showrun the series?

Yes, it doesn’t seem fair to leap into a project and then figure it out, therefore I need to know how you do it first before I take on any tasks. We had discussed my perspective on the book when Media Res optioned it, so they were quite happy with it. Giving this book to ten different authors results in ten distinct shows, so that’s always fantastic, isn’t it? The process of adaption is fascinating because of this. I’ve always believed that a cinematic approach would involve cutting between the past and present.

What thoughts did you have while creating this backstory for a stand-alone episode? Why did you decide to schedule it at the conclusion of the season? It undoubtedly aids in placing Hansu’s demeanour and attitude from the earlier episodes in context.

One of the greatest achievements of television in the past 25 years has been the reworking of characters in episodes, such as in “The Sopranos,” where the audience spends a large deal of time with the characters. I believe it’s great that this episode ends right when we think we have Hansu figured out because it really changes your perception of him when you see him as a young guy. “So now what do you think of him?” is a conversation I adore having with the audience.

Given that “Pachinko” is an American production, did you feel compelled to enlighten them on the history it portrays? It’s likely that many viewers of the show will become aware of the atrocity for the first time.

The fact that it wasn’t only intended for Americans was incredible. I’ve had several chats with unaware folks in Korea and Japan. As a result, many people don’t even know about this past; it is a secret history to them. Indeed, in terms of how the history is conceptualized. How do you take a historical drama that is set in a very certain era and, without using exposition, make it seem understandable to every viewer? Again, it makes no difference if you are an American citizen or not. Thus, a recurring theme in the program has been the necessity for history to seem authentic.

In this episode, in particular, we don’t have any chyrons until the very end, which really helps the audience get into the episode without feeling like they’re reading a history lesson because who wants to read a history lesson on a TV show? and instead we want to use as few chyrons as possible to really immerse the audience in the experience with the characters.

It is reminiscent of working in reverse, which is usually enjoyable. When we first see him in the pilot, we already know he’s a Japanese resident. that he is employed by a criminal organization. Therefore, when one looks back, one wonders, “How did he fall into illegal enterprise? What became to his family? So, questions are usually asked at the beginning. After that, gradually respond to their queries. We’ve said, in a manner, that, in the minds of our characters, America is the show’s boogeyman. I believe that learning about Hansu’s intense desire to go to America and live out a version of the American Dream is an essential component of the immigrant narrative.

It was amazing to be able to include it into the show. When we produce a departure episode, it should, in my opinion, seem like both a stand-alone and an integral part of the show. Thus, “let’s make the episode feel like a war film” was the show’s allusion. Going back in time, we will witness how that conflict transpired. When we first meet the protagonists, they have just returned from that war, and we can see the scars. It was so expertly directed by Kogonada, and a lot of the episode’s visual language is reminiscent of classic war movies. “Platoon,” “Empire of the Sun,” “Come and See,” and expanding on those terms.

It’s intriguing that there is a war movie theme to it. What role did the episode’s aspect ratio have in that? For this episode, the widescreen format of the remainder of the series is changed to 4:3.

The traditional aspect ratio of 4:3 comes to mind when we think about vintage films. And it creates such a lovely contrast because a lot of our show has a large, theatrical sense to it, so when we suddenly return and shrink the screen, you know this episode is going to look different. The audience senses instantly that they are in that mode. But the best thing about that decision was that it transports you back to those vintage, beloved movies.

As Hansu, Min-ho Lee is one of Korea’s most well-known performers. Could you provide me with information on the casting of Min-ho Lee, a well-known actor in Korea, for the project?

Not only are there many positions to fill, but the character audition procedure took a long time. All of this added to the duration of the casting process. As a writer, you envision your characters in your thoughts in one way or another when you spend as much time with them as I have. After that, you either view their audition films and are astonished and happy to see them, or you just think, “No, that person is not right.

Actors’ ability to bring characters to life in unexpected ways is part of what makes creating movies and TV series magical, albeit I must check myself. And I have to let myself be vulnerable to that. Thus, especially when I consider Chapter 7, Min-ho has never before completed a series such as this. The biggest mega star in Korea is him. His appearance is immaculate. I’m now wondering if he could portray Hansu. The phrase “Let’s see how he does in the audition” was used a lot.