Some stories are so gripping and intimate that it touches your heart and you keep thinking about them for many days. The characters; their past, struggles, hope, dreams, and the theme of the story make you want to question the reality of your own world and when it’s a family drama like Pachinko, you relate to a certain character and you can feel the emotions of that person. The Apple TV+ series features Academy-winning actress Yuh-jung Yeon, newcomer Minah Kim, and Hallyu superstar Lee Minho. I watched the 4th episode and let me tell you, it’s an emotional ride.
THE PLOT AND CAST
The story of Pachinko follows the journey of four generations of a Korean immigrant family filled with innumerable difficulties and struggles across three countries – Korea, Japan, and America. Throughout their lives, the family faces many challenges including racism, poverty, stereotypes, betrayal, and politics. The 8-episode series is based on the New York Times bestselling novel ‘Pachinko’ written by Min Jin Lee. It is written by Soo Hugh and Kogonada and Justin Chon are the directors of this series.
Sunja is the main protagonist of the story, played by three actors – Yu-na Jeon as a young girl, Kim Minha as a young woman, and Yuh-jung Youn plays the role of older Sunja in the late 1980s. Lee Min-ho is Koh Hansu, Sunja’s lover and a ruthless Korean businessman who lives in Japan. Jin Ha is Solomon Baek, Sunja’s grandson who works for a multinational company; Steve Sang-Hyun Noh as Isak Baek, a Pastor and Sunja’s husband; Anna Sawai as Naomi, Solomon’s co-worker in Japan, Jimmi Simpson as Tom Andrews, Solomon’s co-worker in Japan; Inji Jeong plays Yangjin, Sunja’s mother, Jun-woo Han as Yoseb, Sunja’s brother-in-law; and Eun Chae Jung as Kyunghee, Sunja’s sister-in-law; and Soji Arai as Mozasu, Sunja and Isak’s son and Solomon’s father.
EPISODE 4
The previous episodes introduced the audience to all the characters and how Koh Hansu betrays Sunja and Isak offers her to marry him and start a new life in Japan with his brother and sister-in-law – Yoseb and Kyunghee. Sunja accepts the offer as she is determined to bring her child into the world. The episode starts with Isak trying a suit in a tailor’s shop and there he meets Hansu. He tries to manipulate Isak and indirectly tells him not to marry Sunja but if Hansu knows how to manipulate people with his words, Isak knows how to give the favour back with words. Isak is a smart guy, I’m telling you.
There’s a scene where the priest is quite harshly scolding Sunja for bearing another man’s child before marriage during the marriage ceremony and Isak is trying hard to calm him down. It’s literally the most heartbreaking and sad wedding I have ever witnessed, to be honest. The whole episode is all about women and it quite brilliantly shows that women are the victims of society and their harsh judgements.
Also Read: ‘Pachinko’ Review: Yuh-jung Youn, Minah Kim Are The Heart Of This Epic Heart-Touching Family Saga And Lee Minho Is The Brain
On the other hand, Solomon is excited to seal the deal that will prove his loyalty to the Japanese company and will help him to climb the social ladder. During the preparation for an important meeting, he talks to Naomi and we can see that he judges her for no reason. I’m not liking the fact that our good boy is turning into a bad one. Naomi has worked with men her entire life and she knows how to deal with them. I loved that she was so calm and poised. Anna Sawai is a star, she fascinated me so much in this episode.
Meanwhile, elder Sunja decided to visit Korea after so many years to spread the ashes of Kyunghee because she always wanted to return to Korea. The moment she steps foot in her own homeland, she turns into younger Sunja and I totally love the moment. After struggling her entire life to survive, she’s finally back and wants to live every moment of it.
The one scene that I cannot forget is the one where Yangjin is explaining or teaching her daughter Sunja about her duties as a wife. The way she says that even though she’s pregnant, she has to take care of her husband’s sexual needs and not complain at all. Isn’t this a universal thing that women teach other women that they need to keep other people first without caring about their own needs just because they are born in this world as a woman? When women are supposed to stop sacrificing themselves for others? Is there an end at all?
After this, we also witness a death in which a woman sacrifices her life for her country, every death in this story has a purpose and it’s very heartbreaking.
Also Read: ‘Pachinko’ Star Jin Ha Apologises For Posting Inappropriate Pics Of Elderly Korean Women Without Consent
The one thing that I love about Pachinko is that it has so much drama in it and the most interesting twist comes when the Korean lady refuses to sign the papers and Solomon’s hard work is wasted, the lady doesn’t need to prove her loyalty to these Japanese men who are just trying to use them for their own benefit. This woman is my favourite character after Koh Hansu, she deserved to be the main character of this story. Finally, Solomon is on his way to getting his life together.
I already said that the cinematography of the series is impressive, and I loved how the city has a darker tone because it showcases the brutal reality of people living in it or…we can say surviving. The journey of Sunja is not going to be easy from here and I’m eagerly waiting for the time when Koh Hansu will play his trump card and will change the fate of this family.
Pachinko is currently streaming on Apple TV+.