‘Pachinko’ Review: Yuh-jung Youn, Minah Kim Are The Heart Of This Epic Heart-Touching Family Saga And Lee Minho Is The Brain
As a mass-media student, I had to watch many films and series and I totally loved them. However, I didn’t like watching sad family-drama films because most of them were pretty boring and it breaks my heart to watch people suffer. It also reminds me that I’m quite privileged than most of the people who work really hard but still struggle to survive in this world. The same thing happened when I watched the first three episodes of the highly-anticipated series Pachinko starring Yuh-jung Yeon, Minah Kim, and Lee Minho on Apple TV+ and my perception about family dramas changed after it.
THE PLOT AND CAST
The story of Pachinko revolves around four generations of a Korean immigrant family and their journey across three countries – Korea, Japan, and the United States as they try to survive despite facing many challenges in their life like racism, poverty, stereotypes, betrayal, and politics. The 8-episode series is based on the acclaimed New York Times bestselling novel by the same name written by Min Jin Lee and is created by Soo Hugh, it is directed by Kogonada and Justin Chon. The story switches timelines multiple times starting in South Korea in the early 1900s and culminating in Japan in the late 1980s.
The main protagonist of the story is Sunja, played by three different actors – Yu-na Jeon as a young girl growing up in Korea during Japanese rule, Minha Kim as a young woman in the 1920s, and Yuh-jung Youn as an elderly woman in the late 1980s.
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Lee Min-ho plays the role of Koh Hansu, a Korean district fish broker living in Japan and Sunja’s lover. Jin Ha plays Solomon Baek, Sunja’s grandson who works for a multinational company; Steve Sang-Hyun Noh plays Isak, Sunja’s husband; Anna Sawai as Naomi, Solomon’s co-worker, Jimmi Simpson as Tom Andrews, Solomon’s co-worker; Jun-woo Han as Yoseb, Sunja’s brother-in-law; and Eun Chae Jung as Young Kyunghee, Sunja’s sister-in-law; Soji Arai as Mozasu, Sunja and Isak’s son; Kaho Minami as Etsuko, Mozasu’s girlfriend; and Inji Jeong as Yangjin, Sunja’s mother.
EPISODE 1
The story starts with a Korean woman who is married to an outcast, her children are not able to survive after birth but she finally gives birth to Sunja and her father promises to protect her till the end after Japan colonises Korea. I loved how the father-daughter relationship is so beautifully presented on-screen and how he wants to show her daughter that kindness still exists in this cruel world. But soon, she faces the harsh reality of life when she witnesses the brutal killing of a fisherman. I think his death brings a sense of patriotism in little Sunja and she believes that her nation will overcome this one day.
The episode also introduces the viewers to Solomon Baek, Sunja’s grandson. In no time, we witness that he’s facing racism at his workplace but he knows what it takes to climb up the ladder of success and we are so impressed. Go for it, boy!
The story takes a leap and Sunja is now a teenager. In the marketplace, Koh Hansu sees Sunja for the first time and he falls in love with her immediately (typical Lee Minho character thing). You know, some things never change!
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EPISODE 2
Solomon arrives in Japan to crack an important deal but when he enters the office, he’s being judged by his co-workers because he’s Korean. Solomon is constantly trying to prove his loyalty but people can’t see his dedication towards his work and are clearly not ready to accept him as a normal human being which is so heart-breaking.
Talking about Sunja and Hansu, our guy is head over heels for her. The romance begins when he saves Sunja from Japanese boys. You know, how women are always the real victims of war. Koh Hansu teaches her about dreams and encourages her to see the world. At this point, we know that this couple is surely going to break our hearts!
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We also meet a Korean lady living in Japan, Solomon’s company wants her to sell her house to them but she declines the offer and Solomon is trying to convince her. When he meets her, she says this one particular line that mesmerises me, “My kids don’t even know the language (Korean) in which their mother dreams,” and as a daughter of a couple who left their native place to provide better education to their kids, I literally felt it. That’s how you know that it’s a universal story.
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EPISODE 3
In episode 3, some major things happen in Sunja’s life and she has to make some tough decisions. There’s bad news for older Sunja and her family and younger Sunja is devastated as she faces betrayal from a loved one. People are showing their true colours!
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Then enters Baek Isak, a pastor who is soon migrating to Japan but gets extremely sick when he reaches Busan, he’s the purest soul we have ever seen. He plays an important role in the story as he gives a solution to Sunja’s problem that will change her life completely.
Will Sunja accept the offer? That’s the real question.
VERDICT
Sunja is truly the epitome of female power and resilience, the way she calmly and quite boldly manages any problematic situation is praise-worthy. However, like any other human being, she has made many mistakes in her life and you can see that she is learning a lot of things from it. The little Sunja has this rebelliousness in her eyes for the Japanese officers that reflects in the teenage Sunja as well. Considering it’s Minah Kim’s first acting gig, she is doing a good job portraying the character. Talking about Yuh-jung Youn who is an Academy-award winning actress, unlike the other two actors, she’s calm and easy-going. She shines in all the emotional scenes but the makers should give her more screen time and dialogue.
So far, my favourite character from Pachinko is undoubtedly Koh Hansu, even though he’s a questionable character, I like the fact that he’s such a realist whose only way to survive in the world is to play the game of life by his own rules. Every time he appeared on the screen, I had to pause the show and prepare myself to witness the kind of twist he is going to bring in the story (we love an unpredictable character). Jin Ha as Solomon is *chef’s kiss*! He’s the most relatable character in the series or as Sunja says “He’s a good boy,” and we totally agree with her but he needs to get his life together.
I personally loved the opening song – Grass Roots’ 1967 hit ‘Let’s Live for Today’, all the characters coming together and dancing in the pachinko parlour is a nice idea to give a fun little break to the viewer because the series is very intense. My only issue with the series is that it lacks proper execution because there are so many stories and characters and if you aren’t fully immersed in the story, you might miss several easter eggs and minor twists. One thing that I absolutely loved about Pachinko is that the visuals are quite appealing. The cinematography of the series is really impressive, the warm colour palette suits the theme of the story. In a historical drama, the costume plays the most crucial role and Pachinko definitely nailed it. From vintage hanboks to crisp suits, the costumes really suit the character’s personality.
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Overall, the story does an excellent job of gripping the attention of the viewer with relatable characters and nuanced storytelling. Pachinko is an epic and intimate story of a Korean immigrant family, an appealing tale of survival and struggles that reflects the world we live in. The stories of families surviving through difficult times touches your heart and makes you question humanity. I’m giving it 4 stars because the writing is fast-paced yet detailed with great dialogues. All the actors are a treat to watch, Yuh-jung Youn, Minah Kim are the heart of this family drama and Lee Minho is the brain. After watching the series, you will keep thinking about it for a long time. I can’t wait to watch the other episodes now because there are so many questions and I need answers!
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Pachinko is all set to premiere on Apple TV+ on March 25, 2022.
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