There are a lot of fantastic and great dramas which are going to be released in the next few weeks. But we would be lying if we said we were not the most excited for the release of Pachinko. The series which consists of 8 episodes, produced in three languages, Korean, Japanese, and English will premiere on March 25, 2022 on Apple TV+ with 3 episodes. Then one episode will be released every Friday until April 29, 2022. Here are four reasons why we are so excited for the series. (and no, it’s not only because of Lee Minho)
The series is based off of Min Jin Lee’s novel of the same name. The book is an epic historical story which follows a Korean family that immigrates to Japan. It follows the family as they encounter very difficulties including financial, racism, stereotyping and other aspects of the 20th-century Korean experience of Japan.
Okay, but we’ll start with the cast…
The series, which has been described as an American series, features many fantastic actors from South Korea, Japan and the United States of America. Besides Lee Minho as Hansu, there is Youn Yuh-jung who will be playing Sunja. We are beyond excited to watch how she takes on the titular role. There is also Kim Minha (teenage Sunja), Jin Ha (Solomon Baek), Soji Arai (Baek Mozasu), Kaho Minami (Etsuko) and Anna Sawai (Naomi) amongst many other great actors. With such a great lineup, there is sure to be fantastic performances on screen. Also this is Lee Minho’s first role in over ten years that he has had to audition for so we are sure that the performance is going to be absolutely mindblowing.
But there is also the story
Along with the fantastic cast, we are so excited to see the story come alive on screen. Min Jin Lee is going to be executive producing the show and we do love it when writers get to be intimately involved with seeing their words broughts to life. It is an epic book over 500-pages that traces the journey of Sunja, a young girl. The book starts in Yeongdo, Korea in 1911 and moves to Japan and the United States before ending in 1989 in Tokyo. Over the 70+ years, Lee introduces the reader to different families, histories and events. The book is named after a type of mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as a form of recreational arcade game. It is more frequently used as a gambling device, filling a niche in Japanese gambling. The game obviously has a big part in the book along with different historical events from Korean history.
And how it’s going to look on screen
The book is over 500 pages and deals with a lot (more on that below). This means that there is obviously going to be something that the writers, producers and directors will have to leave out. But we are sure that they will definitely retain the core emotions and feelings and events which has made Lee’s book so vastly popular. The series has also been filmed in South Korea, Japan and the United States which is likely to ensure the authenticity of the settings. There is also the fact that all the languages from the book will be represented with Korean, Japanese and English being spoken.
Lastly, there are the themes/plot.
The novel takes place over the course of three sections. The first section begins with the story of Sunja’s father, Hoonie. The second section starts with Sunja’s search of Koh Hansu. The third section is about Sunja’s reflections upon everything that has happened to her. As can be seen Sunja is the main character of the novel and that means she will be the main character of the series as well. That’s why there is probably no one better than Youn Yuh-jung to take on the role. As one of the best actors – not only in the Korean movie industry – globally, she is sure to bring a fantastic energy in bringing Sunja to life on screen.
We can’t wait for the series to be released. Tell us in the comments whether you are excited as well.
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