Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, Apple TV+'s Pachinko (premiering March 25) is an eight-episode saga that's both ambitious and intimate, as it follows the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family. It spans 70 years and takes audiences across Korea, Japan and the US.
"I think it really excavated something primal in me," executive producer Theresa Kang-Lowe tells Exclaim! of the multigenerational plot. "I've always felt in every family there are blank spaces or gaps of what you know about them. When I read the novel, it was a shock of recognition, that, even though I didn't live in 1931, even though I never talked to my grandmother in depth about her childhood experience, I understood that this was something this was my family's story as well. It was a very emotionally stirring moment."
Kang-Lowe knew that producing a screen adaption of Pachinko would be next to impossible. While Korean cinema and culture has gained popularity in recent years with the success of Parasite, Minari and BTS, she got her hands on the book years before our current culture shifted. She still sent the book to Korean-born American showrunner Soo Hugh, who connected to the novel and the idea of being from two worlds, and recognized the story's potential to transcend political and geographical boundaries.
"I feel like, by being as specific as possible," says Hugh, "we make it universal, because something like a mother's love — no one culture owns that, right? Everyone understands that. I think it's a testament to Apple as well. I never got pressure from them to make it more relatable, to make it more universal, or to make it more palatable. This is a very specific story, and we had to tell the story that we had."
Today's TV landscape has changed dramatically – Spanish crime show Money Heist, French mystery thriller Lupin, and award-winning South Korea horror Squid Game all found a large audience among English-speaking viewers.
Asian cinema is seeping through Hollywood and rightfully so. Parasite made history by winning the Oscar for best picture and the film's director famously said while accepting a Golden Globe, "Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films."
Pachinko is set to further break the mould by not only being trilingual with a mostly Asian cast but also as a big-budget series that will premiere on Apple TV+. If the series is a hit, it could open the gates for more diverse shows to be green-lit for Hollywood and global viewing.
Hugh says there was never even a conversation about having the characters speak English to make it more accessible to viewers: "It was so obvious to me. When you have characters who represent so many different communities in so many different countries, and then to flatten everyone by making them speak English, you lose all nuance. You don't understand. You know that this person is Japanese, this person is Korean, because the language is just dulled experience. So it was really important that whatever native language a character speaks, that would be what we would hear and see in the show."
The show's cast includes a range of newcomers and global icons. Minha Kim makes her television debut as the teenage Sunja, starring opposite Lee Min-ho, one of South Korea's most iconic actors. The series also stars Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, who stunned in her recent role in Minari.
Directors Justin Chon (Blue Bayou, Ms. Purple) and Kogonada (After Yang) each directed half of the season's episodes, imbuing the show with their own styles. Kogonada tells Exclaim!, "It is exciting for me to make something that my parents would have access to in a way that my films don't. Their first language is Korean, Japanese [is their second], and then English is their third language. So they'll be able to really watch this in a way that I won't have access to. There will be immediacy, so there is that sense of responsibility."
Chon agrees that it's a big responsibility, and that he hopes his parents will approve. The two filmmakers are aware that they are helping to represent Asian-American cinema to North American audiences, and Pachinko is an opportunity to tell a story about diasporas with distinct voices.
Kogonada says, "Since the 20th century, diasporas have grown. We are all sort of dislocated modern beings. There are so many of us [who] understand that feeling of being in two worlds. So that feels universal; it feels like a part of the modern condition. So I think there is something unfamiliar, because it's this particular story of Koreans that we might be more familiar with. But it's also incredibly familiar, because it's this ongoing history of humans trying to survive oppression, trying to embrace and trying to create spaces for liberation in their own lives, and [trying] to continue to persist and make choices that will help the next generation."
Not only is the series beautifully tied together, the scenic landscapes add to the power of the story. The series was partially filmed in Vancouver, and Chon says, "I love Vancouver. I think it's so beautiful. And just to be on the set, the soundstage, but then on the weekend go to the mountains and snowboard was awesome. And you know, I think the industry in Canada, whether it's Toronto or Vancouver, is such a staple now in the film industry that it's always really refreshing that that's an option, to go to Canada to shoot."
For the actors, it meant just as much to them to be able to be a part of this monumental series. Anna Sawai, who plays Naomi, says, "I just feel that everyone is going through their own journey, and we've all felt like outsiders at one point. Sunja is so resilient, and she transforms her ache into something very powerful. I think that that itself will give us a lot of hope. At least that was the way for me. So I hope that, regardless of where you're from, you'll be able to see a reflection of yourself and the characters."
For Jin Ha, who plays Solomon, concurs: "For me, to be able to work on a story that's so close to my Korean heritage, it was an incredible privilege and an honour and to have the opportunity to represent a community. I hope it resonates with folks, as our part is to tell stories that aren't often heard and to help audiences see themselves and people who they might not interact with on a daily basis. Our show, I think, really tries to do that on a massive scale."
"I think it really excavated something primal in me," executive producer Theresa Kang-Lowe tells Exclaim! of the multigenerational plot. "I've always felt in every family there are blank spaces or gaps of what you know about them. When I read the novel, it was a shock of recognition, that, even though I didn't live in 1931, even though I never talked to my grandmother in depth about her childhood experience, I understood that this was something this was my family's story as well. It was a very emotionally stirring moment."
Kang-Lowe knew that producing a screen adaption of Pachinko would be next to impossible. While Korean cinema and culture has gained popularity in recent years with the success of Parasite, Minari and BTS, she got her hands on the book years before our current culture shifted. She still sent the book to Korean-born American showrunner Soo Hugh, who connected to the novel and the idea of being from two worlds, and recognized the story's potential to transcend political and geographical boundaries.
"I feel like, by being as specific as possible," says Hugh, "we make it universal, because something like a mother's love — no one culture owns that, right? Everyone understands that. I think it's a testament to Apple as well. I never got pressure from them to make it more relatable, to make it more universal, or to make it more palatable. This is a very specific story, and we had to tell the story that we had."
Today's TV landscape has changed dramatically – Spanish crime show Money Heist, French mystery thriller Lupin, and award-winning South Korea horror Squid Game all found a large audience among English-speaking viewers.
Asian cinema is seeping through Hollywood and rightfully so. Parasite made history by winning the Oscar for best picture and the film's director famously said while accepting a Golden Globe, "Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films."
Pachinko is set to further break the mould by not only being trilingual with a mostly Asian cast but also as a big-budget series that will premiere on Apple TV+. If the series is a hit, it could open the gates for more diverse shows to be green-lit for Hollywood and global viewing.
Hugh says there was never even a conversation about having the characters speak English to make it more accessible to viewers: "It was so obvious to me. When you have characters who represent so many different communities in so many different countries, and then to flatten everyone by making them speak English, you lose all nuance. You don't understand. You know that this person is Japanese, this person is Korean, because the language is just dulled experience. So it was really important that whatever native language a character speaks, that would be what we would hear and see in the show."
The show's cast includes a range of newcomers and global icons. Minha Kim makes her television debut as the teenage Sunja, starring opposite Lee Min-ho, one of South Korea's most iconic actors. The series also stars Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, who stunned in her recent role in Minari.
Directors Justin Chon (Blue Bayou, Ms. Purple) and Kogonada (After Yang) each directed half of the season's episodes, imbuing the show with their own styles. Kogonada tells Exclaim!, "It is exciting for me to make something that my parents would have access to in a way that my films don't. Their first language is Korean, Japanese [is their second], and then English is their third language. So they'll be able to really watch this in a way that I won't have access to. There will be immediacy, so there is that sense of responsibility."
Chon agrees that it's a big responsibility, and that he hopes his parents will approve. The two filmmakers are aware that they are helping to represent Asian-American cinema to North American audiences, and Pachinko is an opportunity to tell a story about diasporas with distinct voices.
Kogonada says, "Since the 20th century, diasporas have grown. We are all sort of dislocated modern beings. There are so many of us [who] understand that feeling of being in two worlds. So that feels universal; it feels like a part of the modern condition. So I think there is something unfamiliar, because it's this particular story of Koreans that we might be more familiar with. But it's also incredibly familiar, because it's this ongoing history of humans trying to survive oppression, trying to embrace and trying to create spaces for liberation in their own lives, and [trying] to continue to persist and make choices that will help the next generation."
Not only is the series beautifully tied together, the scenic landscapes add to the power of the story. The series was partially filmed in Vancouver, and Chon says, "I love Vancouver. I think it's so beautiful. And just to be on the set, the soundstage, but then on the weekend go to the mountains and snowboard was awesome. And you know, I think the industry in Canada, whether it's Toronto or Vancouver, is such a staple now in the film industry that it's always really refreshing that that's an option, to go to Canada to shoot."
For the actors, it meant just as much to them to be able to be a part of this monumental series. Anna Sawai, who plays Naomi, says, "I just feel that everyone is going through their own journey, and we've all felt like outsiders at one point. Sunja is so resilient, and she transforms her ache into something very powerful. I think that that itself will give us a lot of hope. At least that was the way for me. So I hope that, regardless of where you're from, you'll be able to see a reflection of yourself and the characters."
For Jin Ha, who plays Solomon, concurs: "For me, to be able to work on a story that's so close to my Korean heritage, it was an incredible privilege and an honour and to have the opportunity to represent a community. I hope it resonates with folks, as our part is to tell stories that aren't often heard and to help audiences see themselves and people who they might not interact with on a daily basis. Our show, I think, really tries to do that on a massive scale."
