Pachinko is an American drama television series created by Soo Hugh based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee. The series is directed by Kogonada and Justin Chon and stars Youn Yuh-jung, Lee Min-ho, Kim Min-haand Jin Ha. It premiered on Apple TV+ on March 25, 2022. In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.
It received critical acclaim, particularly for the performances of the cast (most notably that of Youn Yuh-jung), cinematography, and writing.
Main
- Youn Yuh-jung as Kim Sunja (whose Japanese name is Bando Nobuko), the main protagonist of Pachinko. She is a Korean woman from Yeongdo-gu, Busan, South Korea, who fights for a better life in a Korea dominated by the Japanese.
- Kim Min-ha as teenage Sunja
- Yu-na as childhood Sunja
- Soji Arai as Baek Mozasu (whose Japanese name is Bando Mozasu), a wealthy businessman who owns several pachinko parlors. He is Sunja's second son (the first and only child fathered by Isak) and Noa's half-brother.
- Carter Jeong and Koren Lee as baby Mozasu
- Jin Ha as Solomon Baek, the son of Baek Mozasu and grandson of Sunja. Educated at English-speaking schools and Yale University, he has always socialized with Americans and Westerners.
- Yoon Kyung-ho as teenage Solomon
- Han Jun-woo as Baek Yoseb, Isak's second older brother who lives in Osaka, Japan. He is Kyunghee's husband and Sunja's brother-in-law.
- Jeong In-ji as Yangjin, Sunja's mother, runs a boardinghouse in Yeongdo.
- Jung Eun-chae as Kyunghee (whose Japanese name is Bando Kimiko), Yoseb's wife and Sunja's sister-in-law. She quickly becomes a best-friend figure for Sunja after they first meet in Japan.
- Felice Choi as older Kyunghee
- Lee Min-ho as Koh Hansu, a Zainichi Korean man who lives in Osaka, Japan. Introduced as a merchant and fish broker who regularly visits Busan, South Korea. He is Noa's father.
- Kaho Minami as Etsuko, Hana's mother and Mozasu's girlfriend.
- Steve Sanghyun Noh as Baek Isak, a Protestant minister from Pyongyang, Korea. He marries Sunja despite his oscillating health condition to save her honour by giving her his surname. He is Yoseb's younger brother, Noa's step-father and Mozasu's father.
- Anna Sawai as Naomi, Solomon's co-worker at the Tokyo branch, graduated from Harvard Business School.
- Jimmi Simpson as Tom Andrews, Solomon's superior at the Tokyo branch.
In August 2018, Apple Inc. obtained the rights to the series, which was given a series order in April 2019. The reports also included that Soo Hugh would act as showrunner, writer, and executive producer for the series. The production company, Media Res, would also produce alongside Hugh. In October 2020, Lee Min-ho, Jin Ha, Anna Sawai, Minha Kim, Soji Arai, and Kaho Minami were announced to star, with South Korean filmmaker Kogonada and Justin Chon set to executive producer and direct four episodes each. Soo Hugh said it took six to seven months of worldwide search to cast the main actors and that she had asked all her actors to audition for their roles. Filming was set to commence on October 26, 2020, in South Korea, Japan, and North America. Lee Min-ho said he had finished filming in Busan, South Korea, in December 2020 and that he was preparing to film in Canada. Filming in Vancouver was scheduled to take place between February 6 and April 9, 2021.
The show's opening theme song is "Let's Live for Today" by The Grass Roots. Hugh said she originally thought about selecting "Out of Time" by The Rolling Stones but they were unable to secure the rights to that song. The title sequence was shot several times with different songs until "Let's Live for Today" was added during post-production.
On April 29, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a second season.
cr: to the original owner of Pachinko
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