Review | K-drama review: Pachinko – melodramatic Apple TV+ series about Korean identity stars Lee Min-ho and Youn Yuh-jung

Lee Min-ho and Minari star Youh Yun-jung lead an international cast in eight-episode series, whose parallel narrative arcs kick off 80 years apart

The series, adapted from a sweeping historical novel about the struggles of a Korean immigrant family that runs pachinko parlours in Japan, overdoes the drama

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Lee Min-ho in a still from Pachinko, an adaptation of a bestselling historical novel about the struggles of a Korean immigrant family in Japan. Photo: Apple

Published: 10:00pm, 11 Mar 2022

3/5 stars

Min Jin Lee’s bestseller Pachinko, a generation-spanning epic about the struggles of a Korean immigrant family, arrives to Apple TV+ this month in an eight-part package.

Featuring actors including the Academy Award-winning Youn Yuh-jung (Minari) and star Lee Min-ho (City Hunter) and new faces like Kim Minha in its international cast, the show is directed by the Korean-American indie filmmakers Justin Chon (Blue Bayou) and Kogonada (After Yang), while Soo Hugh (The Terror) serves as executive producer.

Told in parallels narratives – a “present” one in 1989 and one beginning in the 1910s that leads up to it – this show about Korean identity begins with the birth of Sunja, a peasant girl in southern Korea who immigrates to Japan and becomes the matriarch of a family known for running pachinko parlours.

Pachinko is a form of low-stakes gambling popular in Japan. Though gambling is illegal, this pastime is allowed to exist through a legal loophole.