Writer Soo Hugh and directors Kogonada and Justin Chon breathe life into Min Jin Lee’s 2017 best-selling novel, Pachinko. After four years of behind-the-scenes work and tinkering, Apple TV+’s newest drama series, Pachinko, premieres on Thursday, March 25th through its streaming service to present subscribers, and is expected to run for four seasons.
The highly anticipated drama series follows the incredible story of a Korean family across seven decades. At the heart of the family saga is Sunja, a young Korean woman born during the Japanese occupation of Korea at the start of the 20th century. Deceived by her married lover, a pregnant Sunja makes the decision to marry another man and move to Japan. Through Sunja, we see the resilience of women that survive heartbreak, wars, and the mutability of time. The eight-episode first season of Pachinko includes an international stellar cast starring: Minha Kim, Youn Yuh-jung, Jinha, Lee Minho, and Anna Sawai.
Pachinko will be the first of many in regard to American television. With the multigenerational storyline spanning three different countries (Korea, Japan, and the United States) and languages (Korean, Japanese, and English) and an almost all Asian cast, the drama will be a barrier-breaking show. After the critical success of the South Korean show, Squid Games, during awards season and winning multiple Emmys, Pachinko is expected to follow its lead. The Apple TV+ drama will put into perspective of what American media considers foreign content and what has the potential to be considered a global and international series.
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