Pachinko Starring Lee Min-ho May Be The Best K-drama Of 2022

Pachinko K-drama could be the next big thing

Set to air on 25th March 2022, Pachinko is expected to be the best K-drama of the year. With only a day left till the premiere, a global audience awaits with excitement and anticipation. Will the Apple original series top the charts, or will it leave the viewers disappointed? We’ll find out soon.

Adapted from a New York Times bestseller

Pachinko K-drama - promotional poster
Image credit: Apple TV+

Pachinko is based on the historical fiction novel of the same name written by Lee Min-jin. The novel was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction.

The series follows four generations of immigrants who leave their homeland, South Korea, in the hopes of surviving the turbulent period of Japanese colonial rule.

While the history between South Korea and Japan is an indispensable theme of Pachinko, the drama also sheds light on the journey of pain and predicaments of each character.

Pachinko K-drama - plot of pachinko
Image credit: Apple TV+

Notably, Pachinko has an all-Asian cast, and it will be told in three languages: Korean, English, and Japanese.

With Korean dramas thriving on Netflix these days, all eyes are on Pachinko to pave the way for K-dramas on Apple TV+.

Starring Lee Min-ho & Youn Yuh-jung

Pachinko K-drama - the cast of pachinko
Image adapted from: @myment_official and @hook_entertainment

The series is an undeniably huge project as it has a stellar cast of big names such as Youn Yuh-jung and Lee Min-ho.

You may recognise Youn Yuh-jung from the film Minari (2020), for which the actress won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Pachinko K-drama - starring lee min-ho
Image credit: @myment_official

Lee Min-ho will play Koh Han-su, an affluent Zainichi Korean man residing in Japan.

At first, he’s known as a merchant who frequents South Korea. However, it turns out that he’s part of the yakuza – organised crime syndicates in Japan.

Pachinko K-drama - starring youn yuh-jung
Image credit: @myment_official

Youn Yuh-jung will take on the role of Kim Sun-ja, who is also the main character of the series.

Sun-ja used to lead a simple life in South Korea, until the country was forced under the rule of Japan. She falls in love with Han-su and bears his child, only to realise that he already has a family of his own. Hence, she gets married to Baek I-sak, and they move to Japan together.

Pachinko K-drama – a hit or miss?

More often than not, adaptations are a miss, rather than a hit. But looking at the reviews of critics that have declared the series to be of high calibre, we can’t help but anticipate the arrival of Pachinko.

While the star-studded cast alone gives us ample reasons to catch this drama, we hope that you learn a thing or two from Pachinko, and manage to grasp the author’s message at the end of the series.

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Cover image adapted from: Apple TV+