Pachinko

2022–2024 · Drama · 2 seasons · ★ 7.9

Canceled

+16

Synopsis of Pachinko

Korea, the 1910s, under Japanese colonial occupation. In Yeongdo, a small fishing village in the Busan district, Sunja is born to Hoonie and Yangjin. Her family lives a little better than their neighbors thanks to a boarding house inherited from Sunja's grandparents. Hoonie was born with a cleft lip and other physical defects, and it was only because of that financial position that he could marry. Sunja grows up in a world where many Koreans survive amid oppression and misery, while her family tries to hold on to what little they have. The series, created by Soo Hugh and released by Apple TV, stars Kim Min-ha and Youn Yuh-jung, who play Sunja at different stages of her life.

«Within us all lies the courage to change our destiny.»

2seasons

16episodes

59 minper episode

7.9audience scoreTMDB · 274 votes

8.4IMDb rating18,622 votes

Seasons of Pachinko

Season 12022 · 8 eps · ★ 8.0

Season 22024 · 8 eps · ★ 8.5

Cast by Pachinko

Youn Yuh-jungOlder Sunja16 episodes

Soji AraiMozasu16 episodes

Jin HaSolomon16 episodes

Jung Eun-chaeYoung Kyunghee16 episodes

Kim Min-haSunja16 episodes

Jeong In-jiYangjin16 episodes

Lee Min-hoHansu16 episodes

Steve Sanghyun NohIsak16 episodes

Anna SawaiNaomi16 episodes

Jimmi SimpsonTom Andrews16 episodes

Han Jun-wooYoseb16 episodes

Kim Sung-kyuMr. Kim Changho8 episodes

Kaho MinamiEtsuko8 episodes

Louis OzawaMamoru Yoshii7 episodes

Park Hye-jinGeumja Han6 episodes

Jun KunimuraKato6 episodes

Jeong So-riJiyun5 episodes

Mari YamamotoHana5 episodes

Kwon Eun-seongYoung Mozasu5 episodes

Kim Kang-hoonTeen Noa5 episodes

Sotaro TanakaSugihara5 episodes

Kaito Takamura14-year-old Minoru5 episodes

Yoshio MakiKatsu Abe4 episodes

Hiroaki MurakamiHansu's father-in-law4 episodes

Kang Tae-juNoa4 episodes

Mansaku Takada14-year-old Mozasu4 episodes

Yeon Ye-jiTeen Bokhee3 episodes

Kim Bo-minDonghee3 episodes

Takahiro InoueArimoto3 episodes

Ryotaro SugimotoTetsuya3 episodes

Yoriko HaraguchiMieko3 episodes

Yu MatsushitaNews anchor3 episodes

Choi Jun-youngPastor Hu3 episodes

Ichiro HashimotoGoto3 episodes

Jang Ha-eunHyoyun3 episodes

Felice ChoiOlder Kyunghee2 episodes

Martin MartinezAngelo2 episodes

Yoon Kyung-hoTeen Solomon2 episodes

Jung Ye-binTeen Hana2 episodes

Miho SuzukiJapanese Lower Girl2 episodes

Technical Details

Created by: Soo Hugh
Address: Kogonada, Justin Chon, Arvin Chen, Sang-il Lee, Leanne Welham
Writing: Soo Hugh, Melissa Park, Ethan Kuperberg, Chang-rae Lee, Franklin jin Rho
Music: Nico Muhly
Photography: Ante Cheng, Sofian El Fani
Production: Kiri Kraatz, Lynne Bespflug, Jordan Murcia, Melissa Girotti, Brian Sherwin
Executive Producer: Theresa Kang-Lowe
Production companies: Media Res, Blue Marble Pictures, A Han.Bok Dream Production
Network or Platform: Apple TV
Country: United States
Original Language: English
Premiere: March 24, 2022
Last Episode: October 10, 2024 (2x08)
Status: Canceled
Type: Fiction
Awards: Nominated for 3 Emmy Awards; 15 wins and 28 nominations in total.
Links: IMDb · TMDB · Official Website

Trivia about Pachinko

The theme song is «Let's Live for Today» by The Grass Roots. Soo Hugh first considered «Out of Time» by The Rolling Stones, but they could not secure the rights to that song.

Soo Hugh spent six to seven months searching the world to cast the lead roles, and asked all of her actors to audition for their parts.

Filming in Vancouver began on February 6, 2021 and was scheduled to wrap on April 9.

The episode «Chapter Seven» ranked among the best TV episodes of 2022 according to The New York Times, Rolling Stone and Collider.

Kogonada and Justin Chon were set to direct four episodes each and serve as executive producers on the series.

Apple TV+ renewed «Pachinko» for a second season on April 29, 2022, after airing the first batch of episodes.

Creator Soo Hugh conceived «Pachinko» as a three-season story, although Apple TV+ had not yet announced a renewal for a third season as of July 2025.

Lee Min Jin, author of the original novel and initial executive producer, left the series team for reasons that the production and the author did not make public.

Sources: Wikipedia (English) · Wikipedia (Spanish)