[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Pachinko" Episode 1

It's finally here. Apple TV+ has had a lot riding on "Pachinko" as their in to the South Korean media market, not to mention to South Korean drama fans worldwide. The show's based off of the bestselling novel of the same name, and has Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung and perennial fan favorite Lee Min-ho in leading roles. Yet according to our tracking statistics on HanCinema, "Pachinko" isn't even the most popular drama to premiere on March 25th.

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That honor goes to "Hope or Dope" which is a Seezn drama about a high school student involved in the drug trade. And I have to admit, that's a pretty solid premise- although even "Hope or Dope" is clearly behind "Twenty Five Twenty One" and "Business Proposal" when it comes to the shows that interest HanCinema readers. So what's the deal with "Pachinko" anyway? Why is it having such a weak rollout?

Anyone tempted to even try to watch "Pachinko" will quickly be thrust into its bewildering continuity. In 1915, Yangjin (played by Jeong In-ji) lives in glib despair that she can't give birth to a child, as is necessary for the Neo-Confucian social order. So she gets help from a shaman, and gives birth to the adorable Child Sun-ja (played by Yu Na), who has some cute moments with her father but mostly just watches Japanese police brutalize Korean people on Yeong Island.

Then, in a completely different plot thread only tangentially related to the first one, in 1989 we have Old Sun-ja (played by Youn Yuh-jung) seeing her grandson Solomon (played by Jin Ha) trying to close a big business deal in Tokyo. Putting the distant future plot in the first episode has the benefit of giving Youn Yuh-jung screentime. Theoretically such editing also stokes viewer curiousity about how Sun-ja goes from destitution to a healthy living standard.

In practice both time periods are so bleak it's hard to get invested in either one of them. The bigger irony is that in prioritizing Youn Yuh-jung's screentime, Lee Min-ho as the charismatic yet sinister and borderline pedophilic international businessman Hansu is all but shunted into the final few minutes of the story, where "Pachinko" has arrived in 1931. The first episode makes it clear that "Pachinko" is obsessed with style to the point that appealing characters are a low priority. This is a fairly significant problem for a worldwide K-Drama fanbase that's always cared more about the latter than the former.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Pachinko" is directed by Justin Chon, Kogonada, written by Soo Hugh, and features Youn Yuh-jung, Lee Min-ho, Kim Min-ha-I, Jin Ha, Park So-hee, Jeong In-ji. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2022/03/25~Now airing, Fr on Apple TV+.