Pachinko Season 2: A Journey Through Time and Trauma
A tale of two timelines
In adapting the acclaimed novel, the first season of the Apple TV+ drama Pachinko made bold editorial choices that set it apart. Showrunner Soo Hugh and her team split the narrative into two distinct timelines, juxtaposing the lives of the Baek family—Zainichi Koreans who emigrated to Japan before World War II—across half a century. The series also embraced its linguistic roots, presenting dialogue almost entirely in Japanese and Korean, with color-coded subtitles to distinguish the languages and highlight the younger Baeks’ assimilation.
Despite these creative liberties, Pachinko remained largely faithful to its source material, opting for a multi-season format rather than a limited series. This decision paid off, as Season 1 emerged as one of Apple TV+’s finest original series, capturing the Baek family’s poignant saga against the backdrop of historical forces like colonization, conflict, and racism. However, its understated brilliance went largely unrecognized, garnering just a single Emmy nomination for its captivating, dance-driven opening credits.
A new chapter unfolds
With Season 2, Pachinko further distances itself from the novel, a shift driven by necessity and creative ambition. The 1989-set arc has caught up with the book’s timeline, compelling Hugh and her team to forge new paths for the Baek family. Yet, they continue to honor the novel’s richly drawn characters and epic historical scope while making their own indelible mark on the story.
The shadow of war
The defining event of this season is the global conflict that saw Japan’s jingoistic nationalism reach its zenith—a particularly cruel ideology for people like Sunja (Minha Kim), a young Korean woman stranded in Osaka with two young sons and an imprisoned husband, Isak (Steve Sang-Hyun Noh). To support the family, Isak’s brother Yoseb (Junwoo Han) works at a weapons factory in Nagasaki, a city destined for devastation. This knowledge adds a layer of dread to the season’s first half, compounded by the hunger and scarcity that leave Sunja, an aspiring cook, with nothing to sell.
Kim’s portrayal of Sunja is a masterclass in subtlety, evolving from a naive teenager to a world-weary woman hardened by life’s harsh realities. Through nuanced performance and the work of the hair and makeup teams, Kim ages Sunja by years, making her journey over nearly two decades feel authentic and deeply affecting.
Expanding the ensemble
This season, Sunja’s sons Noa (Kang Hoon Kim) and Mozasu (Eunseong Kwon) come into their own, adding depth to the series’ sprawling ensemble. Noa is quiet and studious, deeply concerned with his family’s well-being, while Mozasu is loud and defiant, openly challenging the anti-Korean prejudice he faces at school.
Pachinko also expands the role of Koh Hansu (Lee Minho), a Korean fish broker turned underworld figure and Noa’s biological father. Lee, a major star in Korea, brings a compelling presence to Koh, even as the character treads a morally ambiguous path. His ill-gotten gains allow him to maintain a peripheral presence in Sunja’s life, offering reluctant assistance when she and Yoseb’s wife Kyunghee (Jung Eun-Chae) seek refuge from air raids at his countryside farm. While Koh is not a sympathetic figure, Lee’s performance helps viewers understand his survival-driven choices and defensiveness against judgment.
The modern struggle
The modern timeline, centered on Sunja’s grandson Solomon (Jin Ha), proves more challenging to extend. Unlike the flashbacks, which can gracefully skip forward in time, Solomon’s story remains rooted in the aftermath of his departure from a fictional bank following a failed land deal. This arc feels less dense but offers Anna Sawai a worthy follow-up to her previous roles as Solomon’s ex-colleague Naomi, with whom he rekindles an affair.
Solomon’s quest to restore his professional dignity underscores the cyclical nature of generational trauma. “No matter the times, life is never easy,” a grown Mozasu (Soji Arai) tells his mother. An aged Sunja (Youn Yuh-Jung) struggles to understand why Solomon still suffers despite her sacrifices to make his life easier. Yet, Solomon finds himself in similar situations as his ancestors, pushed by societal bias into less respectable career paths and grappling with the instinct to confirm his oppressors’ worst suspicions. The past never truly stays in the past, a theme further explored through Sunja’s new friendship with a stranger also haunted by his choices.
A labor of love
This season of Pachinko builds to multiple emotional crescendos, each more tearful than the last. From devastating deaths to star-crossed loves and harrowing cataclysms, the show never resorts to cheap sentiment. Pachinko is a labor of love, from its intimate family dynamics to the massive collective effort required to bring a dual period piece to life. Season 2 honors its predecessor while forging its own path, much like Sunja would want for her descendants.
The first episode of Pachinko Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes airing weekly on Fridays. For more information and to watch the trailer, visit Pachinko.