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Your first look at the epic drama ‘Pachinko’ coming to Apple TV+

The riveting streaming series based on Min Jin Lee’s best-selling novel will be in Korean, Japanese and English

Emma Steen
Written by
Emma Steen
Former writer, Time Out Tokyo
Pachinko
Photo: Apple TV+
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If you aren’t subscribed to Apple TV+ (and let’s face it, most of us aren’t), this newly released trailer for Soo Hugh’s upcoming drama ‘Pachinko’ might just make you want to change that. The series is based on the eponymous best-selling novel by Min Jin Lee, which chronicles the story of a Korean family who immigrate to Osaka from Busan during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The novel is fiction, but has been critically acclaimed for its unflinching portrayal of the Zainichi Korean experience in 20th century Japan. 

Pachinko
Photo: Apple TV+

The streaming series will include Korean, Japanese and English dialogue and will be the first major trilingual series to be featured on a mainstream US media platform.

Set to premiere on March 25, this eight-part series stars a mixed cast of Korean, Japanese and Korean American actors including Youn Yuh-jung, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2021 for her performance in ‘Minari’. The series will also star Lee Min-ho (‘Boys Over Flowers’ 2009) as Koh Hansu, Jin Ha (‘Love Life’) as Solomon Baek and Kaho Minami (‘Kirin ga Kuru’) as Etsuko. 

The series is directed by Justin Chon and Kogonada, who took on four episodes each. The first three episodes of ‘Pachinko’ will be released worldwide on Apple TV+ on March 25, with new episodes released each week until April 29.  

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