Pachinko

If you've watched enough Korean dramas, you'd know that the story elements are not new revelations. They're an amalgamation of the history of Korea, and well-worn themes and stories of real lives of Koreans who've suffered at the hands of the Japanese, and the clash of cultures, attitudes, bigotry, hatred and cruelty, across Korean, Japanese and westerners. It's easy to forget that this was less than a hundred years ago, and spanning only a few decades; and so often, the bitterness still felt by Koreans leads to a heavy handed portrayal of the Japanese and westerners. It's a fine line to walk to be able tell a story about generations of a family and their personal struggles without getting lost in that bitterness.

It's so amazing so far to see how beautifully the show tells the stories across multiple timelines, with incredible actors, excellent cinematography and direction. The contrast is striking, from the primitive Korean fishing village to the urban sprawl. While the show's synopsis is about their "indomitable quest to survive and thrive", it's the story of Korea and its people as whole being told through these four generations of characters.

Pachinko avoids the cliches of the K-drama, instead settles for an European soap drama style with plenty of depth, chronicling the plight of a Korean family under the Japanese occupation and juxtaposing that with life in 1989, all in brilliant cinematic storytelling.

This series does not shy away from the effects of Japan's forced occupation on Korea. It plays out with an emotional impact from the viewpoint of Sunja's life via the unique structure in blending timelines. From Sunja's youth under Japan's stranglehold to that of her grandson in 1989. It depicts the various stages of Japan's influences on Sunja's family life, from war torn times to the might of the financial impact that Japan displayed during the 80's.

It is an engrossing drama that reveals the horrors of life under a brutal occupation, and the long term effects it has on generational lives. All through the eyes of a strong protagonist, Sunja, played brilliantly by the various actors.

First of all, I am a Korean. I've heard a lot about what Japanese people did to Korean people during the colonial era while I was growing up. That is very sad and making us Koreans furious. Because we Koreans heard a lot about similar stories, and the storyline follows actual historical events, this show feels a little cliche in my opinion. But, I think the cinematography is one of the best I've ever seen to describe the era. It is beautifully done and seems very real. Also the show's strategy to show events not by chronically, but by weaving related events through 3,4 generations is brilliant and is making the show interesting. Overall, it is worthwhile to watch, and to the people who didn't know the history between Japan and Korea, this will be a great show to understand the history and the emotions Koreans(or other countries which were impacted by Japan during the war) have.

Although I believe we Koreans need to overcome this emotions about Japan and Japanese people, Japan also needs to admit its wrong doings in the past and truthfully express their apologies.

When I first saw the trailers for this show my reaction was, oh no, another story about the struggles of poverty and war, and while there's a lot to that is told in a very interesting way where you can see the details of Korean lower class and it's interaction with the Japanese middle class.

I love reading subtitles to have the experience of the original actor/voice/culture so much is lost in dubbed scenes, and in this show they make sure you can understand when someone is speaking Japanese or Korean and why the miscommunication happens on normal circumstances.

The show subtitles Japanese in blue and Korean in yellow so it makes an unique experience, besides the dialogues and acting are very good.

This show explains to us (mainly westerners) the conflicts and collaborations between the Koreans and Japanese told from the Korean side and how they suffered the Japanese oppression but also how they thrived despite it, lovely show, can't wait for the second season.

Wow! What a truly mind-blowing rendition of one of the most moving novels in recent history. The casting, direction, acting and cinematography are all equally exceptional.