Watch | In conversation with Soo Hugh, Jin Ha and Anna Sawai of ‘Pachinko’

Writer-producer Soo Hugh and actors Jin Ha and Anna Sawai talk about the epic series that celebrates identity and resilience

Writer-producer Soo Hugh’s ambitious screen adaptation of ‘Pachinko’ is directed by Kogonada and Justin Chon, who play off each other’s diverse styles. While the eight-part, multi-generational series — which follows a Korean immigrant family as they navigate through the loss of national and cultural identity — takes creative liberties with the novel (by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee) and its linear structure, it also intricately stitches the threads of Sunja’s story across two parallel narratives 80 years apart. Pachinko

“Six years ago, I think this show could never have been made,” says Soo Hugh. “It is a testament to the streamers [and the global environment they work in] and a testament to the audience, who are craving new stories and experiences from people we haven’t heard from before.”

The supporting cast hold their own, especially Jin Ha, who plays Sunja’s grandson Solomon. No stranger to shifting contexts, the Korean American actor and activist drew from his own family’s history as immigrants and his contemplation of racial and cultural identities for the role. “This is the first time I have played a character who is close to who I am and what my family experienced,” says the actor.

Read the full story | Why Korean epic ‘Pachinko’ is timely