The main roles in “Pachinko” are played by Minha Kim and Lee Min-ho.
It has been six years since Soo Hugh began planning her adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel Pachinko. The first season of the Apple TV adaptation aired in 2022, and the first episode of the second season will air on August 23. Six years is a long time for a large cast of characters, especially Sunja, the novel’s heroine – a woman whose struggles and strong values shape the story. The novel made such a strong impression on Hugh, a writer, director and producer, that she spent years adapting the story for television, and given the popularity of the first season, she could easily spend a few more.
“I would definitely say that these characters have really got to me, so to speak, which is lovely,” said Hugh. “I feel like I’ll probably always live with these characters, and sometimes there are moments when something happens in my everyday life where I say to myself: what would Sunja do? Or you know what? You’re not forced to sell kimchi at the market, so pull yourself together. It gives you a perspective that is very helpful in life.”
The first season told the story of Sunja and the merchant Koh Hansu, a doomed love story that leads Sunja to marry another man and leave Busan to move to Tokyo. Sunja’s story was told in contrast to that of her grandson Solomon. Solomon was educated in the US and works in a financial firm in 1980s Tokyo. He lives in a very different Japan from the one Sunja had trouble adjusting to, but in some ways he faces similar discrimination.
That season was so well-received that it won a Peabody Entertainment Award, a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Foreign Language Series, an Independent Spirit Award for Best Ensemble in a Scripted Series and a Gotham Award for Breakthrough Series. The warm reception was a pleasant surprise, Hugh said, but also provided a lot to live up to when planning the second season.
Author Soo Hugh speaks onstage during the screening of The Terror Events in Los Angeles. (Photo by John … (+)
“That lightning in a bottle worked just beautifully,” said Hugh. “We had a phenomenal cast and crew. Could we recreate that magic again?”
In the second season, Sunja tries to protect her family in Tokyo during World War II. The family is forced to flee to the countryside and hides there until the atomic bombs end Japan’s involvement in the war. Re-enacting such serious historical events gave the production of this season additional meaning.
“When you tackle material like this, even in fictional form, you feel this weight of responsibility,” Hugh said. “And although we felt that in season one, it was even greater in season two.”
The first season featured talented directors Justin Chon and Kogonada. The second season features three equally talented directors: Leanne Welham, Arvin Chen and Sang-il Lee. All three were always on set, even when they weren’t directing.
“I really want our directors to get credit for the fact that this is not a show where they can just come and go,” Hugh said. “They’re on our show from the first day of prep to the last day of shooting, all three of them.”
Hugh praised her cast and crew for contributing significantly to maintaining continuity across two seasons, with a total of 16 episodes covering Sunja’s life. The show stars Youn Yuh-jung, Kim Min-ha, Jin Ha, Lee Minho, Jung Eun-chae, Noh Sang-hyun and Anna Sawai, as well as numerous supporting characters.
Koh Hansu, played by Lee Min-ho, talks to the actor playing Noa.
“Our crew and our actors are the beacons of our show,” said Hugh. “They stand between all the directors and protect the show.”
Some of these actors had to speak their roles, switching between English, Korean and Japanese. Several actors had to learn some Japanese for the first season, but were required to speak even more Japanese in the second season. To do this, an army of translators, dialect coaches and language coaches were on set, whom Hugh describes as the “unsung heroes of the show.” Hugh particularly praises the linguistic efforts of Jin Ha, the Korean-American actor who switches seamlessly between languages in the second season, and also Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung, often referred to as YYJ by the cast and crew.
“YYJ, who plays the older Sunja, speaks mostly Japanese in the second season,” Hugh said. “And she didn’t even have that much prep time because we had to start production much faster for season two than we did in season one. What she did in season two is an accomplishment, and YYJ worked so hard that it feels like a life lesson to me. When I see how hard YYJ worked and I complain about my work, it really humbling me. Her job was really difficult.”
Two years ago, Hugh launched her own production company, Moonslinger, which works with Apple TV+ and Media Res to create, write and produce content. Hugh’s intention when launching Moonslinger was that it should be a writer-supported and writer-led company.
“That means a production company that makes TV shows and films that speak to the heart and mind, but are also very much in tune with the writers’ experiences,” said Hugh. “Particularly coming from a writing background like mine and loving books and articles, the focus is on intellectual property. That’s been a backbone.”
Pachinko fits the company’s brief perfectly by depicting a shared human experience, telling a story that doesn’t feel cynical, and providing an epic canvas. “I’m very drawn to stories that take place on a large scale but feel intimate at the same time,” she said.
During World War II the family moves to a farm.
Hugh previously worked as co-showrunner for The Terror and created The Whisper for ABC. Her next project will be to write and direct a remake of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1934 novel The night is tenderHugh and Moonslinger Productions will also be executive producers The white darkness. In her role as Pachinko’s As executive producer, she is on set throughout filming.
“The challenge is that we’re working with three directors and some of them are even shooting on the same day,” said Hugh. “So one director is shooting these scenes and another director is shooting a scene on another stage. And so I’m running back and forth between them.”
The most important criterion she wants to emphasize is that the story told must seem credible.
“I think my most important job is to say whether I believe it or not,” Hugh said. “Whether it’s in writing, in production or in post-production. Sometimes my job is to say, I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe it. So how do we make it believable?”
Adapting a book for television or film often requires changes, but Hugh tried to change as little as possible, especially her favorite scenes from the book.
“We didn’t change much, just painted outside the confines of the book,” she said. “My favorite parts of the book are when the family went to the rice farm. In the book, it wasn’t a rice farm, but it was a farm during World War II, and it was that moment of generosity to the characters in the book that I loved, because there’s that one moment where they were able to be together, and it almost felt like the farm sequences could have been what would have been if Sunja had stayed in Korea. It’s such a powerful part of the book. I knew that was going to be something we really had to stay true to.”
The second season of Pachinko more than lives up to the promise of the first part and in some ways delves deeper into the core of what makes the whole story so engaging. Every character and scene is believable, which is a testament to Hugh’s skills as a producer. The show premieres on Apple TV on August 23rd, with more episodes being released through October.
