Pachinko (TV series)
Pachinko is an American drama TV series created by Soo Hugh, based on Min Jin Lee’s 2017 novel Pachinko. The show follows four generations of a Korean family from 1915 to 1989, starting with Sunja’s move from Korea under Japanese rule to Osaka, where she builds a new life while facing discrimination and hardship as a Korean immigrant.
Season 1 premiered on March 25, 2022, on Apple TV+. It has eight episodes filmed in Korean, Japanese, and English. The season was praised for its cinematography, writing, and performances, and features the opening song “Let’s Live for Today” by The Grass Roots (English) and Leenalchi (Korean). Showrunner Soo Hugh, with Kogonada and Justin Chon directing several episodes, led the production.
Season 2 premiered on August 23, 2024, and concluded on October 11, 2024, continuing the Baek family saga. The series has earned strong critical acclaim, with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score for both seasons and an 87 out of 100 on Metacritic.
The cast includes Jin Ha, Lee Min-ho, Anna Sawai, Kaho Minami, Soji Arai, Youn Yuh-jung, Jun-woo Han, In-ji Jeong, Eun-chae Jung, and others. The second season uses the Grass Roots’ “Wait a Million Years” as its opening.
Apple acquired the rights in 2018, ordered the series in 2019, and renewed it for a second season in 2022. As of 2025, there have been no announcements about future seasons. The show was produced in multiple languages and shot in Korea, Japan, and North America.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:47 (CET).