In the world of Korean entertainment, the name Lee Minho is undoubtedly one of the most popular names. But, the admiration the actor has is beyond his home ground. Though acted in several Korean movies and dramas, his 2009 break-out role in the drama Boys Over Flowers, based on the Japanese shōjo manga series Hana Yori Dango written by Yoko Kamio, is easily the most popular K-drama of all time. Being one of the several reasons for the Korean wave to take over global space, this particular series cemented Lee Minho’s status as one of the top South Korean stars with a massive international following. Since his comeback post his mandatory military enlistment, Pachinko marks his second drama after the 2020 drama The King: Eternal Monarch and the first one on streaming giant Apple TV+ with a trilingual series.
“If you really want to drill down into what this show is, at its heart,” says showrunner, executive producer, and writer Soo Hugh, “imagine a story of your grandmother, your mother, and you – multiple generations in conversation with one another.” Inspired by The New York Times bestselling novel of the same name penned by Lee Min Jee, the series is also ambitious, heart-breaking, and thrilling, Pachinko is an eight-episode saga that is at once epic and intimate, chronicling the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family in a sweeping historical drama that journeys between Korea, Japan, and America, and unfolds over more than 70 years.
Marking his debut on the streaming platform with the critically-acclaimed ensemble, after all of his achievements as the most sought-after actors in the industry, this role is perhaps the one that means the most to Lee Minho. “Pachinko is something that's very different. It's very realistic,” tells the South Korean superstar to Bollywood Hungama in an interview, speaking through a translator over Zoom from Los Angeles ahead of the show's premiere. “It is a realistic portrayal of the lives. So I think that's why the characters are so different. Hansu doesn't have anything and he has to struggle to make ends meet every single day. I really love that about him. So I tried really hard to immerse myself in those times and put myself in his shoes. So instead of planning everything up, I tried to just immerse myself in his emotions and his feelings. So I had a lot of talks with Min Ha [Sunja] and also Soo Hugh who is the writer and producer so that I can come up with this character.”
In Bollywood Hungama’s review for Pachinko, we describe Lee Minho who leaves “a solid impact and moves away from his regular larger-than-life roles for which he is extremely famous. This character is menacing and yet has a story that unfolds in future episodes.” Talking about the extensive prep for the role, Lee adds, “I thought a lot about sacrifice. Sometimes we nowadays just put our own happiness as a top priority. But Pachinko made me think about the reason why I get to live the life that I own right now. I also thought a lot about what I can do for my next generation.”
But, it has been a pretty demanding role for Lee Minho. “The biggest challenge for me in portraying Hansu was the way of communication was very different for Hansu and me,” Lee says. “We now live in the days where we just logically communicate with each other and we share our emotions we share our thoughts very freely. But, they didn't at that time and Hansu didn't at that time. Hansu would make Sunja do things sometimes because he thinks it’s right but, he never asked for Sunja’s opinion. So I am not that kind of person. So I was kind of worried that I could pull off Hansu’s character very well when I am not that kind of person. So that was the most challenging part in portraying Hansu.”
It was the intriguing character that drew Lee to audition for the role. When asked if he was trying to break away from the larger-than-life image he has, he continues, “Well, I wasn't trying to intentionally break away from the image that I have. But I just really loved a strong story and how Hansu tries to survive in his own way during the hard times. So that's what really drew me to choose Hansu.”
Lee Minho and Minha Kim’s Hansu and Sunja are in the midst of this forbidden love story that both drives this middle time period of Pachinko and asks probing questions of its later narrative in the 1980s – Hansu’s trauma from what he lost in his past casting a long shadow over Sunja’s future. Emotion is an essential aspect of Koh Hansu, who arrives at Sunja’s local market in an immaculate white suit and trilby as the district’s new Zainichi Korean fish broker. When his and Sunja’s eyes first meet, there is no doubt in either of their minds they are destined to be together. This happens to be Lee Minho’s one of the most memorable moments from the series that drops today on March 25 on Apple TV+. “The most memorable scene for me is when Hansu first sees and meets Sunja,” he says, with a smile. “I think there are these very short passing moments in life when you feel really excited and it's just so impactful. Sometimes maybe you can come across it just once in your whole life. So I experienced that indirectly through Hansu. So I think that was the most memorable little scene for me as well.”
It is, infact, love at first sight for Hansu and Sunja. When asked Lee if he believes it in real life, with a smile on his face, he says, “Definitely, I believe in love at first sight. I think it doesn't always have to be romantic. It could be something else. Like I could have a strong attraction to like a work colleague, or as a friend sometimes; it's just like a people to people thing. We just feel very strongly attracted to each other. I really enjoy that and sometimes it really touches my heart deep.”
As the series drops today, it is expected to become other breakthrough multi-lingual shows. Talking about the global appeal, Lee says, “I think it's really hard to predict whether a show would appeal to a big audience or whether it will be popular. But to me, I think that our story can speak to the global audience because we have universal values, and everyone can relate to those. So, I think it could speak to the global audience.”
Pachinko is written and executive produced by Soo Hugh (The Terror, The Killing), who created the series and serves as showrunner. Kogonada and Justin Chon are executive producers and directed four episodes each, with Kogonada directing the pilot. Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer executive produce for Media Res; Theresa Kang-Lowe executive produces for Blue Marble Pictures, and Richard Middleton also executive produces. Media Res’ Dani Gorin co-executive produces along with David Kim and Sebastian Lee.
The series stars Academy Award-winning actress Yuh Jung Youn as older Sunja; Lee Minho as Hansu, Jin Ha as Solomon, Min Ha Kim as teenage Sunja; Anna Sawai as Naomi, Eunchae Jung as young Kyunghee, Inji Jeong as Yangjin; Jimmi Simpson as Tom Andrews, Junwoo Han as Yoseb, Kaho Minami as Etsuko, Steve Sanghyun Noh as Isak, Soji Arai as Mozasu, and, Yu Na Jeon as Young Sunja.
Pachinko will be released on Apple TV+ from March 25, 2022, with three episodes followed by five episodes to be released weekly.
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