The second season of “Pachinko,” opening Friday, delicately captures the plight of ethnic Koreans brought to Japan during colonial rule and their descendants, exploring themes of home and identity through several generations. The award-winning series, based on the New York Times bestselling novel, returns to Apple TV+ with eight episodes that follow four generations of an immigrant Korean family living in Japan since before World War II. The star-studded cast includes Oscar-winning actor Youn Yuh-jung and Korean actor Lee Minho.
Many ethnic Koreans were brought to Japan, often forcibly, to work in mines and factories during the country’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea. They were treated as second-class citizens and faced discrimination, which the series portrays. Youn, who plays the older version of protagonist Sunja, said she was largely unfamiliar with the situation of ethnic Koreans in Japan — known as Zainichi Koreans — before she spoke with actor Soji Arai, who plays Mozasu, the son of her character.
Arai was born into an ethnic Korean family in Japan. “It broke my heart and I cried inside because I felt so bad after hearing about their stories,” Youn told The Associated Press. The second season continues Sunja’s story as she struggles to feed her sons Noa and Mozasu during the war.
In the series, ethnic Koreans face discrimination generation after generation. In one episode, a Japanese worker at a wartime Nagasaki factory refers to his Korean colleague.