‘Pachinko’ Season 1 Recap: What You Need To Know Before Watching Season 2

One of Apple TV’s most popular shows, Pachinko is returning with its highly anticipated season 2. With fans ready to revisit the next phase of Sunja and her family’s journey, here’s a recap of all the important events from season 1 of Pachinko.

An adaptation of Lee Min-jin’s award-winning 2017 novel of the same name, Pachinko is created by Soo Hugh. It follows Sunja and three generations of her family through World War II and its aftermath.

With popular Korean actors Kim Min-ha and Lee Min-ho in leading roles, season 1 of the Apple TV+ original received rave reviews from audiences and critics alike after its release in March 2022. It also won the Best Foreign Language Series title at the 28th Critics Choice Awards in 2023. Season 2 of the show is all set to premiere worldwide on Apple TV+ on 23 August 2024.

Pachinko recap: Here’s what happened to Sunja and her family in season 1

First, meet the cast

• Kim Min-ha as Sunja
• Lee Min-ho as Koh Hansu
• Steve Sang-Hyun Noh as Baek Isak
• Youn Yuh-jung as older Kim Sunja
• Soji Arai as Baek Mozasu
• Jin Ha as Solomon Baek
• Yoon Kyung-ho as teenage Solomon Baek
• Mari Yamamoto as Hana
• Han Jun-woo as Baek Yoseb
• Jeong In-ji as Yangjin
• Jung Eun-chae as Kyunghee
• Felice Choi as older Kyunghee
• Kaho Minami as Etsuko
• Anna Sawai as Naomi
• Jimmi Simpson as Tom Andrews

Pachinko recap: What happened in season 1?

Sunja’s birth

It’s 1883 in Yeongdo, Busan, and Hoonie, the son of a poor fisherman, is born with a “cleft palate and a twisted foot.” Twenty-seven years later, Korea merges with Japan and is subjected to colonial rule under Japanese imperialism until 1945. This 35-year period of Japanese rule turns out to be the darkest period for Koreans, and a much older Hoonie fights hard to find love.

When Hoonie turns 28, his parents introduce him to Yangjin, a poor but healthy girl. In 1915, Yangjin visits a shaman’s house and recounts that she had three sons with Hoonie but none of them lived beyond one year. She then asks the shaman to “lift the curse” of her childbearing.

A few years later, Yangjin gives birth to a beautiful girl, Sunja, who survives. The family enjoys their sweet time together until Hoonie passes away due to tuberculosis in the 1920s. Meanwhile, Sunja starts helping her mother manage their boarding house.

Koh Hansu’s arrival and Sunja’s marriage

In the 1930s, Sunja, now a beautiful woman, falls for a rich Zainichi Korean merchant Koh Hansu. The former starts a secret affair with Hansu, without knowing that he is already married. Later, when she conceives his child, Hansu refuses to marry her but offers her to be his mistress forever. Falling into disrepute, Sunja refuses Hansu’s offer and ends their relationship.

During this time, Yangjin introduces Sunja to Baek Isak, a wealthy North Korean pastor. The latter is on his way to Osaka upon the invitation of his second brother Yoseb. However, Isak suffers from pulmonary tuberculosis and his weak health forces him to rest at Yangjin’s boarding house for several months. Upon learning of Yangjin’s concern, Isak offers to marry Sunja, to which the latter agrees.

After marriage, Isak starts living with Sunja in his brother’s house in Osaka and serves as an associate pastor of the Osaka Korean Church. He adores his wife and two sons — Noa, born in Sunja’s relation to Hansu, and Mozasu, born in relation to him. Sunja, who struggles to adapt to life in Japan, bonds with her new sister-in-law Kyunghee. When Sunja learns that Yoseb, Isak’s brother, is suffering from debt after helping them travel to Osaka, she sells the watch Hansu once gifted her to help the former.

Elsewhere, Hansu notices the watch he gifted Sunja and buys it back, vowing to make her regret her decision to marry Isak. He also secretly keeps a watch over his son. Hansu even accompanies Noa on his way to school one day and before parting ways, tells him to “be so good they can’t deny you what you’re owed.” He then returns the pocket watch to Noa.

Sunja’s grandson

In another timeline of the Korean series, viewers are taken to the 1980s, where Sunja’s grandson Baek Solomon is a sharply dressed Korean-American businessman working in New York City. In 1989, Solomon travels to Japan, where he visits his father Mozasu’s home and catches up with his grandmother Sunja after a long time. Mozasu is now the owner of a pachinko arcade and is on the verge of securing a massive loan to expand his pachinko operations. Meanwhile, his partner Etsuko takes the help of a detective to discover the whereabouts of her daughter Hana.

A few days later, Kyunghee, who was bedridden for a long time, dies. Sunja decides to cremate her in her homeland and plans a trip back to Busan, Korea, along with Mozasu. Back in Tokyo, Solomon fails to seal a deal and gets fired. Etsuko finds Hana, but the doctor tells the family that she is dying of AIDS. Solomon tries to convince Hana to go to America to seek a cure for her condition but she refuses. She then goes on to tell him that despite all his degrees and fancy clothing, the Japanese businessmen will never accept him because of his identity and race. Solomon, heartbroken, blames Sunja for his moment of weakness while signing a deal with a Korean grandmother, which eventually leads to him getting fired. In the final episode of Pachinko season 1, Solomon brings a bed-ridden Hana to the hospital roof to provide her with one last view of the beautiful Tokyo skyline. Meanwhile, Sunja gifts Solomon Hansu’s watch.

Sunja’s life after Isak’s death

Another important event that is worth mentioning in this Pachinko season 1 recap is Sunja losing Isak. Back in 1930s Osaka, Isak is captured over suspicions associated with Japanese shrine worship and dies shortly after. However, amid all hardships, Sunja promises to survive and provide for her sons. Soon, she starts selling fresh kimchi at a bustling market to make ends meet. Just before the credits roll, Sunja gets past the disgusted sneers from fellow merchants and eventually convinces Japanese customers to invest in the beloved Korean side dish.

What to expect from Pachinko season 2?

According to makers, Pachinko season 2 will pick up with both halves of the story right where they left off. In 1930s Osaka, Sunja and her family will deal with new difficulties. Meanwhile, in the 1980s, Sunja’s grandson Solomon plots his revenge against Abe (played by Yoshio Maki), the businessman he blames for tanking his career.

Fans can also likely expect the show to delve deeper into the story of Koh Hansu, a man, who according to the show’s creator Soo Hugh, is capable of redemption. Talking to Deadline about the character, Hugh added that whether he deserves redemption or not is a story for the future seasons, hinting at a probable storyline for Hansu in season 2.

Watch Pachinko season 1 on Apple TV+

(Hero and Featured image: Courtesy Apple TV+)

This article first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India