Christine Song

Best movie in years. Excellent acting from everyone, including the cats. Best of the franchise.

Initially, I was skeptical about how authentic the show would be. I knew there were a lot of Korean Americans involved in the project but I was not sure how the Koreans who grew up in the U.S. or overseas would truly understand the sensibilities of Koreans who had lived through the atrocities of Japanese occupation of Korea. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much effort was put into making sure the events were historically accurate. And it was refreshing to see that the focus was on the struggles of the Korean-Japenese people as well. People in Korea do hear about and are somewhat aware of the degree of perpetual discrimination they face in Japan. But it's one thing to hear about them and another to get a visual representation of it. While it is always heartbreaking to be reminded of our ancestors' and fellow Koreans' sufferings, I am glad to have been educated by the show. One thing I think they could have done better is not tone down the violence of the Japanese. I am not saying they should have exaggerated or sensationalized it but merely present to the audience what the historical records show. For one, Pachinko casually glossed over the issue of comfort women. Even with a scene where the Koreans were burned alive after the Kanto earthquake, Pachinko failed to show that in actuality a genocide was committed, known as the Kanto massacre. The show did not make an effort to portray to what extent the Koreans were brutalized during the Japanese imperialism in Korea nor in Japan. It was disappointing to get a sense that Apple was trying to assuage Japan even when they are creating a show about Koreans and their suffering under the Japanese rule.