The serial of the moment is Sila Pachinko: “An Initiation Journey That Will Take You Into the Intestines”

A must-see new original on Apple TV +, Pachinko is a wonderful drama series that depicts the hopes and dreams of four generations of Korean immigrant families as they leave their country and tirelessly strive to survive and thrive. Flourish. The series, created by Soo Hugh and directed by Kogonada and Justin Chun, connects Sunja’s life, which begins in the early 20th century in South Korea, with that of Solomon, his grandson, in the 1980s.

AlloCiné could talk to creator and showrunner So Hughes, producers Teresa Kang and Michael Ellenberg, directors Justin Chon and Kogonada, and actors Yuh-Jung Yoon, Jin Haas, Anna Sawa, Minha Gao, Minha Ga Kimo to Minha Ga Kimo There is a family mural plot.

AlloCiné: What is this series about for you?

Teresa Kang: For me this is a really emotional story about family, traditions passed down through the generations. What has also emerged is the notion of freedom of choice in life. How does this choice affect your destiny and those who are dear to you. And how difficult it is sometimes to allow others to choose their own destiny without your intervention, especially when it comes to your children. This is a series that makes you vibrate.

Michael Ellenberg: This is a truly universal story. We all have a “smell” inside us, or whatever we know. When the idea of ​​making this book series was “spread” in various Hollywood companies, it all ended in tears, so much so that this story about immigrants, injustice, superstition, can only touch the human soul of ordinary mortals.

Yuh-Jung: This is a review of Korea’s past. A past that had dark periods. People who have survived these difficult years often still have very dark souls. This is a story for present generations to show us how we survived to be able to share this chaotic time.

Jin Ha: This is a series about the traumas of several generations of individuals, but also about triumphs that have finally managed to survive despite all the challenges. It is also a series that shows how the choices made in your life will be reflected in future generations. I imagine this will lead the audience to reconsider or re-evaluate their relationship with their ancestors, but also with those who follow in their footsteps. Everything in life is connected, everything is interconnected, so you have to be careful about your choices, which always have consequences, sometimes full of surprises, for the better, but also for the worse.

Anna Savai: I agree with Jin Haas. For me, as I talked to my mother about the generational traumas that preceded it, I understood that eventually everything changes, but it takes time. I hope that such a series will provoke a dialogue between the generations and they will learn something from each other. For me it is finding the courage in yourself to continue to pursue your dreams despite the rejection we all encounter at different times in our lives. There is always light on the other side of the tunnel …

Justin Chon: This is a universal truth about the search for identity and how you struggle to find and maintain it in life. It is also a lesson in the sacrifices we make to move forward in life. Sometimes we have to leave something to move forward. It is also a study of the concept of “loss”: the loss of a loved one, the loss of the homeland. Behind all this is what remains of the family. This is what lives: the spirit of the family.

Kogonada: It really is a series about the human experience we all have, with its laughter and tears. This is a series that is more alive than ever.

So Hugh: First of all, this is a human epic. I didn’t just want to do a Korean history show. History, of course, is a character, but for me the most important thing is to study the human condition. I really wanted to feel what the characters of our show are experiencing. Importantly, this was a visceral and tactile series. Also, this story of immigrants is horrible, given what our various heroes are going through.

I also hope that after the success of Parasite and Squid Game, the public will find a different face of Korea and its people. It’s amazing how streamers like Apple are no longer afraid of shows of this size with subtitles. This proves that we have entered a new era where everyone can identify with another, regardless of their cultural, religious or other differences.

Minha Kim: It is a painting of the human soul that perseveres in moving forward in life, with a view to the past, but without being framed in the past. You can do everything in life if you know how to maintain your focus and if you are persistent.

Lee Minho: Thanks to technology, we are all connected today. We can all laugh and cry together. This series shows that we are one big human family and need to protect each other. Together we can change the world and the course of history.

I also hope that after the success of Parasite and Squid Game, the public will find a different face of Korea and its people. It’s amazing how streamers like Apple are no longer afraid of shows of this size with subtitles. This proves that we have entered a new era where everyone can identify with another, regardless of their cultural, religious or other differences.

AlloCiné: What were the various challenges to the successful production of this epic series?

Anna Savai: It was necessary for me to confront my own hesitation about the society in which we live and which always seems to judge others without objectivity. For a long time I lived and worked in Japan and experienced sexism. It is not always easy to scroll through a page …

Jin Ha: I had to speak Japanese in this series and I did not speak at all. So it was quite a challenge for people to convince me that I was bilingual in Japanese.

Soo Hug: This series is taken from the Min Jin Lee bestseller and it was not difficult to draw from it, but drawing a series that is accessible and understandable to everyone. It is also not always easy to put literary thoughts into “pictures”, as well as intellectual, even spiritual. The script does not look like a novel. It is therefore essential to know how to choose words that allow you to act on the emotions described. A real headache.

Especially since I did not want it to be just a historical show, but also the history of different journeys of people and their final destination. It was an intense experience for me and it took me almost four years to get there. Especially since I am completely unfamiliar with this story, which resembles the story of my parents and grandparents. The montage of the series was also a key moment with its challenges.

As you can see, the series moves from one historical epoch to another, within each episode. So it was not easy to find the right combination, the right balance between the various edited sequences. To the end I was troubled by the suspicion, the fear that I might not be able to skillfully edit this series. Fortunately, it was a team effort where everyone did their best to overcome all these challenges.

Yuh-Jung: It was not so difficult to play “Sunja” because like him, I have two sons who I raised alone. The script was accurate and the book helped me better understand it. She is a woman of incredible strength and great ambition.

Justin Chon: After reading the book and the script I was immediately convinced of the importance of this project. But it was not always easy to install it. The point, of course, is that the timing of this epic series was a challenge. With this in mind, we should have had even more time to shoot it, but we finally got there.

Kogonada: It was an ambitious project and we did a lot of risk to complete it. Logistics and casting were not easy to cover. I agree with Justin, no matter what the budget and no matter what the shooting time, you always want to shoot more, explore this or that character more deeply. Racing on time is what creates the most stress during filming.

Therasa Kang: It was not easy to make a series in three different languages, Korean, Japanese and English. But it was necessary to respect the spirit of the book. We had a very precise strategy to sell our series as well as possible. It was to find key employees in all appointments who were Asian, people of color or relatives.

It was necessary to touch on the DNA sensitivity of the decision makers. It was not easy, but I think we got there. By the way, Apple TV + immediately took the opportunity to fund the series and we were very happy to work with them. I forgot to mention the hours we spent conducting ultra-thorough historical research in order to be as faithful as possible to the reality that our characters experience on screen. Eventually, we had more than twenty historians involved in the filming to make sure everything was completely authentic.

Michael Ellenberg: Therasa and I had a personal connection to this book. For my part, I am the son of an immigrant who grew up in Nazi Germany. I grew up in the US, but with my father, who spent the 1950-1953 war in Korea. We also knew that this would not be an easy project, especially since we started working on it in 2018, long before the Korean film parasite succeeded. But fortunately, we believed in ourselves to achieve our goals. This is the result. Pachinko is the initiator of a journey that will take you to the gut.