Lee Min-ho grateful Korean stories like Pachinko goes global
LOS ANGELES – The acclaim enjoyed by drama series such as Pachinko (2022 to present) and 2024’s Emmy-dominating Shogun – both historical dramas set in Japan – suggests a new openness in Hollywood to telling in-depth stories about Asia.
So says the creator of Pachinko, the multi-generational saga of a family that leaves Korea to begin a new life in Japan.
With a cast that includes major South Korean stars such as K-drama idol Lee Min-ho and Youn Yuh-jung – who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the immigrant drama Minari (2020) – the show is streaming its second season on Apple TV+.
And for Lee, making a Hollywood series has been a learning experience, he tells The Straits Times.
Released in 2022, Pachinko – adapted from Korean-American author Min Jin Lee’s 2017 literary-fiction novel of the same name – was widely praised by critics and included in many lists of the year’s best television shows.
In a Zoom chat with reporters, Korean-American creator Soo Hugh says it was “brave and bold” of Apple TV+ to air the ambitious historical epic, which begins in Japan-ruled Korea in 1915 and follows the life of a woman named Sunja – played by Kim Min-ha as a teenager and Youn as an old woman.
But noting the runaway success of Shogun – the samurai series that leads the 2024 Emmy Awards in September with 25 nominations – Hugh hopes it will “pave the path for more shows like this, and that it’s only the beginning”.
Through an interpreter, Lee Min-ho – who plays Hansu, the rich Korean merchant who fathered Sunja’s first-born son – says he welcomes the greater diversity in storytelling on offer today.
“I am very grateful we’re living in a time when we can have easy access to diverse content, regardless of the culture or race or age group,” says the 37-year-old, who has been one of the most popular actors in South Korea since he starred in the hit K-drama Boys Over Flowers (2009).
“Stories and emotions that we didn’t really pay attention to before are getting popular these days.
“And as an actor, I also feel grateful that our own (Korean) stories are shown to many other people globally,” says the star, who also appeared in series such as The King: Eternal Monarch (2020) and The Heirs (2013).
Asked what South Korea’s entertainment industry and Hollywood can learn from each other, Lee says: “I think the most important part of filming Pachinko was the effort to deliver the message in a more meaningful, truthful way based on the story.
“For that, I think South Korea and Hollywood are the same. However, I could also see why Hollywood is the biggest, oldest and best market in the world. The attention to detail, and how each person plays his part very well, surprised me too,” Lee says.
“So I felt that not just the South Korean industry, but also I myself as an actor, need to make more effort to outdo myself in my performance.”
Lee also had to leave his comfort zone to film Pachinko’s opening-credit sequence, which sees the actors step out of character to dance joyfully to upbeat music.
He was slightly reluctant to join in when the cast did this for Season 1. “My fans know that I’m a bad dancer,” he told entertainment publication Variety at the time.
And he still hesitated when filming the dance sequence this time around, reveals co-star Kim, whose character Sunja is reunited with Lee’s in Osaka, Japan, at the beginning of Season 2.
“Yes, I think he was a little bit shy, but he was good and he enjoyed himself,” says the 28-year-old, a South Korean actress for whom Pachinko was a breakout role.
“We all enjoyed ourselves. There’s no right or wrong when it comes to the dancing, so it was full of joy while we were shooting.”
- Pachinko 2 is showing on Apple TV+.
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