Spoilers for Season 2, Episode 1, “Chapter 9” of Pachinko follow.

Summary

• In
  Pachinko
  In Season 2, Sunja struggles with the difficulties of war and sells kimchi to support her family amid discrimination and impending danger.
• Sunja’s arrest for selling illegal rice wine leads to a tense encounter with Hansu, who offers her family refuge from the impending bombing of Japan.
• In 1989, Solomon struggles to rebuild his career and takes out his anger on his grandmother Sunja.

The critically acclaimed Pachinko is back for a second season. Supported by Pachinko‘s cast of characters, The first episode is already a great reminder of how captivating the cross-generational story of love and sacrifice can be. In Season 1, the younger Sunja (Minha Kim) settles in Osaka, Japan, with Isak (Steve Sang-Hyun Noh), the minister who proposed to her after she became pregnant with the child of the dashing but already married Hansu (Lee Min-ho). In the 1980s, Solomon (Jin Ha), Sunja’s grandson, is eagerly awaiting a promotion at his bank.

In Pachinko At the end of the first season, Isak is arrested by Japanese officials for a political crime. Isak’s brother Yoseb (Han Jun-woo) loses his job because he is associated with his sibling, which only strengthens Sunja in her determination to care for her sonsNoa (Kim Kang-hoon) and Mozasu (Eunseong Kwon) as well as her in-laws Yoseb and Kyunghee (Jung Eun-chae). To do this, Sunja decides to sell kimchi at the market. In the meantime PachinkoIn the alternate timeline of The Wonderful World of Madness, Solomon ruins his deal by telling the customer, who reminds him of his grandmother (Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung), to turn down the offer.

8 ​​​​​​​The Second World War determines the schedule of the second season of Pachinko in 1945

Sunja continues to sell kimchi to support her family

If anything, the Japan of the second season during World War II is a harrowing reminder that Pachinko is based on true events. It picks up where the first part left off, Sunja continues to sell kimchi at the market near the train station to feed her familyAlways determined, she even tells a regular customer, Mr. Kim (Kim Sungkyu), about her passion to give her sons and their future families a better life. While they talk, American planes fly low over the market and drop leaflets. But this scene is far from Pachinkois the only memory of the war.

Sunja and her sons participate in government-ordered military exercises, stabbing dolls with weapons to prepare them for intruders.

As the leaflets encourage Japanese citizens to ask their government to end the war, tensions within communities and households reach their own boiling point. In one scene, Sunja and her sons participate in government-ordered military exercises, stabbing dolls with weapons to prepare them for invaders. At the same time, Sunja faces anti-Korean discrimination – something that seems even more commonplace as people look for a way to vent their war frustrations. It is certainly a grim reminder of the real prejudices Koreans faced in Japan in the 1940s..

7 Mozasu and Noa deal with the bigotry of their classmates differently

The real discrimination Koreans face in Japan is portrayed in Season 2 of Pachinko

Discrimination is also evident in Noa and Mozasu’s lives at school. Sunja’s sons deal with anti-Korean bigotry very differently. Noa, a teenager, allows his classmates to racially abuse him because he believes it is better (and safer) to ignore their bullies. When the younger Mozasu’s classmates make fun of his Korean food, Mozasu stands on his desk and shouts how much he loves the food. Despite being reprimanded by the teacher, Mozasu seems to shrug off his tormentors. Later, one of Noa’s teachers, who is hiding his own Korean identity to avoid persecution, suggests that Noa pursue higher education.

6 Jiyun persuades Sunja to sell rice wine on the black market

Both women are determined to help their families at any cost

In a tragic twist, Sunja’s friend Jiyun (Jeong Sori) is beaten by her husband – a sad truth from which she tries to protect her children. Pachinko Season 2 suggests that the abuse is just one of many examples of wartime aggression playing out at home. Despite this, Jiyun, like Sunja, is determined to provide for her family no matter what. Jiyun suggests that she and Sunja share illegal rice wine on the black market to earn extra money to feed their families. At first Sunja hesitates, but Kyunghee later reminds her that the boys ate worm-eaten rice rations.

Pachinko
In Season 2, Episode 1, it is revealed that Sunja hasn’t heard from her mother in three months and Isak has been gone for seven years.

5 Sunja is arrested for selling rice wine

Hansu makes sure that Sunja doesn’t have to go to prison

After stopping by Jiyun’s house to pick up her goods, Sunja goes to the black market alone to sell the rice wine. Jiyun regrets that she cannot accompany her friend, but Sunja insists that her experience selling kimchi near the train station will also bring success in the black market. Sunja’s tense walk to the black market reminds her why Pachinko is one of the best television shows, especially since the sequence is intercut with Solomon’s story, which takes place in 1989. The parallels between Sunja and Solomon’s stories remain among the strongest moments.

…the women did not think that their worst fears would come true on the first night of Sunja’s business.

Suddenly, Jiyun bursts into Kyunghee’s house to inform her and the boys that Sunja has been arrested for selling rice wine on the black market. It was always going to be a risky venture, but the women clearly didn’t think their worst fears would come true on the first night of Sunja’s business. As Sunja awaits her verdict, she listens to other arrested women receive their own sentences. Although everyone else has to spend weeks or months in prison, Sunja is released without verdictOutside, Mr. Kim is waiting for Sunja and insists that she get into his car.

4 Hansu offers Sunja refuge from the impending bombing of Japan

Hansu supplies Japanese troops with tungsten

Mr. Kim and Sunja arrive at a mansion – which belongs to none other than Hansu, who reveals that he has had his eye on them and Noa, his biological son, for years. Unforgettable is in Pachinko In Season 1, Sunja refused Hansu’s help because he didn’t want to marry her, even though she used his watch to pay off some debts. Mr. Kim, Sunja’s long-time, friendly customer, was actually hired by Hansu to keep an eye on Sunja. Hansu further explains that he supplies the Japanese troops with tungsten.a valuable resource used in the construction of aircraft and weapons.

Sunja rejects Hansu’s generous offer on the grounds that she loves her husband too much to leave him.

More importantly, Hansu’s position as a tungsten supplier has made him aware of some crucial details of the war. He tells Sunja that he overheard a conversation in which it was said that it was only a matter of time before the Americans would bomb Japan. Armed with his inside knowledge, Hansu knows that Sunja – and no one – will be safe in Japan’s big citiesHe offers Sunja a refuge in the countryside, saying that she, the boys, and Kyunghee can live there safely. Sunja rejects Hansu’s generous offer, claiming that she loves her husband too much to leave him.

3 Solomon tries to save his career after his actions in the final

The 1989 timeline takes place in Tokyo during the second season of Pachinko

In Pachinko‘s timeline set in 1989, Solomon struggles to get funding for his latest business venture after his career is completely ruined at the end of Pachinko Season 1. Several investors, including a friend, turn Solomon down because his emotional state is a dangerous variable. Things take a positive turn when he meets Tetsuya (Ryotaro Sugimoto), a childhood friend. Although Tetsuya is concerned about his own reputation, he is willing to invest some money in Solomon’s endeavors, purely because Solomon was a good person years ago.

2 The elder Mozasu opens a pachinko parlor

Monzasu also invests in Solomon’s next project

The grand opening of the elder Mozasu (Soji Arai)’s pachinko parlor is an exciting moment for the whole family, including Solomon. He is eager to spread his joy about the opening day, Monzasu invests in Solomon’s business and gives him a check for $700,000. Although the money comes in part from the mortgage Monzasu took out for his new business, it also comes from Sunja, Solomon’s grandmother. Solomon is hesitant to accept his family’s money – until Tetsuya calls and tells him he’s withdrawing his investment. Rumor has it that Solomon is defrauding investors.

1 Solomon confronts his grandmother about a racist man

Sunja becomes the target of Salomon’s wrath

Already angry at Tetsuya’s change of heart – which was instigated by Katsu Abe (Yoshio Maki), a customer of Solomon’s former employer – Solomon is on the verge of a tantrum. To distract her grandson, Sunja asks him to pick up a cake she ordered for the pachinko parlor’s grand opening. When Sunja tells the baker that her order is wrong, he makes racist remarks about her and, in his eyes, her inability to speak Japanese. Angry, Solomon yells at the man despite his grandmother’s protests.

Solomon directs his anger against Sunja and boils:
I can’t live with always feeling sorry for you.
”

After they leave the bakery, Solomon tears up Mozasu’s check. In one of the most heartbreaking moments of the episode, Solomon takes out his anger on Sunja.I can’t live with always feeling sorry for you,” he cooks, not knowing how much his grandmother sacrificed for him. The episode ends with Solomon showing up at an awards ceremony and glaring at Abe. While Solomon hits rock bottom and refuses his family’s help, it will be interesting to see how the younger Sunja’s story follows that of her grandson in Pachinko Season 2, Episode 2.

New episodes of Pachinko Season 2 will air on Fridays on Apple TV+ until October 11, 2024.