Korean American actor Jin Ha is no stranger to shifting contexts. Playing Solomon Baek in the intergenerational saga Pachinko, he says is an extension of his personality. 

Apple TV’s sweeping adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s 2017 bestseller, follows the struggle for survival of a Korean immigrant family as they navigate the loss of national and cultural identity.

The story told through the lens of its lead protagonist Sunja played by Kim Min Ha, and Oscar-winning actor Youn Yuh Jung, across two parallel timelines, shifts gears in Season 2.

About the series

The focus so far has been on Sunja, a single working mother in Osaka, who is raising her two sons, and keeping the family fire burning against the backdrop of World War 2. In the present context, which is 1988 Japan, her grandson Solomon is trying to make a fortune for himself in the face of financial instability, and a failed deal which has damaged his reputation.

Jin Ha shares insight

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Jin Ha says he drew from his own family’s history as immigrants, as well as his contemplation of race and ethnicity, to understand Solomon, who is going through an identity crisis of his own in the current season.

“As specific as the story is to the Zainichi (Koreans living in Japan) experience and to the second, and third generation that my screen father and I belong to, I have related my own experience. I was born in Korea, lived in Hong Kong, came to America when I was young, and went back and forth between these two countries. It was that experience which drew me and felt very near,” says Jin Ha.

Pachinko’s Solomon is Jin Ha’s big breakout role. The actor who has been part of productions such as Hamilton and Madame Butterfly, says though his character is different from his real self, there is an invisible thread which binds the two.

“I have said this before, if I hadn't been an actor, or found work as an actor, I would have needed to protect my emotions more, and put more walls up around me to live, and would have found myself similar to Solomon’s character and personality. But, because this is the work I get to do, it allows me to study and go into that type of persona. The amazing thing about Pachinko is it lets me expand on him, and show the many colours of his personality. From his office the way he handles himself, but we know he is at his wit's end, and in his mind has lost everything. The canvas was huge.”

From showrunner's perspective

Wearing several hats on the show, from writer, executive producer and showrunner Soo Hugh confesses they have tried to expand the source material, as it dwells in the past, its eyes are firm on the future. This perhaps explains the expansion of Solomon’s character from the book to the screens.

“We always talked about Solomon in the writer's room. One of the things that Solomon has to do to survive is to code-switch so deftly, that he can almost make himself a different person, whatever circumstances he's in. In Korea, we have a word called “nunchi”, that is a person who enters a space and can sort of discern the energy of that space. I think a lot of immigrants have it in them, and Solomon has it, and that's how he survived,” says Soo Hugh.

However, what drives the elaborative heartfelt narrative of Pachinko are the performances, and its effective casting which also includes Korean Matinee idol Lee Min Ho. Lee Min Ho’s turn as the powerful yakuza (gangster), who despite his wealth and strength is unable to win over the woman he loves (Sunja) and son Noa, has won him nods of appreciation. The show also stars Japanese actor Soji Arai as well as Shogun’s Anna Sawai. Soo Hugh confesses each one of the actors in the show underwent rigorous rounds of audition, including Lee Min Ho.

“I try not to write with actors in mind, because that kind of pollutes the experience for me. Our casting director Soo Kim has a very keen eye, and she kind of helped us through this process, and familiarise us with actors we may not have been familiar with. But in this case, we didn’t care whether they were stars, or known, what we wanted were the best actors for the role. We put our actors through a torturous process, and the audition process is very, very rigorous. We didn’t want to be in a situation where on set you felt the actor was not embodying the spirit of the character, and then things tend to feel off balance. We spent a lot of time casting, and each one of the actors have slipped into their character seamlessly,” says Hugh.

Pachinko 2 is streaming on Apple TV +

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