Family, Identity, and Survival: Showrunner Soo Hugh on the series Pachinko

A conversation with Soo Hugh, showrunner and head writer of the critically acclaimed series Pachinko. Based on the bestselling novel by Min Jin Lee, the series follows four generations of a Korean family navigating life under Japanese occupation, war, and displacement. Soo Hugh discusses the deep emotional core of Pachinko, its exploration of family, identity, and survival, and how the characters’ experiences speak to both a specific cultural context and universal themes of resilience and belonging. As Season 2 concludes on Apple Plus this week, Hugh offers insights into the challenges of adapting a multigenerational story for television, working with a multilingual, international cast and embracing cultural differences on set. 

Hugh goes on to describe how these cultural and linguistic elements enriched the storytelling, deepening the emotional resonance of Pachinko’s universal themes of identity, belonging, and family. She highlights the importance of creating a collaborative environment where crew members from different countries learned from each other and discusses how Pachinko’s themes resonate across borders, uniting cast and crew in a shared vision to create a deeply human story.