Pachinko
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
The extremely hot man in the impeccably tailored cream suit from theend of the last episode?
Thats Koh Hansu, the new fish broker at the market Sunja frequents.
Chapter two ofPachinkoopens with a voice-over, letting us overhear snippets of gossip about Koh alongside Sunja.
It doesnt matter, then, that she traded for the smaller fish.
Whats worth fighting for?
This becomes a question that appears over and over again in this episode.
For Koh, Sunja is worth fighting for.
Maybe for Sunja, Koh Hansu is worth fighting for too.
She agrees, and when he comes back, he asks if Sunja has ever been to school.
Her father fought for her to be educated, but her mother didnt think it was worth it.
(Fighting for the people you love, again!)
Koh Hansu visits Sunja again on a different day, and this time, all pretenses are dropped.
The two make love in a grove of trees, dappled by light.
Around them, birds trill.
I think this is meant to be a commentary on the beauty of the home and homeland.
Were drawn in by a story of love, but this isnt just a love story.
Its an immigration story, a survival story, an endurance story.
Its important for us to notice that these two fall in love in Korea, and Korea is beautiful.
Meanwhile, in 1989, Solomon survives the urban concrete sprawl of Tokyo.
Among the excess of bubble-era Japan, he stands next to an old childhood acquaintance.
In the end, all that matters is that your own tally defies gravity.
But Solomon is undeterred.
Having lost this fight, Solomon returns to his office when his phone rings.
Its Hana, Etsukos estranged daughter, who has been missing for at least eight months.
We learn that Hana and Solomon had an intimate relationship and may even have been lovers.
Solomons voice is full of longing, panicked and hurting.
Mozasu teaches a young worker to tap the pinball pins to rig the game in favor of the parlor.
Kim Min-ha, who plays young Sunja, makes me proud to be an Asian with freckles.
