When we first catch sight of Minha Kim as Sunja in the second season of “Pachinko,” she is enveloped by the hustle and bustle of a crowded marketplace in Osaka. However, before we lay eyes on her, we hear her voice piercing through the noise—she is energetically promoting her kimchi, passionately telling the crowd about its savory taste, and finally urging them, “Come, get a taste of home.”
Back in 2021, Minha Kim embarked on filming the first season of “Pachinko,” marking only her second professional acting role and her first engagement in an American production. The young actress undertook the monumental task of bringing to life the central character in Min Jin Lee’s beloved novel “Pachinko”—a sprawling narrative that chronicles four generations of a family as they wrestle with love, loss, grief, and survival. Following her critically acclaimed performance in the debut season, Minha earned a nomination for a Gotham Award for Outstanding Performance in a New Series and was honored as Breakout in TV at the Unforgettable Gala by the Asian American Awards in 2022. This year, she also featured in RM of BTS’s music video for the song “Come Back to Me.”
Returning to the role for a second season, Minha detailed her approach in an interview with The Hindu. She said she tackled the character with the same authenticity and emotional honesty as the first season, albeit with the added complexity of a significant time jump. “I think the most important part for me is to feel genuinely, and in an authentic way. A time jump meant that I had to maintain her personality, and work on building my own stories of Sunja,” she shared.
In season two, the year is 1945, and the backdrop is war-torn Osaka. Sunja has significantly matured both physically and emotionally. She is grappling with the disappearance of her husband—possibly imprisoned—and shouldering the responsibility of raising two young sons amidst severe financial constraints and food rationing. Her mind often wanders back to her mother, who remains in Japanese-occupied Korea—a home Sunja abandoned years ago to start anew in Osaka with her husband. The sparse remnants of her former home now lie in the kimchi she makes and the Korean language she shares with her sons.
Director Leanne Welham, awestruck by Minha’s portrayal of Sunja, described her as an exceptionally astute actor. Leanne pointed out that Minha managed to imbue her character with depth without feeling burdensome, thanks to her intelligence and intuitive acting. “She has this luminance about her when she’s on camera, which is unusual, and amazing to work with,” Leanne remarked. This season saw the directorial talents of Leanne, Arvin Chen, and Sang-il Lee, presenting the series in a mix of Japanese, Korean, and English languages.
Minha expressed that while Sunja bears significant responsibilities, the love she harbors for her family ensures that these burdens never overwhelm her. Sunja’s emotional turbulence, and how she endures extraordinary situations as an ordinary woman, was consistently in Minha’s thoughts during the filming process. “Every situation that she is facing is quite hard. What I tried to do as the character is to just accept it and admit it, something that I feel Sunja is very good at.
. She just… goes on,” Minha reflected.
Throughout the series, Sunja faces a series of pivotal decisions that shape her life and that of her family. “Even if she has a moment where she is confused, she is never lost for too long and realizes there is no right or wrong in the situation. She is very fast. She has a responsibility to protect her family and protect herself as well,” Minha explained. This necessitated a conscious effort from Minha to ensure her portrayal was multi-dimensional. “I wanted to bring some diversity in my emotions. It isn’t always the same, and I wanted to build this individual’s relationships with other characters as well,” she elucidated.
Seven years have passed since the events of the first season, and Sunja’s sons are now eight and thirteen years old. In Kyunghee, her sister-in-law, Sunja finds a reliable support system. The season also marks the return of Koh Hansu, played by actor Lee Min-ho, bringing with him the specter of their shared, troubled past.
Meu’s eyes sparkled when discussing the remarkable ensemble cast she worked with—which includes Jung Eun-chae, Lee Min-ho, Steve Sanghyun Noh, Jin Ha, and Yuh-jung Youn. “They are great actors, and we had many conversations about our characters and relationships. But we mostly followed our own instincts, trusted each other, and had faith in our own characters. We believed each other,” Minha recalled.
An Instagram post by actor Lee Min-ho thrilled fans ahead of the New York premiere of “Pachinko” season 2. It featured casual snapshots of him and Minha in the city, cheekily captioned ‘hansu & sunja in newyork.’ “The entire cast had a great relationship off camera, and had some time to hang back in Korea after we finished filming. I think this really did help us on set as well,” Meine added with a smile.
Season 2 of “Pachinko” premieres on Apple TV+ on August 23, continuing this poignant tale of resilience and heritage.
World cinema / entertainment (general)
