Ach, @daebakgrits you are so insightful. This drama is so fraught with having to explain and having to acknowledge.
I am second generation diaspora. We don't need to assign the origin place, we need to understand and support all we "others".
I read the book and cried and understood. This show is not our story - but our children's story.
For everyone - grandparents, parents, sisters and brothers - who moved to make a better place for all of us who came after - we respect and thank you.

i agree, @daebakgrits you did a great job of recapping this episode. because you didn't read the book, it didn't bother you that they are not following the book's chapters (pet peeve of mine).

i hope it does not distract from the story on the whole, the interjection of modern times alongside the early times. they want to "better" (?) illustrate the differences and even similarities from both ends of the 4 generation story...

i hope everyone watches this story - it is a story of survival, endurance, tenacity against odds. sadly, it seems the human diaspora across borders still causes much pain, discrimination, hardships globally - but hopefully in the end compassion and acceptance will win for all cultures to blend in together peacefully.

you'll enjoy reading the book after the drama is completed! i've reread it recently to refresh my memory of all the names...

i read this blog article years ago that fabulously describes this blogger's take on the story:
http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-misplace-props-in-pachinko.html

"He just stared longingly at the object of his affection, and that’s Lee Min-ho’s bread and butter" 😂

I read the book first, and I've seen episodes 1 and 2 of the series. I love the show, although I do wish they had stuck to the straightforward timeline in the book. Seeing Halmoni Sunja alive and well in Japan undercuts the suspense in a way. The show is such a visual feast. The first episode was like looking at a beautiful painting, but by the second episode, I had started to feel more connected to the characters.

For anyone who hasn't read the book, I hope you will. Of course the subject matter is heavy, but it's a real page-turner.

For someone who is not a Korean, this is an intriguing and a compelling watch. I watched all three episodes in one sitting and I love the present day scenes more than the past partly because the memories of the surviving ones from japanese occupied Korea is not exactly nostaligic, but one filled with mixed emotions of not being able to be vocal about their patriotism for home country because there is still fear of being expelled while being grateful for surviving in the very enemy country that destroyed your home country. One a broader perspective, this series is more in attune to the lives of refugees from any country and not just the koreans.

I watched the first episode only for now. It didn't feel like a Kdrama but an American serie.

I found the scene in each area too short. I don't mind to be told the different stories in parallel but there was too much back and forth.

I really liked Sunja's father. The way he tried to protect her, to give her hopes.

Lee Min-Ho in his white costume reminded me Tony Leung in the Lover but in less classy? Feline?

It was fun to see Jimmy Simpson, I really liked him in Person of Interest.

I agree with you the production and the cinematography is awesome. You can clearly say where the money went.

Yet. It’s not the acting, or the parallel timelines (having not read the novel I don’t care about a story not following a lineal timeline), I was watching and felt nothing. Those parts that should be touching or be moving me (like sailor Song arrest, or dad worrying about little Seoja) left me totally indifferent. It can be my mood, or just that the story is hollow to me. I am feeling the form is much important than the story.

After watching three episodes I think I am not resuming.

Thank you, @daebakgrits, for the weecap. I haven't seen the drama - I've been 'burned' by LMH for his last dramas so I was wary of whether or not I want to start this. But reading this made me a little interested. I think I'll add this to my growing list of "to watch" dramas.

Was very excited to see this drama, having never read the book, so not sure what to expect. Definitely, not like your typical Kdrama. The cinematography is on a different level, more like a movie. The storyline was easy to follow and kept me interested in episode one to want to continue. I am a LMH fan so I can easily attest that if he wasn't in this drama, I would not be watching this. That being said, I also think that the series will gain more attention because of his popularity. I'm hoping to see a different side of him from previous Kdramas. I was very disappointed in TKEM. Even though he was only in the last five minutes of this first episode, he has such a strong onscreen presence, that you can't help but not stare at him. Reminds me of Elvis Presley or James Dean.

So, I haven't read the book, bc at the time I just wasn't ready to read an epic family story across timelines & that general set-up just *never* seems compatible with me in books, ESPECIALLY when it follows a linear timeline.
Therefore, I'm somewhat pleased with the current set-up of the show, but also I WILL LITERALLY WATCH ANYTHING KOGONADA TOUCHES.

I've only seen ep.1 so far, but I was very moved by the care with which the story is being told. You can see how much everyone involved cherishes it and that seems like the perfect environment for a truly exquisite story to bloom.

So far this drama is delightful.. I did have one question though.. everywhere Solomon goes, people seem to stare at him with hatred in Japan. Can they tell he is Korean? Its weird.. when he walked in the office they all stopped to stare at him. Especially that Japanese girl Naomi, I dont trust her...AT ALL.. She smiles but seems like she hates him underneath.. Am I wrong? Am I over-reading the room?

Lol, is the the same site that went cray cray crazy over Lee Min Ho and his acting back in 2009? Because I only got around to watching all of LMH dramas in 2022, and was curious about the reaction he received from his BOF days. So looked into this sites recaps/comments. I see how short most people memories are…I guess this is what happens when a person stays on top of global popularity this long…it bring out all the bitter negativity lol. Yet the so called acting experts 🙄 still can’t help but look up his reviews or works. Obsessed like his fans. LMH has had the same awesome acting ability and face as when he first started, no matter what his pressed & jealous anti FANS say.

I know I may get bashed for this, but I will still state an unpopular opinion - I think LMH was not the right casting decision for Hansu's character, if you want to base this on the book. In the book, he is supposed to be much older than Sunja. I will say I am pleasantly surprised at how well LMH has acted, but still think it would have been better if they had casted someone older than him. Also, I know the switching between the timelines is a little bit confusing (and again, not following the book), but I think this actually generates interest in the audience, who could have been lost if the show followed the format of the book and only showed the story in a linear fashion. So, good decision on that change!