As someone who typically reads mostly non-fiction, I was apprehensive before starting on this book — all 570 pages of it. Will reading it be a drag, or will I find myself unable to put the book down, even if it was already two hours past bedtime? Thankfully, it was the latter.
Pachinko explores the life of a family of Koreans in post-WWII Japan. It follows a young Sunja, born to a disfigured father and housewife mother, trying to navigate her way through the world. The family operated a lodging house and lived simply. At 16, she was at a fish market in Busan. There, she meets Koh Hansu, a Korean businessman who was based in Osaka, Japan. One day, Hansu saves Sunja from a group of young Japanese bullies, and this is where their relationship starts. Soon after, Sunja gets pregnant; but to her horror, she finds out that Hansu was already married to a Japanese wife and had three daughters with her.
One day, a Christian pastor from Korea comes to stay in the lodging house. His name is Isak. He originally intended to stay for only one night, but due to him getting sick (tuberculosis), they made him stay. Sunja eventually marries Isak and delivers a baby boy (Hansu’s son), whom they name Noa.
Eventually, Isak moves to Japan with Sunja to continue his pastoral work. Sunja and Yangjin sell their kimchi at a train station, and soon, they got their big break when the manager of a nearby…
