Pachinko: Korean Food as the Emotional Core of the Drama
Creatrip Team
25 days ago
The global OTT series Pachinko traces four generations of Korean (Joseon) families from 1910s Japanese colonial rule to 1989. Food — specifically traditional Korean dishes (hanjeongsik) — was used as the show’s central storytelling device. The series’ food director recreated historically accurate meals and trained actors to prepare and eat them on camera. Key scenes include a tearful white rice meal (ssalbap) made by Sunja’s mother before she leaves for Japan, the hearty fisherfolk’s communal table with fresh grilled fish and a prized abalone, and Sunja selling kimchi (a fermented cabbage side dish) in Osaka as an act of survival and identity. The production emphasized visual details like kimchi texture and rice preparation to convey memory, resilience, and cultural continuity — arguing that food can preserve history and emotion beyond words.
