For those of you who got sucked into the Apple TV+ Pachinko series phenomenon, the wait may seem excruciating until season two. To help ease the TV anxiety, here is an exclusive interview with actor Inji Jeong, who plays Yangjin, in celebration of the last day of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month.
Jeong plays lead character Sunja’s mother (Sunja, as an adult is played by both Minha Kim and Youn Yuh-jung), in the global hit series "Pachinko," based on the New York Times-bestselling novel by Min Jin Lee, which tells the journey of one family through four generations in Korea, Japan and New York.
In a matter of 8 episodes, Jeong must project a myriad of expressions that portray female rites of passages that are universally understood: the near impossible but miraculous birth of her daughter Sunja, the tragic passing of her husband when Sunja is a small child, the possible final goodbye to a teenage, pregnant Sunja, to name a few.
Jeong’s raw, expressive face and bulls-eye accuracy in conveying both a tough exterior and undying affection of a mother raising a child during a Japan-occupied Korea had audiences locked in on the screen.
A relative unknown before she hit the big screen with Pachinko, Jeong was mostly known in Korea for her roles in theater. She appeared in musicals such as “Islander,” “Marie Curie,” “Demian,” “Nan-Seol” and “Me, Natasha, And A White Donkey,” (the latter for which she was a Korea Musical Awards nominee for Leading Role in a Musical). She also appeared in the drama “Lung.”
Spectrum News Hawaii spoke to the actor, who resides in Seoul, about the experience of filming the epic series.
It was definitely the first time when I met Yangjin inside the boarding house. The boarding house is the whole world to Yangjin. I remember being nervous walking up the stairs with hair and makeup done on the first day when visiting the boarding house set. Upon arrival, it was incredible to see the boarding house from the book I read to be right in front me. I gasped! The details of time and wear inside the kitchen and down to the small detailed objects … Everything was perfect. I thought to myself that I am the only one that needs to fit in with this background.
In what way did you personally identify with the character you played in the series?
She is not only the mother of Sunja, but in a way a strong woman within everyone’s memory. When we look at Sunja we think of our mother or grandmother. When we look at where Sunja came from, we think of Yangjin. This is how I understood their connection while reading the book. So I decided to create Yangjin as a separate woman, not only as a "mother." To me, Yangjin is a woman who went through many serious life moments at a young age. Married at 16 but the only child that lived came when she was 19, but then she lost her husband at 26 and she had to send away her only blood-related daughter to somewhere they could never meet, but [they could not] reunite until she became 36. Not any one of us is born as a "mother" or "father." The key to [showing] Yangjin’s identity was through how she became a mother.
Given the global viewership for the show, do you know how the non-Asian audience is receiving "Pachinko" and what are your thoughts on it?
Inside Korea, it’s hard to tell how global audiences [are reacting] to this project. However, this story is more than just [about] Asians. If we understand the story outside of race, then it’s a story similar to any person beginning their life in a new country. I hope audiences can understand the story in this way as well.
Actress Minha Kim discusses her role in 'Pachinko' on Apple TV+
Nuy Cho is the executive producer of Spectrum News Hawaii. She writes the surf report and covers other general news. Read more of her stories here.
