What does Pachinko mean? Title significance explained as K-drama receives rave reviews

Pachinko is finally here to break some myths. For many, the world of Korean dramas is limited to romantic stories like Forecasting Love and Weather, and thrillers like Squid Game and All of Us Are Dead.

Pachinko, the latest addition to Apple TV+, is here to prove that Korean dramas are being admired across the globe because they can tell a diverse tale, which can range from the ill-fated story of star-crossed lovers to depicting the complex history of their country enclosed in a relatable web of emotions.

So, for anyone tuning in to the first three episodes of the show on the streamer, the biggest query is, "What does Pachinko mean?"

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What does the word “Pachinko” mean and what is its significance in the backdrop of the show?

The series depicts a very sensitive time in the history of Korea- when the country was annexed by Japan in 1910 and how everything, starting with their culture, religion, media to even their language, became a target of the invasion.

The show, which is based in the early 20th century, focuses on the story of Sunja, played by Kim Min-ha, who lives in Korea with her parents. But as fate would have it, she falls in love with fish broker Koh Hansu, played by Lee Min-ho, but when she becomes pregnant with his child, he reveals that he is already married.

In an attempt to protect her family from the social disgrace that will follow, Sunja becomes a Korean immigrant in Osaka, Japan, in hopes of a better life.

First World War II, then the Korean War closes all doors for her possible return to her homeland, and she and her two sons have to live tolerating the ostracization aimed at Korean immigrants. When it becomes difficult to make ends meet, pachinko parlors become their source of survival while reflecting the struggle they go through to survive in Japan.

Pachinko is a cross between a pinball machine and slot machine, with the first commercial parlor of the arcade gambling game opening in 1948 in Japan. As pointed out by NPR, while dissecting the book the series is based on, it is a multi-million dollar industry in Japan even though gambling is illegal in the country.

As per Independent, the revenue generated is 30 times more than what the gambling scene scores in Las Vegas. But anyone who has seen the show already knows that the game’s ties to the story are beyond its physical presence in the era depicted.

Pachinko is a game of luck where skills hardly have any hand in deciding whether the ball will find a winning route or bring only disappointment to the player. The fate of Sunja and her sons is similarly unpredictable in the foreign land as, despite their efforts to fit in and thrive, their future is uncertain and depends on what a stray stroke of luck brings into their lives.