Bringing 'Pachinko' from page to the screen

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2022

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Elise Hu chats with Soo Hugh, writer and showrunner of the much anticipated series Pachinko, based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee. It's the epic story of a family through four generations across the 20th century, all about their lives as Zainichi Koreans in Japan. In this chat, Hugh talks about what it was like to bring the beloved book to screen, what she's is doing to support Asian American creators coming up behind her, and why this story resonates with people of all backgrounds.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR.
0:02.7	I'm Elise Hugh.
0:05.6	When the novel Pachinko came out in 2017,
0:08.0	my guest today didn't want to read it despite all the buzz.
0:12.1	Well, I did have an excuse.
0:13.2	I was very busy.
0:14.1	I was finishing my last show.
0:16.0	And I was at the same time.
0:17.8	That's legit.
0:18.3	That's legit.
0:19.2	That is Sue Hugh.
0:20.5	She is the writer and showrunner of the much-anticipated series
0:23.8	Pachinko based on the best-selling novel by Minjin Lee.
0:27.4	The show's just premiered on Apple TV Plus.
0:30.4	Being busy wasn't the only reason Sue waited to read the book.
0:34.3	I would be wrong to say that there wasn't also some fear there
0:37.6	in picking up the book.
0:39.8	That as busy as I was, a part of me
0:42.5	was also afraid to confront what the book had,
0:44.7	which is in some ways a story of Korea in the 20th century
0:47.6	and very much my family's story as it is many Korean stories.
0:51.5	And that's terrifying to be able to confront that.
	...

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