‘Pachinko’s Subtitles Are Quietly Genius

Apple TV+‘s Pachinko is a glorious ode to the power of familial love. The show follows one Korean family through the turmoil of the 20th century. First, we follow young Sunja (Yu-na) as she navigates life in a sleepy fishing village that’s occupied by Japanese rulers. Later, we watch as teenaged Sunja (Minha Kim) falls in love with a dashing local leader (Lee Min-ho) and winds up on a path that leads her to immigrate to Japan. Then, in a series of scenes set in the 1980s, we watch as a now elderly Sunja (Youn Yuh-jung) attempts to help her American-educated grandson Solomon (Jin Ha) reconcile his ambitions with the cultural legacy she has given him. Through it all, we watch this saga unfold in three different languages — Korean, Japanese, and English — meaning that, yes, Pachinko has a lot of subtitles.

Pachinko is based on the best-selling novel by Min Jin Lee and, like that book, attempts to show how the choices of our ancestors reverberate in the present. The show flits between timelines, starting off with Sunja’s mother begging a local healing woman to excise a curse from her bloodline, and jumping to the luxury of 1980s Osaka and Tokyo. That the show is able to juggle all these timelines is a testament to showrunner Soo Hugh and directors Kogonada and Justin Chon. It’s also helpful that the show utilizes a clever trick with its subtitles to make it clear when different languages are being spoken.

So what’s going on with Pachinko‘s subtitles? Something very clever indeed!

When you first fire up Pachinko on Apple TV+, you’ll be told that the show is presented in its two original languages: Korean and Japanese. You have the choice then to hit one of two little icons in the lower right hand corner of your screen to choose English subtitles or English dubbing. For subs, hit that little text bubble icon and for dubs, the icon that looks like a series of vertical lines.

Your presentation of Pachinko should tell you this, but in case you miss it…Japanese dialogue will be subtitled throughout the series in blue and Korean dialogue in yellow. English is your standard white subtitles.

So what’s so cool about this is it’s a very simple, effective way to switch between dialogues in the show, but also within the context of a scene. We can see in real time the language gaps between certain characters or their ease in code-switching between cultures. It’s one of the many quiet, subtle, genius ways Pachinko invites us into its world.

The first three episodes of Pachinko are now streaming on Apple TV+. Future episodes will be released weekly.

Where to stream Pachinko