Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

★★★★☆|☆☆
"Living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage"
Timestamps below the fold ↓
Intro 0:00
Summary 0:05
Review 0:24
Shifting protagonists 1:05
Korean migration to Japan 2:13
Prosperity range 4:18
Conclusion 5:05
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Buy on Amazon - cha.rs/3GTOV8K69/amzn
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[@chrissietann87]

This is one of my absolutely favourite books. Not only is it well written, it also allowed me to glimpse into an unknown part of history. I've since become obsessed with novels about the Japanese occupation.

[@veronicabrett556]

The island of sea woman is another fantastic one

[@JamboNo5_]

Just about to start this one. They are turning it into a big budget TV show as well on Apple TV.

[@getitlees8040]

You must be very happy that they made a TV show now !

[@cryingaboutbooks]

I’ve been meaning to pick this up! amazing review as always 💕

[@seeCHOsmile]

I definitely have been meaning to read this since it's release date but never got around to it! I always look forward to your opinions and I'm glad you're talking about it even though the hype for this kind of died down, thank you for your review!

[@jessicalv6442]

My favorite book forever!!!!!!

[@PerpetualLearner28]

Miss your videos.

[@tanyasinspirations]

This is a really great book! This is a June read of my book club 😍

[@Chareads]

I was trying to get my book club to pick this for ages and eventually gave up and read it solo! Such a rich tapestry of a book, a fantastic one for discussions

[@tanyasinspirations]

Chareads oh that’s sad they didn’t want to read it :( but yes I agree! We had a discussion on zoom and we talked for 2 hours and honestly could keep going.. 😅 Now everybody is writing reviews haha!

[@essanniadahi8236]

Actually, North Korea was faring better, economically, than SK until the collapse of USSR (roughly)

[@sparkskeys889]

Actually, 70s. Think about 1988 Seoul Olympic.

[@dannnsss8034]

North Korea's GDP per Capita was far higher than china's as well.

[@E.VegaCR]

Gracia por la reseña del libro saludos de Costa Rica.

[@asmaabahreddine5565]

I would tend to disagree, I think the transition from one generation to another generation really takes into consideration the time scale. Even the narrator is never an inside-out but rather an outside perspective to their lives. I am still reading it and I am really enjoying it.

[@annekap.1656]

What a great review.

[@hookieable]

Can you show us your bookshelves tour! I can’t stop looking at those satisfying coloured-coordinated stacked of books

[@Chareads]

I think about it all. the. time. Some day soon I will.

[@jessepark4769]

I loooooove this book!

[@iri2228]

I loved this book.. does anyone know any books similar to this one? that talks about the same topics?

[@keelzkeelz7860]

how we disappear ( a story of comfort women)

[@disneyclock4272]

The Woman in the White Kimono :)

[@user-hw4st7br9a]

@@jessicaseojin 한국이 일본으로부터 독립했나요? 아니일본 점령의 시작이자 대한제국의 멸망이었어.

[@widyantogunadi9593]

When it comes to Asian literature, I was never that much interested in Korean literature because I prefer, in my opinion, the more captivating stories found in Japanese literature. Just saying. However, upon hearing your review of the book, I think I should look for it, buy it, and read it. Well, I guess Pachinko would be my first starting point to get into this particular genre someday in the future.

[@millerhouse0]

Im just getting into asian literature, could you recommend some of the captivating stories i could stuck into? Thanks

[@ericsohn9133]

This book is written by American author who happens to be Korean descent.

[@sparkskeys889]

@Birdie // Angry far right Japapnese troll alert. 🤣

[@KP-zd3hc]

I’m an ethnic Korean. Study all you want. Read all you want. You’ll never truly understand what it feels like to have an isolated life of a person who’d have to face xenophobia at every turn. All because I was a Korean person with a Korean name and a Korean face who happened to be born and lived in Japan. No enhanced literary study will lead anyone to understand the hurt my family has endured for the past 3 generations.

[@Chareads]

I agree that true empathy is almost impossible, but don't you think it's good for people to educate themselves and try to understand other people's experiences?

[@KP-zd3hc]

Chareads like I said. No one will ever truly understand my experience as an ethnic Korean who grew up in Japan. Why am I saying this? Because I tried to talk about open discrimination towards Koreans in Japan for years, and I had a group of SJWs saying “How dare you equate your experience with what Black people went through. They went through worse”, which was really confusing and sad because I wasn’t really making comparisons, and they flatly rejected the whole idea that Asians can discriminate other Asians. So, it’s just exasperating to see readers being ‘enlightened’ by a book that somehow illustrates ethnic Koreans’ experiences, but they will never understand. They’ve never really tried to understand.

[@lepastila7088]

@@KP-zd3hc and what do you expect from us? What do you want us to do? You said we will never understand so whats your point? Everyone experiences life differently. You being mad at the world for not understanding you is part of the victim mentality. You were discriminated. Everyone gets discriminated in this world at some point. Have you asked yourself "What can I do to make life better for me and those around me despite those hardships?". Take some action to change something if you dont like it. All I see is complaining. I cried after finishing this book. I cried after every piece of korean literature that described the harsh and sad history koreans had to experience. But we cant just cry and complain. Do good, make others life better and stop seeing life as something that can't be changed. And appreciate the people that want to learn and understand your culture. They dont owe you anything.

[@KP-zd3hc]

le pastila the fact you just tried to scold a still very-much affected ethnic demonstrates how lacking you are of empathy. The best thing you could have done was to not say anything. You don’t know what shitty lives my family went through. Just because you read some book, don’t get so preachy about how I ought to live my life. You don’t know the hell my family went through.

[@lepastila7088]

@@KP-zd3hc I didn't deny what you went through. I just think complaining and identifying yourself as a victim makes things worse for you. And for people who try to understand the context. Because you say "don't bother, you will never understand how much I suffered" and this attidude doesnt help anybody.

[@birdie621]

Contrary to popular belief, Zainichi Koreans are prewar stowaways, refugees and their descendants from the Jeju massacre, Yeosu-Suncheon rebellion and the Korean War, not victims of forced labor or their descendants. Atrocities such as the abuse or slaughter of Koreans during Japanese rule are just common beliefs based on many groundless testimonies and propaganda, rather the Japanese side received much more damages both economically and personally. After the war, more than two million Koreans in Japan were ordered by the GHQ to return to the Korean Peninsula. However, 600,000 of them refused to go home despite their homeland independence, committed terrorism, riots, and other violent crimes in major Japanese cities. They shouted, "Revolutionize Japan and making it our republic !", dropped Japan into the chaos. Under the GHQ occupation, the police were powerless, and Japan became a de facto lawless zone. Koreans took advantage of this chaos, declaring "We are victorious nationals, we will not obey a defeated nation’s laws”, formed armed groups, committed countless crimes such as Illegal occupation of land, looting, bank raids, murders, assaults, rapes, attacks on government offices, police stations, and the prime minister's residence, burning down of courts and prosecutors' offices. Armed Korean mobs raided warehouses of farmers and agricultural cooperatives, robbed freight wagons, and looted shopping malls and national food warehouses, stole food, supplies, and rations for the Japanese people. They set up black markets in various parts of Japan, selling looted goods, illegal drugs, and moonshine liquor for a profit, which they used as capital to start businesses such as pachinko gambling on illegally occupied land and gained huge amounts of wealth. There are so many Korean billionaires who made a fortune at this time of chaos.

[@birdie621]

In Japan, unlike the beautified story of the drama or original book, it is said that illegal Koreans started the pachinko industry in the chaotic postwar period on land that they stole by threatening Japanese people or whose owners were killed in air raids by the U.S. military. Under the GHQ occupation, the police were powerless, and Japan became a de facto lawless zone. Zainichi Koreans took advantage of the opportunity. They set up black markets throughout the country and made huge profits by selling looted goods, illegal drugs, and moonshine liquor, which they used as capital to start pachinko parlors, bars, and brothels in illegally occupied areas. Pachinko, the key industry in Zainichi Korean society, may be a success story for them, but pachinko is a clearly illegal gambling game that violates Japan's gambling laws and is a dark side of postwar Japanese society. Pachinko is a major cause of gambling addiction among Japanese and a breeding ground for crimes such as tax evasion, fraud, murder, and kidnapping, making it extremely harmful to Japanese society. In fact, pachinko has already been banned in South Korea, the homeland of Zainichi Koreans, because of the enormous harm it causes to society. What is even more problematic is that it has been pointed out that 10% of the proceeds from pachinko are illegally transferred to North Korea to fund its nuclear development program, abduction of Japanese citizens, and espionage activities. The Japanese government should ban pachinko, but it remains untouched because the Korean mafia in Japan threatens the families of police officials, politicians, and local government officials by means of rape, assault, and murder.

[@aa2d]

please, research more! that’s japanese point of view. listen to opinions outside japan.