Simply one of the best books I have ever read in my life.
Pachinko tells the story of a family between 1910 and 1980: from when South Korea was colonized by Japan and through the world wars.
The book begins by telling the story of Hoonie (father) and Yangnin (mother), who gives birth to Sunja around 1915.
Hoonie dies of tuberculosis when her daughter is young, so mother and daughter are left to run the family inn alone, in a small town in Korea.
At that time, Korea was a single country and colonized by Japan.
One day, a guest from Pyongyang named Isak Baek arrived. He was a polite and kind man who was Christian (not common at the time).
Every day, Sunja would buy food at the market to cook at the inn.
A man started following her. He was Japanese. The Japanese were quite racist toward Koreans, so they didn't mix.
This man, Koh Hansu, followed Sunja until she got home. He would strike up conversations, and she would completely ignore him.
The friendship quickly blossomed into a romance, and Sunja became pregnant with Hansu's child.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Sunja thought she would marry Hansu and they would live happily ever after. He said he could support her in Korea, but he couldn't take her to Japan because he was already married there and had daughters.
His dream was to be the father of a boy, but Sunja didn't want him to be a father like that.
When Noa was still a child, Isak and Sunja became pregnant with another boy: Mozasu (Moses).
However, Isak was a Christian and campaigned for the end of Japanese rule in Korea and for the freedom to practice his religion.
He was arrested and spent years in jail without his family hearing anything.
Noa decides to study English literature. He loved reading, was passionate about Dickens and Shakespeare, and wanted to be a teacher. He begins studying for the university entrance exam and passes. The problem: how to pay for college and housing in Tokyo?
This is how Hansu returns.
If I tell you anything from here on out, it'll be too much of a spoiler.
I highly recommend it. 10/10.