Pachinko is a gambling game that everyone plays, but society looks down on it. Sunja is an illiterate girl from a small South Korean village who experiences a lot of hard work and very little kindness and understanding throughout her life. Just before the war, fate takes her to Japan, where she must contend not only with poverty but also with contempt and discrimination. Family means everything to her, both a blessing and a curse. She tries her best to provide her children with a better life, but education alone is not enough. Engaging in pachinko is the only way for Koreans in Japan to get rich, but money does not guarantee happiness. This gripping story of a Korean family unfolds against the backdrop of dramatic events that changed the face of Korea and Japan in the twentieth century. A book that will make you as addicted as pachinko itself.
