Write On: 'Pachinko' Showrunner Soo Hugh

“Sometimes I think [the show Pachinko] is almost too personal. I
feel like every show, you look at it and say, ‘How much of myself
is in this show?’ I did a show [The Whispers] about children who
were communicating with an invisible alien force and somehow, I
had to figure out how to make it part of me as well. We try to
put ourselves in as much of our work as possible. But with this
show, the tipping point almost fell in the other direction, where
I felt so personally invested. I felt very much like this is my
family’s story, as well. That responsibility sometimes felt
burdensome. So many of the cast and crew have said that there's a
responsibility with this show that almost feels too much. But at
the end of the day I think it's a thing that made us work harder.
I think the show is as good as it is because people cared,” says
Pachinko showrunner and creator Soo Hugh about making the story
personal to her.


In this episode, we speak to Hugh about the challenges of writing
a show where characters speak in three languages, making the
characters relatable to an American audience, and the
responsibility of telling the stories of strong women over
generations.


“In Korean families, we always have these jokes that everyone
knows who’s running the house – your mother! I think it's the
strength of Korean women that have just carried us through,” she
says.


We even ask Hugh about her work on one of my favorite shows The
Terror, and what she thinks really happened to the real-life
British crew on the Terror and Erebus ships that got stuck in the
Artic ice. Her answer may surprise you.


To hear more, listen to the podcast.