The Land of the Morning Calm
A two-month immersion into the Land of the Morning Calm. Through Min Jin Lee's sweeping generational saga and some of Korean cinema's most beloved films, we discover resilience, identity, and the enduring weight of history on a people.
Gyeongbokgung Palace. Built in 1395, the "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven" was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty — a symbol of Korean sovereignty and cultural continuity across six centuries. Photo: Wide Open World Travel Archive (Seoul, South Korea)
A sweeping multi-generational saga beginning in early 1900s Korea, following one family across four generations as they navigate Japanese colonization, wartime, migration to Japan, and modern identity.
We chose Pachinko because it holds within its pages an entire century of Korean history — not told through dates or battles, but through the quiet resilience of one family caught between two worlds.
“History has failed us, but no matter.” — the opening line of Pachinko
7 films — watch any of them, in any order.
A woman reconnects with her long-lost high school friends from the 1980s to grant a dying friend's final wish. A deeply moving film about friendship, time, and the bittersweet nostalgia of youth.
Korean cultural guide and literary advocate for the WOW South Korea expedition.
“Pachinko tells the story we don't talk about enough — the Koreans who built lives in Japan, caught between two worlds. It is a book about us, and about everyone who has ever had to choose between roots and survival.”
Hana Jo introduces South Korea's modern history and cultural context, and guides our dive into Pachinko and the films.
Group discussion on Pachinko and the films — identity, sacrifice, resilience, and belonging — with a live Q&A with Hana Jo.