‘Pachinko’ wins Best Foreign Language Series at Critics Choice Awards

Apple TV+’s original series ‘Pachinko,’ which depicts a Korean-Japanese's turbulent life, won the Best Foreign Language Series award at the 28th “Critics Choice Awards” in the U.S.

The Critics Choice Association (CCA) selected “Pachinko” as the winner of the Best Foreign Language Drama Award held at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday. The award made 2023 the second consecutive year for a Korean-American drama to win the Best Foreign Language Drama Award, following the ‘Squid Game’ last year.

‘Pachinko’ is a drama series based on a novel of the same name by Lee Min Jin, the epic saga telling the story of a Korean-Japanese family across four generations from the 1910s to the 1980s. Even though it is categorized as an American series, it has garnered attention as a large number of Korean actors, such as Kim Min-ha, Lee Min-ho, and Yoon Yeo-jung, appeared.

The ENA drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo,’ which follows the story of a young female lawyer on the autism spectrum also won a nomination in the same category but failed to win the award. Last year, ‘Squid Game’ won two prizes, notching the Best Foreign Language Series and Best Actor in a Drama Series awards.

Director Park Chan-wook’s ‘Decision To Leave’ competed in the Best Foreign Language Film category at this year’s awards ceremony but failed to win. The award went to the film ‘RRR: Rise Roar Revolt,’ which tells the story of Indian independence activists standing up against British colonial rule in the 1920s.


Ji-Sun Choi aurinko@donga.com