Pachinko
Client: Student Project on Title Sequences
Date: 2023
Language: English
This project involves creating a title sequence for the Korean series Pachinko, which follows the lives of three generations of Koreans living in Japan. The series explores the hopes and dreams of a Korean family while addressing themes of heritage and resilience across three languages and countries.
The title sequence is designed as an aesthetic evocation, drawing inspiration from both traditional East Asian painting and the minimalist “International Style” of the 1950s. Typographic experimentation transforms the katakana, hangeul, and Latin characters, pushing them toward the boundaries of abstraction and integrating them into the circuitry of a pachinko machine.
The passage of time is represented vertically, resembling a family tree that transitions from tradition—symbolized by an ink-drawn ensō—to modernity, embodied by the pachinko itself. The tumultuous fate of the family is illustrated by the movement of the pachinko balls, which, despite encountering obstacles, always find new paths to continue their journey.
