Pachinko

Pastor Isak goes to the local church and meets Pastor Shin. Isak tells Shin about his plans to marry Sunja in order to save her from a life of ostracism for her and her child. He tells Shin that he got the idea after reading the book of Hosea from the Bible. He tells Shin of his debt to Yangjin and her daughter since they cared for him for three months while he had tuberculosis. Isak sees this marriage as a way for him not only to repay a debt, but also as a way for his life to mean something. He always expected to die young because he was an invalid for much of his life, but now he sees that marrying Sunja could be a way to do something noble with his life: “Maybe my life can matter to this family. I had always wanted to do something important before I died. Like my brother Samoel” (67).

Pastor Shin believes that Isak is sacrificing too much and should not rush into this marriage although he sees that he will not be able to change Isak’s mind. But he insists that Isak bring Sunja to the church so he can meet her.

Isak asks Yangjin if she thinks that Sunja would marry him. Yangjin is shocked and asks why he would do this. He explains that it would be good for him to have a wife when he moves to Osaka, but he never considered marrying because of his health. But he feels that it would be ok since Sunja already knows about his health and, although she might be a young widow, her life would be much better if she married and her child had a father. Yangjin understands this: “The child would have a terrible life here. You’d be saving my daughter’s life as well. If you would take care of my daughter, I’d gladly pay you with my life, sir” (74).

When Isak asks Sunja to walk with her, she is prepared; her mother has already told her of Isak’s proposal, and she is ready to accept his kind offer even though she doesn’t understand why he’s willing to take this step. When they discuss marriage, Isak asks Sunja if she would be open to loving God: “If you could love God, then I know everything will be all right. It’s a lot, I think, to ask of you. It might not make sense now. It will take time. I do understand that” (76). Sunja is also prepared for this question, as she expected he might ask this. She tells him, yes, she is open to loving God. They walk to a Japanese restaurant to have udon for lunch. Sunja says that she has never been to a restaurant before. Sunja realizes she cares for Isak, and when Isak asks if she would be able to try and forget the father of her child, she is embarrassed but tells him, “I’ll do my best to be a good wife” (79). 

Isak, Yangjin, and Sunja go to Pastor Shin’s, as Shin wants to meet Sunja. Shin questions Sunja about her feelings about traveling to Japan and her feelings about marring Isak. Sunja is very nervous and hesitant to speak but eventually tells Shin that she’s grateful to Isak for his “painful sacrifice” (81). Shin continues to question her, wanting her to acknowledge her sin and state a true desire to be forgiven: “Sunja, all you have to do is ask the Lord to forgive you. Jesus has paid our debts, but you still have to ask for forgiveness. Promise that you’ll turn from sin” (83). When she asks for forgiveness, Pastor Shin gives her a blessing and immediately marries them.

Yangjin is saddened by the rushed marriage: “It was preposterous and ungrateful for her to have wished for a better outcome under the circumstances, but Yangjin, no matter how practical her nature, had hoped for something nicer for her only child” (85). She tries to buy white rice so that she can make something nice for Sunja and Isak to eat on their wedding day. The rice seller resists selling her any rice, saying that he must save the little he has for his Japanese customers. When she begs him, saying, “I want only enough for the bride and groom’s dinner—for them to taste white rice again before they leave home,” the seller Cho agrees to sell her a small bag (86).

The sisters question Sunja about her marriage, asking her if she feels different now that she’s married. One sister, Dokhee, says that she would like to marry someone like Isak, to which the other sister, Bokhee, mocks her, saying, “You’re crazy. A man like that would never marry you. Get these stupid ideas out of your head” (89). Bokhee then asks if Sunja is excited about moving to Japan. She has heard about how busy life is in Osaka. When Bokhee suggests that Sunja should send for them to join her so they can work there, Dokhee mocks her this time, saying, “You think I have crazy thoughts in my head?” (90). They then give Sunja a small gift for her wedding, “a pair of ducks carved out of acacia wood. […] The ajeossi at the market said ducks mate for life” (90). They tell Sunja they know she’s been unhappy lately, adding it’s because she misses her father. Sunja cries, and they console her.

Yangjin packs and repacks her daughter’s things for the trip to Japan, afraid that she will forget something. She accompanies Sunja and Isak to the Busan ferry terminal. While they wait for Isak to set up their passage, Yangjin asks her about the gold watch that she found. Sunja tells her that it was given to her by Hansu, the father of her child. Yangjin warns her not to try and see Hansu in Osaka. Sunja tells her that she won’t and that Hansu is married: “It felt natural to speak of him finally; she was always thinking of him but there had been no one to talk about him with” (93). Sunja tells her that she will sell the watch, should she need to. Yangjin gives her two gold rings from her mother-in-law for use in an emergency as well: “You should have something in case you need money. You’re a thrifty girl, but raising a child requires money. […] A woman should always have something put by” (93). She tries to give her as much practical advice as possible. Sunja tells her she’s sorry. Yangjin says she knows: “You’re all I have. Now I have nothing” (94). Isak returns, and they are ready to leave.