Explore the real places in Seoul that appear in Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Yeongdo Island Waterfront, Busan, Busan Harbor, Busan Station, Ikuno Ward, Osaka, Pachinko Parlor and 10 more.
Yeongdo-gu, Busan — Sunja's childhood home
This is the fishing village where young Sunja grows up in the 1920s, the daughter of a boarding house keeper. Her father lies dying from tuberculosis while her mother struggles to keep the boarding house afloat. Here Sunja meets Baek Isak, the tubercular minister who will change her life, and later Koh Hansu, the wealthy smuggler who pursues her with dark intentions. The island represents the poor Korean world Sunja will attempt to escape.
Yeongdo Island in Busan was a major fishing and trading hub during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945). The island's waterfront housed working-class Koreans, fishermen, and laborers. During this period, many Koreans lived under Japanese colonial rule with severe restrictions on their freedoms and livelihoods.
Yeongdo Island is now a developed residential and commercial area of Busan. The Taejongdae cliff-top park offers views of the coast, and the island has been modernized with apartment complexes and museums documenting the colonial period and Korean War history.
Visit: Taejongdae Park (park)
Jung-gu, Busan — Port of departure and desperation
The harbor represents the threshold between Korea and Japan, where Sunja's fate is decided. It is here that Koh Hansu, the charismatic gangster and smuggler, arranges Sunja's passage to Japan to escape the shame of carrying his illegitimate child. The harbor embodies both escape and entrapment—a place where desperate Koreans seek opportunity abroad while remaining forever marked as colonial subjects.
Busan harbor was a vital port during the Japanese occupation and became a major point of emigration for Koreans seeking work in Manchuria, China, and Japan. The colonial administration used the port for military and commercial purposes, making it a symbol of Japanese economic dominance over Korea.
Busan Harbor is now one of Asia's busiest ports and a major tourist destination. The Busan Port Museum and waterfront promenades allow visitors to walk along the historic docks. The area has been redeveloped with restaurants, galleries, and observation decks.
Visit: Busan Port Museum (museum)
Jung-gu, Busan — The departure point
Sunja passes through Busan Station as she prepares to board the ferry to Osaka with Isak, the minister she has married. It is a moment of both hope and loss—leaving behind her mother and her homeland under Japanese occupation, embarking on what she believes will be a new life. The station represents the threshold between her Korean past and her uncertain future as a Korean woman in Japan.
Busan Station opened in 1905 during the Japanese occupation as a modern railway hub connecting Korea to Japan and Manchuria. It became a major transit point for Koreans emigrating abroad and for colonial administration. The station reflected Japanese modernization projects imposed on Korea.
Busan Station is a major transportation hub and historic landmark. The original early-20th-century building has been preserved and restored, and the station now serves high-speed rail and intercity connections. It is both a functioning transit center and a tourist destination showcasing colonial-era architecture.
Visit: Busan Station (historic site)
Osaka, Japan — Korean enclave and home for three decades
Ikuno becomes Sunja and Isak's home after they arrive in Osaka. It is the heart of the Korean-Japanese community, a crowded working-class neighborhood where Korean immigrants live in poverty and discrimination. Here Sunja raises her two sons, Noa and Mozasu, while Isak's health deteriorates and he is imprisoned by Japanese authorities. The ward represents both refuge and cage—a place where Koreans build community while facing constant marginalization from Japanese society.
Ikuno has been home to a large Korean immigrant population since the early 1900s, particularly after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake when Korean laborers came to help with reconstruction. During WWII and the Korean War era, the Korean population in Osaka grew significantly. It remains Japan's largest Korean enclave, with a complex history of discrimination, community organizing, and cultural preservation.
Ikuno Ward remains a vibrant multicultural neighborhood with a significant Korean population. Korean restaurants, markets, and cultural institutions are prevalent. The area has galleries, museums, and cultural centers documenting the Korean-Japanese experience. Many residents are Zainichi Koreans—permanent residents without Japanese citizenship.
Visit: Ikuno Ward Heritage District (historic site)
Ikuno, Osaka — Mozasu's livelihood and ambition
Mozasu's pachinko parlor becomes the center of his life and identity in postwar Osaka. Unlike his brother Noa who desperately tries to assimilate into Japanese society by denying his Korean heritage, Mozasu embraces his work managing pachinko machines and eventually owns his own parlor. For Mozasu, the pachinko business represents economic independence and acceptance of his Korean-Japanese identity. The parlor is where he makes his fortune and where he maintains dignity despite societal contempt.
Pachinko emerged as a gambling game in postwar Japan and became a major industry and form of entertainment. Zainichi Koreans became prominent pachinko parlor owners because they were excluded from many other businesses by Japanese discrimination. Pachinko became tied to Korean-Japanese entrepreneurship and survival.
Pachinko parlors remain a fixture throughout Japan, though the industry has declined. They are iconic establishments in working-class neighborhoods. Many are still owned by Korean-Japanese families. The sound and visual spectacle of pachinko machines remain distinctive aspects of Japanese urban culture.
Visit: Pachinko Parlor (Operating Establishment) (landmark)
Osaka, Japan — Isak's imprisonment and martyrdom
Isak, the Christian minister, is imprisoned here by Japanese authorities during WWII for refusing to honor the Shinto shrine, an act considered treasonous under Japanese militarism. His imprisonment and death in the prison represent the persecution of Koreans and religious minorities under Japanese occupation. For Sunja, his martyrdom becomes a defining tragedy that shapes her enduring sacrifice and moral framework throughout her life.
During WWII, Japanese authorities imprisoned many political prisoners, religious dissenters, and Korean activists who refused to comply with imperial mandates. Christian ministers and other religious leaders faced particular persecution for refusing to perform Shinto rituals. Prisons like this were sites of torture and death during the war.
The exact location of historical wartime prisons in Osaka has been commemorated through historical markers and museums. The city has several facilities documenting WWII-era imprisonment and persecution. Some former prison sites are now museums or memorial spaces.
Tokyo, Japan — Noa's assimilationist escape
Tokyo represents Noa's attempt to completely erase his Korean identity and assimilate into Japanese society. Noa abandons his Korean name, changes his appearance, and moves to Tokyo, determined to pass as ethnically Japanese and marry a Japanese woman. His decision to cut off his family and deny his heritage becomes the defining tragedy of his life—a rejection that haunts Sunja and represents the psychological toll of living under discrimination in Japan.
Tokyo was the capital and cultural heart of imperial Japan, and later the center of postwar Japanese society. For Korean immigrants and Zainichi Koreans, Tokyo represented both opportunity and the heart of the assimilationist pressure they faced. The city was ground zero for the tension between immigrant communities and Japanese nationalism.
Tokyo is a modern megacity and the center of Japanese culture, commerce, and politics. While it has changed dramatically from the postwar period, it remains a destination for millions seeking opportunity. The city has several museums and sites documenting the Korean-Japanese experience.
Visit: Tokyo National Museum (museum)
Nagasaki, Japan — Solomon's childhood and the American influence
Solomon, Mozasu's son and the novel's final protagonist, is born in Nagasaki in the postwar period. The city represents the American-influenced postwar Japan and a new generation removed from the immediate trauma of war and colonization. Solomon's upbringing in Nagasaki, close to the site of the atomic bombing, shapes his understanding of Japan's transformation. The city embodies both destruction and renewal.
Nagasaki was devastated by the atomic bombing on August 9, 1945, killing over 70,000 people instantly and many more from radiation sickness. The bombing ended WWII but left deep scars on the city and nation. Nagasaki underwent massive reconstruction in the postwar period under American occupation influence, becoming a symbol of both Japanese resilience and the horrors of nuclear war.
Nagasaki is a thriving port city with the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park and Museum as major sites commemorating the bombing. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage site and major tourist destination. It combines modern development with deep historical memory of the atomic bombing.
Visit: Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park and Museum (museum)
Ikuno Ward, Osaka — Home cooking and cultural identity
Throughout the novel, Korean food—particularly dishes Sunja and other Korean women prepare—represents cultural continuity and identity. Though the exact restaurant location is not named in the novel, Sunja's lifelong work preparing Korean meals for her family and community reflects how she maintains her heritage despite decades of living as a foreigner in Japan. Food becomes a language of resistance and love.
Korean immigrants in Osaka maintained their culinary traditions as a way of preserving identity and community under Japanese assimilation pressure. Korean restaurants and home cooking became acts of cultural preservation. Food vendors and restaurants became centers of Korean community life.
Ikuno Ward has numerous Korean restaurants, street food vendors, and markets selling Korean ingredients. These establishments continue to serve both Korean-Japanese residents and tourists interested in authentic Korean cuisine. Korean food culture remains central to the ward's identity.
Visit: Korean Restaurant District (Multiple Establishments) (restaurant)
Ikuno Ward, Osaka — Commerce and survival
The street markets and small shops of Ikuno represent how Korean immigrants survived economically while maintaining community. Here women sell vegetables, fish, and household goods to support their families. Young Mozasu and Noa navigate these markets, witnessing their mother's and neighbors' daily struggles. The markets embody the working-class Korean-Japanese experience and the entrepreneurial spirit despite systemic discrimination.
Street markets were vital to the Korean immigrant economy in Osaka, particularly for women who often became vendors and shopkeepers. These markets were gathering places for the community and spaces where Korean language and culture were openly practiced. They represented economic niches available to Koreans excluded from other employment.
Ikuno Ward still has vibrant street markets and small shops, many owned by Korean-Japanese families. These markets sell Korean and Japanese goods, traditional foods, and household items. They remain important gathering spaces for the community and tourist attractions.
Visit: Ikuno Ward Street Markets (landmark)
Osaka, Japan — Imperial demands and religious persecution
The Shinto shrine symbolizes the religious persecution Isak and other Koreans faced under Japanese imperial authority. During WWII, the Japanese government mandated shrine worship as an act of loyalty to the emperor. Isak's refusal to bow before the shrine, and his subsequent arrest and imprisonment, represents the impossible choice forced upon religious minorities and colonized peoples. The shrine embodies the totalitarian demands of the Japanese state.
During WWII, the Japanese government enforced State Shinto worship as a requirement for all subjects, including Koreans and religious minorities. Refusal to worship at shrines or perform prescribed rituals was considered treason. This policy particularly targeted Christians and other religious groups. The shrine system was central to Japanese nationalism and imperial ideology.
Shinto shrines throughout Japan, including in Osaka, continue to function as religious and cultural sites. Many offer historical context about their roles during WWII. Some have museums or memorial plaques acknowledging the complex history of wartime shrine worship mandates.
Visit: Osaka Shinto Shrine (Multiple Historic Sites) (historic site)
Kobe, Japan — Gateway and transit hub
The port of Kobe represents another layer of the Korean-Japanese maritime experience. Though not a primary setting, Kobe's proximity to Osaka and its status as a major port underscore the connection between Japanese ports and Korean immigration networks. The region's ports facilitated the movement of Koreans seeking work and opportunity in Japan.
Kobe became a major international port in the Meiji period (1868-1912) and was crucial to Japan's modernization. Korean immigrants arrived through Kobe seeking employment in factories, docks, and other industries. The port city had its own Korean community and remains historically important to Korean-Japanese settlement patterns.
Kobe is a modern international port city and major tourist destination, particularly known for Kobe beef and its waterfront development. The city has museums and historic sites documenting its role in Japanese modernization and its multicultural history. It remains an important commercial and cultural hub.
Visit: Kobe Harborland (landmark)
Osaka, Japan — Faith and resistance
The Christian church community represents Isak's spiritual world and the Korean immigrant faith that sustained people through hardship. Though Sunja is not initially Christian, she converts to her husband's faith as an act of love and commitment. The church becomes a space of moral meaning for her, and Isak's Christian martyrdom gives her a framework for understanding sacrifice and endurance throughout her life.
Christianity spread among Korean immigrants in Japan as both a spiritual practice and a form of community organization. Korean Christian churches in Japan provided social services, language instruction, and cultural identity for immigrants. Christianity also became associated with Korean nationalist and anti-colonial movements.
Korean churches continue to operate throughout Japan, serving both Zainichi Korean communities and other congregants. These churches maintain Korean language services and cultural programs. Many document the history of Korean immigration and the role of faith in community building.
Visit: Korean Christian Church (Multiple Sites) (landmark)
Osaka, Japan — Americanization and modernity
Baseball represents postwar American cultural influence and the modernization of Japan that Solomon experiences growing up. The sport symbolizes the generational shift away from wartime trauma toward new identities shaped by American occupation and global commerce. For Solomon, American culture represents both opportunity and a further distance from his Korean heritage.
Baseball was introduced to Japan in the Meiji period but became extremely popular during and after the American occupation (1945-1952). The sport became central to Japanese postwar culture and identity, representing modernization and American influence. Baseball culture was embraced by Japanese of all classes.
Baseball remains central to Japanese popular culture with multiple professional leagues. Osaka Dome and other stadiums host major games and events. Baseball stadiums are significant cultural sites and tourist attractions throughout Japan.
Visit: Osaka Dome (landmark)
Seoul, Korea — The distant homeland
Though the novel's action is centered on Busan and Osaka, Seoul represents the distant Korean homeland that recedes further from the characters' lives. The Korean War and division of the peninsula mean that Seoul becomes increasingly inaccessible. For characters like Sunja and Mozasu, Korea transforms from homeland to unreachable memory across a militarized border.
Seoul was the capital of Korea throughout the modern period. During the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), it was the administrative center of colonial rule. The Korean War (1950-1953) divided the peninsula into North and South Korea, with Seoul becoming the capital of South Korea. The city has been divided from North Korea since 1953.
Seoul is a major modern metropolis and capital of South Korea. It is a global cultural and economic center. The city has numerous museums, memorials, and sites documenting colonial period, war, and division history.
Visit: Seoul National Museum (museum)
More by Min Jin Lee: All Min Jin Lee books