A government survey last year found that 3.6 percent of Japanese have been addicted to gambling at some point, higher than the 1-2 percent average in other developed countries, and that pachinko was the top destination for gamblers.

Pachinko, the Apple TV+ series adapted from Min Jin Lee's novel, is the rare story tackling the impact of Japanese colonial policies on Korean identity. In 1910, Japan colonized Korea as part of its imperial expansion into the East Asian continent.