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.

There was no denying the significance of pachinko in Korean history. There is definitely a thematic connection to pachinko and the events of Lee's novel. The game is a mixture of chance but fate, opportunity but destiny. Pachinko gives the illusion that the game is pure chance.