Apple TV+’s Korean original series “Pachinko” has returned with the new second season narrating the internal growth of the characters and their portrayal of a range of emotions, the show’s main actors said Friday.

Based on Korean American author Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel of the same name, the period drama chronicles the life of a Korean family spanning four generations, who moved to Japan in the early 1900s. The second season continues to depict the life of Sunja (Kim Min-ha), a Korean woman born to a poor family in Busan who struggles to settle in Osaka, Japan, following World War II.

The eight-part first season that ended in April 2022 received rave reviews globally for presenting a universal story of immigrants and their cultural identity.

Since the show boasts multinational production and various backdrops, “Pachinko” actors had to speak Korean, English and Japanese, as well as seven other regional dialects including those of Jeju Island, Osaka, Tokyo and more.

Youn, who stars as an older version of Sunja, a Zainichi Korean who represents the painful history of Korea as an ethnic Korean who is a permanent resident of Japan, said acting in Japanese was “painful.”

“It was painful. I never intended to speak less perfect Japanese in the show. Not because my character was a Zainichi Korean, but, because I just couldn’t speak perfect Japanese, my character speaks less than perfect Japanese. I tried to memorize Japanese lines as if were memorizing the multiplication table,” Youn told reporters during a press conference held Friday in Seoul. She jokingly added that she would not film a third season if she had to act in Japanese again.

Lee Min-ho, who plays Han-su, speaks Korean, English, Japanese and other Korean regional dialects like Jeju Island dialect.

“When you’re on set, you hear Japanese lines coming into your right ear, English lines into your left ear and you see someone speaking in Korean in front of you. At one point I felt as if I had lost my identity. But it was also a project in which I felt the true power of language. My experience has been that whether I can immerse myself into a certain culture or emotions depends on the language I speak, something that naturally happened,” Lee told reporters.

He added that the show portrays the life of people who are shunned by society.

“While the first season was about people trying to survive, the second season is about their lives, settling into a real life. Han-su (Lee’s character) shows growth as a human being,” Lee said.

In the second season, Lee and Kim Min-ha portray paternal and maternal love, showing many layers of emotions that the actors themselves have not experienced.

“Instead of approaching fatherhood as something with detailed emotions, I tried to act the character by focusing on concepts like blood and family, something that is more instinctive,” Lee added.

Kim Min-ha, who plays a younger version of Sunja, said playing the role of a mother with two sons gave her deep thoughts.

“Because the second season features Sunja as a mother and her relationship with her children, I thought more deeply about the family, motherhood and overall relationships in life. I asked my mom and my grandmother why they would love me. They simply answered ‘It is because it’s you,’” Kim told reporters.

The second season of "Pachinko" consists of eight episodes, which will start airing on Aug. 23. A new episode will be released each week on Apple TV+ until Oct. 11.