Jin-Soo Kwon

Jin-Soo Kwon (Jin)
Daniel Dae Kim as Jin
First appearance	"Pilot, Part 1"
Centric episode(s)	"...In Translation" "...And Found" "The Glass Ballerina"
Information
Name	Jin-Soo Kwon
Age	30
Portrayed by	Daniel Dae Kim

Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.

Fictional character biography

Prior to the crash

Jin-Soo Kwon was born in Namhae, South Korea to a fisherman and a prostitute, the latter of which abandons Jin and his father during his infancy; Jin had since been told that his mother died when he was young. Even though he wasn't sure about being Jin's father, the fisherman regardless raised Jin, knowing that no one else would. As an adult, Jin attempted to follow his dreams of owning his own restaurant and hotel, and applies for a job at Seoul Gateway Hotel. Jin's heritage is recognized by the owner, and employs him as a doorman, under strict instruction to keep "people like him" out of the hotel; when Jin allows a disheveled man's son to use the hotel toilets, the owner rebukes him, prompting Jin to quit on the spot. Shortly after leaving, Jin literally bumps into Sun. After finding work as a waiter elsewhere, Jin visits Sun's father to ask for her hand in marriage. Jin disowns his heritage in order to gain Mr. Paik's respect, and he is given a job as floor manager in one of his factories. After marrying Sun, Jin is soon promoted to working as an "enforcer" for Mr. Paik, who has no qualms about the methods of bribery, blackmail, extortion and murder to succeed. While Jin is unaware as to the reason of his sudden promotion, it puts strain on his relationship with Sun. Jin's first assignment is to "convince" a government official to overlook the violating environmental regulations caused by one of Paik's factories. Jin gives the official's puppy to Sun as a gift, but on the second visit, Jin violently beats him to prevent a hitman from killing him. Jin returns home covered in blood, but refrains from telling Sun about the work her father orders him to do. Despite their problems, Jin and Sun try for children. However, after a visit with a fertility doctor, Jin grows angry upon learning that Sun cannot conceive, and accuses her of knowing all along; the doctor later admits to Sun that the opposite is true, that Jin is the one unable to conceive. Later, Jin is given the task of killing Jae Lee for sleeping with Sun. Following orders, Jin confronts Jae Lee at his hotel room and violently beats him. Instead of killing him, however, Jin tells him to leave the country and never return. Upon returning to his car, Jin is startled when Jae Lee lands on his car upon jumping from his hotel room as a supposed act of suicide. Later, Jin is assigned on a secret mission to deliver watches to one of Mr. Paik's associates in Sydney and Los Angeles. Jin takes Sun with him, telling her that it is a vacation. Before leaving Korea, Jin visits his estranged father, much to his delight. Jin tells his father about the turmoil that has plagued his life since being employed by Mr. Paik. Jin's father tells him to remain in the United States upon arrival and never return. Jin decides to follow through with this plan. After checking in at the airport in Sydney, Jin uses the restrooms after Sun accidentally spills coffee on him. As Jin is washing his hands, he is approached by one of Mr. Paik's associates, who reveals to know Jin's hidden agenda, and warns him not to go through with it at the risk of losing Sun. Jin then moves on to board the doomed flight.

After the crash

Season One

Upon landing on the island, Jin becomes overprotective of Sun, and forbids her from consorting with the other survivors. Whenever she is approached, Jin scolds her for her poor appearance (most notably when her top button is undone). While the two remain isolated from the others, Jin prepares sea urchin and offers it to the survivors, the only one to turn him down being Hurley. Jin spends most of his time fishing, whilst also keeping a watchful eye over his wife. One morning, Jin assaults Michael and attempts to kill him in front of Walt. Jin is handcuffed to the wreckage as a result, released only after Michael cuts him free and returns his gold watch to him. Later, Jin and Sun move into the caves. When Jack is caught in a cave in, Jin contributes in moving the rubble aside. He soon frowns upon Sun wearing revealing clothes, and even more so when she helps Shannon overcome her asthma. Later, Jin grabs Sun and yells at her when she decides to go bathing. It is only after Michael intervenes that Jin suspects something going on between the two. That night, Michael's raft is burned down. Jin helps in stopping the flames, but flees to the caves when his hands are scorched. Regardless, Michael blames Jin for the arson attack, and he and Sawyer take their anger out on him by beating him in front of the whole camp. It is only after Sun, revealing her secret to Jin, begs them to stop that Jin is released. He returns to the caves to collect his belongings, blanking out Sun, and joins Michael in building a second raft. Over time, the two begin bonding, eventually becoming mutual friends. Jin stops building the raft only when he hears the distress calls from Kate and Claire in the jungle, where he must help in delivering the baby. On the day that the raft sets sail, Sun approaches Jin and gives him a phrasebook she had written for him. Jin apologizes for his actions, and vows to find rescue for her. The two reconcile before departing. Out at sea, Jin helps to maintain the raft's condition. When they encounter the Others that night, Jin dives into the water in an attempt to save Sawyer.

Season Two

Upon the raft's destrucion, Jin washes ashore, being discovered by Libby and Cindy. He is taken into the jungle and tied to a tree. Jin breaks free and flees to the beach, encountering Michael and Sawyer. Believing the people to be Others, he attempts to warn the two, until the three are beaten unconscious by Mr. Eko and thrown into a pit. Upon being released, and their situation mutual, the tail-section survivors lead Jin, Michael and Sawyer back to the Arrow station. Before heading off to migrate with the fuselage camp, Jin offers his expertise by catching fish with Ana Lucia and Bernard. When Michael disappears in the jungle, Jin and Mr. Eko run after him, narrowly avoiding an encounter with the Others. The three catch up to the rest of the group, traveling up until Ana Lucia shoots Shannon. Jin is forced to remain behind with Libby and Bernard, until they are given the go-ahead to move on, and being reunited with Sun. The two attend Shannon's funeral. When Jin learns that Michael has gone off to search for Walt, Jin attempts to join the search party, but Sun forbids him to leave her again. Later, Jin grows concerned for his wife when she falls victim to a failed kidnap attempt. Jack and Jin intend to extract revenge on the Others, only for Sawyer to reveal that they had fallen for his long con. Still worried, Jin forbids Sun from tending to her garden, tearing it up in the process. Later, Jin realizes how much he needs her, and attempts to repair the garden. It is then that Sun informs him of her pregnancy, and that it was he who is infertile. Jin considers this a miracle and rejoices. Jin later volunteers to help Bernard build a giant S.O.S. sign in the beach. He is the last person remaining when he decides to quit. When Michael leads Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley to the Others' camp, Sayid asks Jin to accompany him to the camp via Desmond's boat, to which he accepts only when Sun also insists on going. As they sail to the Other's camp, they pass a strange statue of a four-toed foot. They arrive at the camp, which turns out to be fake. Before setting off, Jin is deafened by a high-pitched noise as the island is engulfed in a strange violet glow.

Season Three

Jin is still on board the boat with Sun and Sayid, and suggests they return to the beach, only to be overruled by Sun and Sayid. They arrive at the pier, where Sayid starts a signal fire. Jin, knowing about Sayid's plan, demands to be given a gun whilst telling Sun that he understands more English than she thinks. That night, Jin and Sayid wait by the end of the pier for the Others to arrive; they are startled to find that they have instead arrived by sea and have gone directly for the boat, where Sun is hiding. Jin dives into the water as the boat sails away, and is reunited with Sun once again when she escapes. The three return to the beach soon after. Days after returning, Sun starts speaking to Jin in English, in an attempt to help him learn. Jin is stubborn, and is left to help Hurley overturn a van in the jungle. When Sawyer arrives, he teaches Jin three phrases that he describes as "what women want to hear." Hurley and Charlie get the van running, and the four enjoy a joyriding session before returning to the beach, filled with hope. Jin finds himself involved in the investigation over the apparent deaths of survivors Nikki and Paulo. Jin, Hurley and Sawyer find Paulo lying in the jungle. After a brief examination of the surroundings, Jin concludes that the "Monster" had killed him. Later, he attends the funeral, unaware that Nikki has opened her eyes moments before being buried. Upon Jack, Kate and Sayid returning to the beach with Juliet in tow, Jin shares the same disliking to her as the rest of the camp. Later, Jin joins Hurley, Charlie and Desmond on a trek into the jungle. They witness the bailing of a helicopter pilot that night, and head inland to find them, encountering several pieces of luggage on the way. Jin and Hurley find her hanging from a tree, and the four cut her loose. When Mikhail arrives, Jin chases after him and catches him. After helping Naomi, Jin pursues Mikhail once again when he steals her satellite phone. The four take her back to the camp and hide her in Hurley's tent. After she speaks to the camp that night, Juliet's recorder is played to the group, mentioning Sun's pregnancy. Jin asks Sun about Juliet's message, to which he learns of a healthy fetus. When Karl arrives to warn them of the Others' imminent arrival, Jin volunteers to stay behind and detonate the dynamite inside the targeted tents, along with Sayid and Bernard. That night, Jin's inaccuracy causes the plan to backfire, and three are taken hostage by the surviving Others. The next day, Jin is held at gunpoint in order for the Others to extract the camp's initial plan from Bernard. The three are saved when Hurley, Sawyer and Juliet arrive on the beach and eliminate the Others.

References to Korean culture and language

Jin is notable in that he is the only major character who was purportedly unable to speak English before arriving on the island (he does, however, speak English in one of Hurley's dream sequences). By contrast, Korean-born actor Daniel Dae Kim was raised in Pennsylvania, and thus in reality speaks American English fluently and Korean with an American accent. He is coached on set by a dialect coach and co-star Yunjin Kim to speak Korean without the American accent. Despite Jin's inability to speak English, six years of training in the English language is a compulsory subject in Korean schools. He is able to figure out that Sun and Sayid are lying to him in "The Glass Ballerina" however, and tells them he can understand English better than they think. Similarly to the Chinese and Japanese naming system, the convention in the Korean naming system is to put the family name first in the person's name. Therefore, Jin's name should technically be Kwon Jin-Soo, rather than Jin-Soo Kwon. Military service for a minimum of eighteen months is compulsory in South Korea.^[1] This, in addition to Jin's mob experience, may explain his familiarity with handguns as seen in "The Glass Ballerina" and "Through the Looking Glass."

Character notes

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• Jin is notable for having the longest absence of any main character that has not been kidnapped from the camp (not appearing between Further Instructions and Tricia Tanaka Is Dead, a total of six episodes). The only main character with a longer absence was Michael, but he was not residing in the camp at the time.
• The role of Jin was created to be Sun's husband. The reason for this is that Yunjin Kim originally tried out for the role of Kate, but the producers wrote the role of Sun specifically for her.