Daniel Dae Kim as Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, on the show Lost, is portrayed by Daniel Dae Kim. Jin was born to a poor family in a small provincial village in Namhae, South Korea. His father was a humble fisherman, and one of Jin’s greatest dreams was to become the owner of a restaurant and hotel. His dream led him to find employment at the Seoul Gateway Hotel, but was only assigned to work as a doorman by the hotel’s arrogant manager, Mr. Kim. Because of Jin’s impoverished background, Mr. Kim looked down on him often, even telling him to not let people of the lower class to enter the hotel premises. Jin resigned after a short time, and eventually crossed paths with Sun Paik, who would eventually become his wife. As a way to gain wealth and acceptance, Jin began working for Sun’s father, Mr. Paik.
Corrupt and lawless, Mr. Paik got Jin to carry out many of his underhanded and illegal schemes. Not willing to give in to such cruelty and violence, Jin tried hard to keep himself from killing his father-in-law’s enemies, which included a government official. Even his attempt to get Sun pregnant was a means for him to find a way out of his dangerous job. Sadly, Sun could not seem to conceive, and when the doctor told him that Sun was barren, Jin was enraged and lashed out at Sun. However, the doctor later on confessed to Sun that it was actually Jin who was incapable of getting Sun pregnant.
Another one of Jin’s dangerous assignments involved Sun’s lover, Jae Lee, who happened to be one of Mr. Paik’s business partners. Still, Jin could not bring himself to murder another human being, and instead ordered Jae to disappear. As Jin was about to drive off, Jae’s body suddenly fell from the apartment building. After Jae’s death, Mr. Paik sent Jin to Sydney and Los Angeles, but before he went, he paid a visit to his father. His father advised him to stay in the United States with Sun, but this plan was thwarted when Jin and Sun’s plane, Oceanic 815, crashed into a remote group of islands.
After the plane crash, Jin’s inability to speak English made it hard for him to make friends initially. Eventually, he was able to form friendships with Michael and Sawyer, even saving the latter from drowning in the ocean. Jin’s relationship with Sun was further tested when he found out she spoke English, but after separating briefly, they decided to patch things up with Sun giving Jin a notebook with common English nautical terms. Later, Sun confessed her pregnancy to Jin, and despite Jin’ s sterility, Sun assured him that it was his baby.
(Photo courtesy of ABC)