CHARACTER OF JIN

He was the last candidate, and the least candidate. Jin-Soo Kwon was a man who chased his dreams but compromised his principles along the way.

Jin was born on November 27, 1974 to a poor fisherman and a prostitute. He grew up with his father in a single parent household because his father told him his mother had died when he was an infant.

Jin served in the national Army. After his service, he abandoned his village life to pursue a better life in Seoul. But since he had no connections or extraordinary skills, he landed entry level jobs as a kitchen helper, waiter then doorman. People would discriminate against his background of being from a poor fishing village. Yet, Jin normally took the slurs and continued to do his job until his manager refused service to a poor boy.

He met Sun Paik while working at her father's hotel. It was a fateful flirtation, since Jin was never in her social or political circles. However, as luck would have it, Sun was in the process of rebelling against her father's strict control over her life. As a result, she got involved with Jin as a means of escaping her father's control. But that soon changed when Jin's pride in a husband taking care of his wife took a back seat and submitted himself to work for Sun's father. Sun's father treated Jin as a lowly hired hand, making him do his dirty work. But in order to keep Sun in her customary lifestyle, Jin put up with this form of abuse. He had wanted to become wealthy. He wanted a beautiful wife. He wanted to live far away from his village. He found those things, but at a terrible personal price.

At their wedding, both Sun and Jin were touched by a stranger, Jacob. Sun thought that he had must have been a customer of her father's business. Jin lied to Sun about his parents, claiming that they were dead. But later, Sun would find out about his peasant father and his mother when she tried to blackmail her.

In order to keep his honor, Jin tried to conceive a child with Sun. However, the doctor told them that Sun was infertile. Jin was outraged by the fact, thinking that Sun had conned him into a barren marriage. But later, the doctor secretly told Sun that he lied; Jin was infertile. He lied because he feared Mr. Paik's wrath.

Jin's marriage soon took a sour turn. Sun was hoping to have a strong, independent husband who would have stood up to her father. Instead, she got a meek yes-man. Sun had hoped Jin would have enough backbone to escape with her, but he did not. This caused marital strife between them. This drove Sun into the arms of her English tutor, Lee. Sun had planned to flee her life in Korea. Mr. Paik learned of the inappropriate behavior, and told Jin to go to him and kill him over the statement that Lee was "stealing from him." But Jin did not have the instinct to kill him, just badly beating him up with a warning. However, when Jin was leaving the hotel, Lee's body plunged from the upper floors. (We can assume that Paik was watching Jin and made certain of Lee's demise.)

Jin went to see his father. He told him that if Jin loved his wife, then that is all that mattered. Jin took this simple wisdom with him. On a business trip to Sydney and LA, the couple plotted to disappear together in America. Sun did not trust Jin to follow through with the plan. She once thought of escaping by herself. At the Sydney airport, Paik's agent threatened Jin that he should not try to escape. Jin returned to the gate just as Sun was about to leave him, but they boarded Flight 815 together.

CHARACTER TRAITS

Jin grew up in a work centric self-sufficient environment. He was used to hard work and hard conditions. He also was trained to follow orders and to honor his principles. He had useful island skills of sailing, fishing, construction and hand-to-hand combat/military expertise.  His biggest downfall was his own pride. He would hate himself every time he swallowed it on the road to try to find a better life. It would be the deep rooted seed of his anger outbursts. His frustration with the inability to control his own destiny clouded Jin's judgment at times.

JIN'S JOURNEY

Though people are confused, Jin was the last candidate since in traditional Korean culture, a married woman would keep her own name (Sun Paik). Jacob's list for #42 Kwon clearly met Jin. And that would make sense, since Jacob often disregarded mothers and surrogate mothers from being a candidate. He was probably a final candidate because he would honor his commitment, and he would protect others as part of his honor code.

Jin's journey was a poor boy's fantasy. A lowly fisherman goes to the large city and changes his life. He meets his dream girl. He gets a well paying job. He finds a new family life. But in a twist, the dream comes a part due to the corruption by those in power over him. He finds the ruling class to be ruthless, unkind, violent, self-centered and unprincipled (which includes Sun). He has a hard time trying to justify his principles with that of Paik's norms and demands. And when the final aspect of his manhood his taken away from him (the ability to have children in his marriage), he snaps. He is trapped in a life he wanted but now cannot stand.

Jin's life takes the most roller coaster highs and lows. He never leaves the island. He repeats the jealousy and controlling behavior with Sun that broke a part his marriage. He is blown up (and presumptively killed) when the freighter blew up just as his marriage was rekindled with the prospect of rescue. He is thrown into the flashback Dharma world to become a minor player. When Sun returns to the island, he again vows to rescue her. He has seen the first picture of his daughter, so he believes that he has a traditional life waiting for him off the island. Just as rescue on the submarine is apparent, a C4 bomb is found on board, planted by MIB to kill all the candidates. When the bomb explodes, it unbelievably traps Sun behind equipment and pipes. As the submarine sinks, Sun pleads with him to save himself. But he stays behind with her as the compartment floods to the ceiling. (Some viewers thought that this was romantic, but it was still a suicide. And other people remarked that Jin never thought about his daughter back home - - - that she would have no parents if he stayed and died on the sub.)

SIDEWAYS JIN

In the fantasy world, Jin is having a secret affair with Sun. They are found out by Keamy during the business trip to LA. Keamy was hired by Mr. Paik to kill Jin for his behavior (mirrors that of tutor Lee's affair with Sun). The assassin's fee was taken by airport security, so Sun went to the bank to get more money while Jin was beat up by Keamy. When Sun found her secret account closed by her father, she knew Keamy would be upset. In the kitchen, Sayid was brought to pay for his brother's failure to pay, but Sayid killed them and fled. When Patchy came back with Sun and found the carnage, Jin fought him. In the fight, a stray bullet hit Sun in the abdomen. She tells Jin she is pregnant. She is rushed to the hospital, and once they see Juliet and the picture of their baby, both Jin and Sun awaken  - - - and begin to speak fluent English.

Jin did not have a strong personality. He played the role of a gray collar character (half blue collar, half white collar man). Since he was a quiet role player because of the language barrier, he was the weakest of the candidates. In fact, he may never have realized that he was a candidate. His sole motivation at the end was to be with Sun, forever.

He did try to meld with the group, especially after his estrangement with Sun. During the Desmond camping trip to the cable in Season 3, Jin told a ghost story in Korea which still managed to scare Hurley: "And the girl turned to the man who saved her and said , 'Thank God. I was afraid you were the Hook Man.' And the man looked at the girl with a smile and said, 'Don't worry, little girl. My hook is....STILL IN YOUR FATHER'S HEAD!'"

 Jin's story hook was that he was a decent man trying to fit into an unfamiliar circumstances. Unless he could find a way to get out of Mr. Paik's iron grip, he would never be a happy man. His final solution was to die together with Sun, even though that is in conflict with his traditional family values and role of being a father.

As with the other characters, Jin's sins and criminal behavior while working for Paik were never punished. His on-island rap sheet was similar:  He assaulted Michael on the island over his watch. He assaulted Eko. He beat up Patchy when he was captured while searching for Naomi. He killed two Others in the beach camp ambush. These may have been petty as compared to other main characters, but it shows that Jin's personality did not grow or develop during his island adventure. There was no enlightened moment where he vowed to discard any evil means to success. He never changed as a person.

Why Jin winds up in the church is also a subject of reflection. Jin's closest relationship was with Sun. Jin's closest "friend" on the island would have been Sawyer during the Dharma flash back era. But as a couple, Jin and Sun did not share any bonds with the other participants. They were never close with the other married couple on the island, Rose and Bernard. They were never particularly fond of Locke or Sawyer. They even grew weary of Jack when he began to trust people like Juliet. The Jin-Sun character was not a major puzzle piece in the series final reveal. They had little in common with the other church participants. The sideways arc showed no true interaction with the other islanders.

So what was Jin's reward for leaving his village to the unknown big city? He got caught up in class discrimination. When he broke that barrier, he turned into a person he used to hate. He married a wealthy woman who hated being controlled by her father. He accepted control by her father which alienated his wife. His life was spurious and devoid of hope. He was compromised and on the verge of total personal failure. Then he got a second chance on the island, in isolation with his wife to rekindle their relationship. But even that had its rocky moments. In some respects, Jin never gave up on his dream. And his dream met its conclusion when he died holding hands with his wife, Sun.