Sun-Hwa Kwon

Sun-Hwa Kwon
Hangul	백선화
Hanja	白善華
Revised Romanization	Baek Seon-hwa
McCune–Reischauer	Paek Sŏn-hwa

Sun-Hwa Kwon (née Paik) better known simply as "Sun", is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Yunjin Kim.

Conception

The character was not originally intended to be part of the show but the creators were impressed with Yunjin Kim's audition for the role of Kate so they created the character for her.

At first, Yunjin Kim thought that Sun was too stereotypical and submissive, but agreed to take the role after being convinced by series co-creator J. J. Abrams.

Fictional character biography

Prior to the crash

Sun is born into the powerful Paik family, and originates from Seoul. As a child, Sun was taught how to play the piano. She would also often blame the results of her mischief on the maids in order to avoid punishment. Later, Sun attends Seoul National University, majoring in Art History. When she does not return with a husband, her mother arranges for her to meet a potential suitor, Jae Lee. The two hit it off until Jae Lee reveals that he plans on marrying an American woman. An upset Sun leaves him, only to quite literally bump into Jin, her future husband. While Sun had doubts regarding her father's approval, she is surprised when Jin presents her with an engagement ring. Shortly after the wedding, however, Sun is approached by a woman claiming to be Jin's mother; she blackmails Sun into paying her a large sum of money, or she will bring shame upon her family by revealing Jin to be the son of a fisherman and a prostitute. Sun asks her father for the money, but when she doesn't provide a reason, Mr. Paik assumes it is for Jin, and assigns him a new job until the debt is paid. Overtime, Jin grows distant from Sun, and she plans on escaping her failing marriage. She begins taking English lessons from Jae Lee, whose own marriage didn't work out.

After many lessons, the relationship between Sun and Jae Lee develops into an affair; the two are found in bed together when Mr. Paik walks in on them. Sun and Jin soon try for a child, but after visiting a fertility doctor, he informs them that Sun is unable to conceive, causing more strain on the marriage. Later, however, the doctor approaches Sun and tells her that it is Jin who is infertile, and that he was afraid to tell him because of his job as an enforcer. Later, Sun is upset to learn of Jae Lee's death, and attends his funeral. She asks her father if he will tell Jin about the affair, to which he declines, saying that it is not his place. When the two plan on selling the house, in preparation for heading to Sydney, Sun privately speaks with the house inspector, who is a close friend. She is told to leave Jin at the airport at 11:15 precisely; a carpool will be waiting outside the airport and she is to maintain a low profile. Sun also acquires a fake California I.D. card.

At the airport, Sun prepares to follow her instructions, and heads towards the car outside. A single moment of tenderness from Jin, however, causes Sun to change her mind, and she decides to accompany him to Los Angeles. At the airport restaurant, she purchases food for the two of them. Sun is distracted by the snide remarks of a couple seated a few tables away after she accidentally spills coffee over Jin. She then moves on to board the doomed flight.

After the crash

Season One

Following the crash, Jin is overly protective of Sun, who tells her that they must isolate themselves from the other survivors. Whenever other survivors, particularly Michael, attempt to communicate with her, Sun is frowned upon by Jin. One morning, Jin is handcuffed to the wreckage after attacking Michael, and Sun attempts to indicate the watch that Michael is wearing. Sayid misinterprets this as a plea to remove the cuffs. Sun approaches Michael in the jungle and, to his surprise, explains about the watch in English, asking him to keep her bilingualism a secret. Prior to moving into the caves with Jin, Sun attempts to bury her fake I.D. when she is caught by Michael; the two share a brief tender moment before Sun flees. Later, Sun helps move the fallen rocks after Jack is caught in a cave in, and is almost volunteered to crawl through the narrow tunnel to save him by Jin. When Shannon suffers a near-fatal asthma attack, Sun asks Michael to gather some eucalyptus plants, in order for her to make an herbal remedy for her. Her assistance is scorned by Jin.

Sun creates a garden in the jungle, where she grows a variety of different herbs and fruit plants. She is helped by Kate, who then figures out that she speaks English. She begs Kate not to tell anyone else. Later, Sun attempts to bathe in the sea, but is quickly escorted away by Jin, prompting Michael to intervene. Sun slaps him for intervening, but apologizes to him later. Jin suspects something between the two and grows wary. That night, after the raft burns down, Sun discovers Jin in the caves with burn marks on his hands. She asks Jin if he caused the fire, to which he grows angry. When he is accused and beaten by Michael, Sun is forced to reveal her long-hidden bilingualism in front of Jin, and begs Michael to stop. Later, Jin leaves Sun, refusing to speak to her. When Boone is brought to the caves in critical condition, Sun helps Jack in the ensuing operation, retrieving a sea urchin in order for Jack to make a blood transfusion. Despite their efforts, Boone dies later that night.

Sun expresses her worry to Kate about Jin leaving her. Following her advice, Sun poisons Jin's drinking water, but ends up poisoning Michael instead. Only Kate and Jack know about this. Moments before departing, Sun writes Jin a phrasebook, containing English words written in Korean phonetics. She begs him not to leave, but Jin is adamant to leave in order to find rescue. The two reconcile before departing.

Season Two

Sun is approached by Claire and Shannon, who give her the message bottle taken on the raft. In a bid to keep it a secret, Sun buries it on the beach. She notices later that she has lost her wedding ring, and frantically searches for it, even tearing up her garden. She later finds it buried with the bottle. A few days later, Sun and Jin are reunited as the tail-section survivors of the plane migrate on the beach. When the two learn of Michael's sudden departure to look for Walt, Sun refuses to allow Jin to help, reminding him that she is his wife. She later tells Jin that she doesn't like being under-mined by him, and the two vow to prevent it from occurring in the future. One day, while working in her garden, Sun is bagged and tied from behind; Sun manages to escape, but does not see who attempted to kidnap her. Sun passes out, and reawakens at the camp, remembering little of the traumatic experience.

Fearing for her safety, Jin disallows Sun to tend to her garden, going as far as ripping it apart. Sun returns to the beach, where she starts feeling light-headed. She asks Sawyer for a pregnancy test. Upon learning of her pregnancy, Sun is forced to tell Jin. She tells Jin that he is infertile, but swears that she has slept with no other; she had an affair with Jae Lee, but Jin never found out. Later, Sayid informs Sun of his plan to sail to the Others' camp using Desmond's boat, and asks her to ask Jin to sail for him. Sun does so, but demands that she come along too, knowing that Sayid will need someone to translate for him. As they sail to the Others' camp, they come across a statue of a four-toed foot. Sun and Jin remain on the boat while Sayid searches the Others' camp. Moments later, the three experience a deafening sound as the island is engulfed in a violet glow.

Season Three

Sun is still on board the boat with Jin and Sayid, and eventually arrive at the pier. Sayid informs Sun of his plan to kidnap two of the Others, and asks her to lie to Jin. However, Jin reveals to Sun that he understands more English than she thinks. Sun hides in the boat that night while the other two wait outside. However, the Others head directly to the boat via sea, and Sun encounters Colleen. Startled by the boat's motor, Sun shoots Colleen, fatally injuring her. Sun manages to escape, narrowly avoiding Tom's gunfire. She makes it to shore, where she, Jin and Sayid return to the beach. Sun cares for Aaron one day while Claire goes for a swim, and is oblivious that she is drowning. Later, Sun attempts to help Jin speak English, by refusing to speak to him in Korean.

Later, she and Jin help Claire in catching a bird. When Desmond thwarts their plans, Sun encourages Claire to investigate. The next day, Sun is involved in the investigation of the apparent deaths of Nikki and Paulo. At first, she suspects food poisoning, but later blames the Others, referencing the time she was almost kidnapped. She learns that it was merely a staged act, planned by Sawyer. She threatens that the next grave dug will be his if Jin finds out, and slaps him. She also returns the diamonds he gave her, branding them as worthless on the island. Since then, Sun refuses to speak directly to Sawyer. After Juliet migrates to the camp, Sun demands to know about pregnancy on the island, and is shocked to learn that women die during pregnancy. Juliet takes Sun to the Staff station, where she uses the medical equipment to determine a date of conception; Sun learns that she conceived on the island, making Jin the father, but leaving Sun with less than two months to live before her second trimester.

Sun's trust in Juliet is broken when, during a camp meeting one night, Juliet's recorder is played, revealing a message informing Ben of Sun's pregnancy. She tells Jin that the baby is healthy, but never tells him about her fate. When Karl arrives to warn them of the Others' imminent arrival, Sun travels with the majority of the camp to the radio tower, while Jin stays behind. That night, she watches Jack's plan backfire, and grows concerned over the fate of her husband. Later, however, she and Rose are relieved to hear that their husbands are alive. She watches as Jack makes contact with Naomi's freighter.

Season Four

Following Jack's success in contacting the freighter, Sun and Claire tend to Aaron shortly before heading back to the beach with the majority of the group. She is reunited with Jin at the crash site of the airplane cockpit. After learning of Charlie's death and Locke's plan to return to the barracks, Sun and Jin remain with Jack and return to the beach, awaiting apparent rescue.