Maybe someone can clear this up for me-

I thought, (I'm not sure), that Korean women do NOT take their husbands last name when they are married.

Yet, they both share the last name "Kwon".... is this an oversight, or am I wrong about this Korean tradition?

THANKS!:smile:

I don't know/think we've actually been told that Sun's last name is the same as Jin's...have we? I thought it was more of an implied thing that people just assume.

Jin's last name is Soo Kwon and Sun's is just Kwon. I'm not very knowledgeable about Korean culture, so maybe this has something to do with it?

Jin's last name is Soo Kwon and Sun's is just Kwon. I'm not very knowledgeable about Korean culture, so maybe this has something to do with it?


Since there is usually a hyphen between "Jin" and "Soo"

(as in, "Jin-Soo Kwon")

I'm assuming "Soo" is his middle name or part of his first name.


Still, I think it would be cool if they didn't have the same last name, since none of the other main characters share last names (neither Boone and Shannon, nor Michael and Walt, share last names... and we still haven't been told Rose and Bernard's last name).

Maybe someone can clear this up for me-

I thought, (I'm not sure), that Korean women do NOT take their husbands last name when they are married.

Yet, they both share the last name "Kwon".... is this an oversight, or am I wrong about this Korean tradition?

THANKS!:smile:

I don't think the majority of the American audience would have known of this little tidbit about Korean surnames so the writers used artistic license to avoid confusion or having people focus something that had no effect on the plot.
100%
Since there is usually a hyphen between "Jin" and "Soo"

(as in, "Jin-Soo Kwon")

I'm assuming "Soo" is his middle name or part of his first name.


Still, I think it would be cool if they didn't have the same last name, since none of the other main characters share last names (neither Boone and Shannon, nor Michael and Walt, share last names... and we still haven't been told Rose and Bernard's last name).

Jin's full name is "Kwon Jin Soo".
"Kwon" is his surname. "Jin" is most probably his generation name and "Soo" the distinction between him and his siblings (who would also have "Jin" as the generation name but would have "Soo" replaced with a"Oh" or "Suk" just to distinguish one from the other).

Hope this helps.

They've never actaully said Sun's whole name in the series, but in the official books and websites, they have her name listed as Sun Kwon, not Sun Paik. But the books have got a few things wrong (like the gender of Alex), so they can easily fix things by revealing her full name in her next flashback.

They've never actaully said Sun's whole name in the series, but in the official books and websites, they have her name listed as Sun Kwon, not Sun Paik. But the books have got a few things wrong (like the gender of Alex), so they can easily fix things by revealing her full name in her next flashback.

I just noticed that too- that Sun's name is not listed as PAIK, so it must be assumed that she shares jin's last name.
But, maybe we will get more insight in the next episode!
I can't wait!

They've never actaully said Sun's whole name in the series, but in the official books and websites, they have her name listed as Sun Kwon, not Sun Paik. But the books have got a few things wrong (like the gender of Alex), so they can easily fix things by revealing her full name in her next flashback.

Yeah, the Lost Chronicles book called Charlie's brother Ian instead of Liam. I thought that was pretty...bad.

Actually, Javi answered this question some time back. Yes, Sun shares Jin's surname. I think the writers probably just didn't know Korean naming conventions, but that's just my opinion.:undecide:

1. Yes, married Korean women keep their surname. They don't share their husband's surname.

2. In the recent epi (The Whole Truth), the Korean doctor walks into the office and says,
"Ahn-nyoung-hasaeyo, Mr. Kwon. Ah! Sun-ah, ssi."
Ssi (pronounced "shee") is an honorific. He doesn't say Sun's surname in his office. I think Sun-ah is probably her given name.
When Sun is walking her dog, and the doctor comes by in the car, he yells out the window:
"Paik Sun-Ah Ssi!"
So, he uses her surname in that one: Paik, not Kwon.

3. Korean surnames have one syllable: such as Kim, Kwon, Park (Pak), Lee (Ee), etc.
Korean given names usually have two syllables: such as Jin-Soo, Sun-Ah, Eun-young, Min-Hee, etc.
Although, I know someone who only has one syllable in her given name. That's the exception, not the rule.

I've got Sun's boarding pass from when I visited the set of the show and it says Sun Hwa-Kwon on it.

In the Pilot, I thought I heard Jin calling "Sun Hee-ya." I always assumed her full name was Sun Hee Kwon or Sun Hee Paik. I guess I was wrong, eh? Or is it one of those continuity mishaps on the producers' part.

To add to Colleen's message, married Korean women take on their husband's last names when they move to the U.S. in keeping with the American tradition.