Oh no! Your script supervisor, or someone, made a big mistake?!

[sledgeweb]

Hey Javi!

One of the great things about LOST is all the detail work that goes into it. The fans really want to believe the people behind LOST are super-geniuses, and that every prop and every detail is significant and purposeful.

I know you'll don't like to discuss the potential timeline to LOST as it relates to the real world, but it is something fans try to figure out - and you do supply them with small clues along the way.

Apparently, someone on the production staff goofed, and created a major time contradiction within the show.

Jin's resume (http://lost.cubit.net/pics/jin_resume.jpg) indicates he is 30 years old, and born in 1974 (and also list his family name as KWAN and not KWON). This means the events in his flashback take place after Nov. 27 2004. Which means, after he loses his job at the hotel, meets Sun, courts her, marries her, goes to work for her father, gives her a puppy that grows into a dog, and boards flight 815 - it is, at the earliest, sometime in 2005.

However, we also have this information: http://lost.cubit.net/pics/booneLicense.jpg which is a screen capture of Boone's license (which Shannon looks at after he dies). This indicates Boone is born in 1981. We know Boone's mother married Shannon's father when Boone was 10 and Shannon 8. We also know, from the census, that Shannon is 20 on the island, which makes Boone 21-23 years old. 1981+(21-23) = 2002-2004.

So, at the latest, Boone was on the island sometime in 2004, yet Jin didn't board the same plane that Boone took, until sometime in 2005.

Is this really an error on the production team's part? Or is there an explanation for this? I know a lot of fans would be upset if they began to feel the show was starting to get sloppy in some of the details... so, I'm hoping there is an explanation.

[Javi]

wow... i'm gonna have to look into that... thanks for the heads up -

ja
vi

[Javi]

someone did make a mistake - the contents of the prop were not reviewed by the writing staff before it was filmed. the resume, and the sections relating to jin's birthdate, stats and employment history should not be considered canonical.

thanks

ja
vi

[sledgeweb]

Javi, thanks for looking into it. Mistakes are bound to happen, but it's good to know when they are made so fans can continue speculating with the proper info.

I'm not sure if you are aware, but the mistake hinges potentially on just one Korean character. The character before Jin's age (30) indicates he is 30 years old. There is another aging system used in Korea where individuals are 1 year old at birth, and then age one year with each new year. That is the SAL age. If Jin were 30 SAL, then there would be no contradiction, because he would only be 29 years old (leaving a year for him to marry Sun, etc). However, since the character indicates he is 30 MAN, he would be 31 SAL - or 30 years old.

Thanks for the reply. If you have a second or two, check out my LOST site linked in my signature. It's a pretty big site. I actually had a LOST themed scavenger hunt over the summer break to keep fans appetites whet and was going to award the winner a Season 1 DVD set - hopefully signed by cast and crew. Unfortunately, after mailing the set to Grass Skirt, it was returned stating all autographed memorabilia had to be studio sanctioned. I couldn't believe they didn't include some sanctioned autographed photos or something in the return pacakge, but... ah well.

Anywho, check the site out if you have a sec. And, keep up the good work!! Thanks again for your time and attention and quick reply to this matter. I know it will ease a lot of fans' minds.