House of the Rising Sun

"House of the Rising Sun" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American television series Lost. It centers on Jin-Soo Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim), who brutally attacks Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau); the survivors do not know why since Jin and his wife Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) only speak Korean. Meanwhile, Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) proposes that the survivors move to the caves from the beach. The episode was the first to feature the backstory of Sun and Jin, and the former is shown in the episode's flashbacks. It was directed by Michael Zinberg and written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach. After being cast, Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim were nervous that their characters' relationship would foster negative perceptions of Korean people; the former felt that it was an outdated depiction which would influence a society little exposed to Korean culture. The actors discussed this with the series' producers, leading to the writing of "House of the Rising Sun" and the multifaceted depiction of their relationship. "House of the Rising Sun" first aired on October 27, 2004, on the American network ABC. An estimated 16.83 million viewers watched the episode on its first broadcast, and it earned a ratings share of 6.4/17, a slight increase from the previous episode. It received mainly positive reviews, with critics focusing on the revelations surrounding Jin and Sun's relationship. Plot Flashbacks Sun is at a party, and is served champagne by a waiter, Jin. They soon develop a relationship, with Sun wanting to run away with Jin to America, but Jin insisting they honorably tell her father that they are seeing each other. Sun's father approves of their relationship as long as Jin takes a job working for him. One night after they're married, Jin returns home covered in someone else's blood. Sun is angry that he refuses to explain the blood to her and slaps him. He tells Sun that he does whatever her father tells him to do. A few years later, Sun secretly plots to leave Jin and her father, so she will be free to go wherever she wants. However, she does not go through with her plans after he expresses a loving gesture to her, and boards Flight 815 with her husband.