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"I don't know what it's like where you live in Iraq, but where I live in the United States, Koreans hate black people." This is a line from the popular ABC drama, "Lost," which tells the story of 14 people marooned on a desert island.
Staring actress Kim Yoon-jin, who has gained popularity for her role in the blockbuster movie "Shiri," the drama is being criticized for painting a hugely distorted picture of Koreans. There is concern that the erratic behavior of Jin (played by Daniel Dae Kim), who plays the husband of Sun (played by Kim Yu-jin), may become a universal stereotype of Korean men for American viewers.
Jin, a Korean who cannot speak any English, is painted as a patriarchal and conservative character. Most Korean viewers who have seen the show reject the two-dimensional
characterization as either ridiculous or mammothly anachronistic.
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Actress Kim Yoon-jin, who plays Jin's wife in the drama "Lost" (left). Full cast (right).
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In one scene, as soon as another foreign survivor speaks to his wife, who has opened the last button on her sweater, Jin points to her cardigan and yells at her to button it up. When his wife wears a sleeveless T-shirt, Jin tells her it is too conspicuous. Speaking no English at all, Jin goes throughout the drama cursing to everyone in Korea.
Twenty-two-year-old Song Ju-yeong, who hasn't missed an episode since "Lost" was first screened, said, "As this is a drama seen by many Americans, I wish the Koreans could have been good characters. [Jin's] personality is so exaggerated that one has to wonder if such a Korean man actually exists."
Kim Dong-hwan, 26, said, "I was surprised when my American friends asked me if all Korean men were like that. In that Jin is portrayed like a typical Korean man, I wish some sort of special reason was presented to show that only Jin's personality was like that."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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