Both Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim were born in Korea but raised in the United States. Yunjin Kim initially auditioned for the role of Kate, but the producers liked her so much that they created an entirely new character, part of "a couple [that's] alienated from the rest of the group because they can't communicate."[2] A male Korean actor was sought out as Kim's co-star, with Dae Kim winning the part. He had moved from South Korea as a toddler and forgotten most of his Korean by the time he won the role of Jin; while Kim helped him with the language,[3][4] his accent reportedly sounded poor to native speakers.[5]