Illuminating Character Chart and Descriptions for Big

One thing that’s hard for me when watching Big is that I miss chibi-Kyung Joon so much. Shin Won Ho may not have one-tenth the acting prowess of Gong Yoo, who is nailing it as Kyung Jae, but I loved his posturing bickering with Da Ran. At this rate, I’m going to have an internal shipping battle between Kyung Joon and Kyung Jae, which is really the same soul in two different bodies. In honor of comatose Kyung Joon’s body (which may or may not house Yoon Jae’s soul, we won’t know until he wakes up), have a screencap of my baby in episode 3 during a flashback scene. Hhhmmm, looks equally adorable in a suit. Thanks to TKTS, I got a set of all the character descriptions plus drama poster and chart. Armed with these, it finally fills in a lot of the missing pieces in this drama set up. I love that I still have no clue how it’ll all end up, but if everyone falls in love with everyone else, that’ll be tons of hilarity to see. Plus the more I see Yoon Jae, the more he’s written as the quintessential second lead (wonderful but ultimately loses the girl), but who I wouldn’t have a problem getting the girl if she chooses him. He’s like Pil Joo actually! Ah well, I’ll be happy with whatever I get, as long as I keep getting more Big.

The main drama poster says the following:

From a teenager to a thirty year old adult man in an instant, the story of a young man’s maturity into an adult. Experiencing a perfect fiancee turning into a teenage boy in an instant, the story of a young woman’s confusion.

So the character chart makes it clear once and for all that Kang Kyung Joon is the main character, but we’ll be seeing him in the body of Yoon Jae. It also makes it clear who the supposed OTP is, what with the matching blue and pink lace cute frames around Kyung Joon and Da Ran’s pictures, whereas Yoon Jae, Se Young, and Mari get regular frames. But one thing I got wrong was Da Ran’s age – she’s twenty six, which means she’s eight years older than Kyung Joon. Since I was totally beyond fine with the age difference between the OTP in SMM (10 years), it doesn’t bother me here either. Here’s what the major character links say.

Da Ran – Kyung Joon: A two-arrow line between them that says “Teacher-student, love!?”

Da Ran – Yoon Jae: A two-arrow line between them that says “Engaged”

Da Ran – Se Young: A two-arrow line between them that says “Love rivals”

Kyung Joon – Mari: A one-arrow line from Mari to Kyung Joon that says “Good friends, In love with”

Choong Shik – Mari: A one-arrow line from Choong Shik to Mari that says “In love with”

Kang Kyung Joon: At the peak of youth, he loves to act like an adult. But the things he does looks ridiculous in the eyes of an adult. Refuses to be serious and very sensitive, he is very guarded and temperamental. He is the very definition of an 18 year old. One day there is an accident and he has to live in the body of a thirty year old man while his own body lays in the hospital.

Seo Yoon Jae: Gil Da Ran’s fiancee, a pediatrician. He’s the perfect husband material – good looking, great resume, and a stunning family background. He’s a mature man who has everything.

GIl Da Ran: A substitute teacher who is studying for her teacher’s exam. She’s kind and hard working, but is prone to be scatterbrained. She loves her fiancee Seo Yoon Jae, but because of their family differences she’s hesitant.

Lee Se Young: Seo Yoon Jae’s ex-girlfriend, a surgeon at the same hospital as him. She had a lovely relationship with the calm and kind Yoon Jae, but she never wanted to settle down and have a family. Therefore she ended it cleanly with Yoon Jae.

Jang Mari: The daughter of the man Kyung Joon’s mom almost married in the US. Because she loved Kyung Joon, she vehemently opposed the marriage. She claims that she is Kyung Joon’s soulmate, so she was extra close to Kyung Joon’s mom in the US. Because of this, she knows how Kyung Joon feels better than anyone. She idolizes Lady Gaga, an odd little girl who can attract people’s attention in an instant.

Kyung Joon’s uncle: Runs the family business but really gets financial support from his sister in LA. After she dies, he’s left taking caring of Kyung Joon, but he’s more interested in the assets left behind. By chance he meets Da Ran’s mom again, bringing back his memories of a heart and mind crushing thwarted first love.

Kyung Joon’s aunt: She doesn’t see herself as a bad person, she’s just someone who gives as much as financially she’ll be rewarded.

Kyung Joon’s mom: She was a single mother and raised Kyung Joon abroad. The two of them have a rarely seen mother-son relationship. She was running restaurants in LA but died after being shot in a robbery. After losing his mom, Kyung Joon returns to Korea alone.

Yoon Jae’s mom: Currently lives abroad and lives apart from her husband. To raise Yoon Jae, she put in her all as a mother. After Yoon Jae turned thirty, she felt empty so she went overseas to live with her own maiden family. She on the board of a charity her younger brother runs. Her maiden family is wealthy beyond belief.

Yoon Jae’s dad: Doctor, who works in a hospital overseas. He has lived apart from his wife for quite some time, and he has a good relationship with his son Yoon Jae.

Da Ran’s dad: A middle class father who is kind and grounded. He retired as a high school teacher and now runs a mandoo restaurant with his wife. He felt like a failure because of the awkward distance with his future son-in-law. But one day, his normally well-mannered son-in-law suddenly started misbehaving. After initially worrying that he was turning into a delinquent, he suddenly felt like he could joke around with the son-in-law he was formerly fearful of.

Da Ran’s mom: Looks like Da Ran’s older sister at first blush, at 19 years of age she fell madly in love with her 35 year old teacher. Despite everyone’s opposition and her father cutting all her hair off, she ran away from home to marry him. Their love has not dimmed, and in fact burns even hotter.

Choong Shik: Different than his model citizen older sister, though his grades are of concern, he’s a sunshine boy without any worries. Despite being younger than his sister, knowing that he’s the eldest boy in the family he always worries about her. He’s very demanding of his future brother-in-law, but he becomes lax if given spending money. He falls in love with Mari at first sight. He inherited his mother’s passionate nature so he does everything to win her over, but he continuously fails.


Comments

Illuminating Character Chart and Descriptions for Big — 37 Comments

  1. so.. we will find out about YJ parents soon? KJ and YJ probably blood brother with the same dad. I still have no clue how this show gonna end up? will KJ be in JY body forever and starting a relationship with DR? or YJ will wake up and they switch their soul again and YJ will chasing after DR again and end up with her. Because its clear that DR and YJ or KJ in YJ body is the main lead and OTP from the chart, but I a not sure which one. This is what makes me curious, can’t wait for tonight episode, I kind of wish you can give us preview for next episode. But most of all thank you so much for loving this drama..

  2. Hmm…why does it feels Yoon Jae and Kyung Joon is related?
    Over all…Yoon Jae was planned to go to L.A right? And Yoon Jae’s mother: “She on the board of a charity her
    younger brother runs.” What if the younger brother is Kyung Joon’s uncle?
    Hmph..I actually don’t like birth secret, but in Hong sister hands, even a cliche can be hillarious.. Bring it on!!

    • I agree.
      It seems like these connections are unnecessary.
      Although, the “our blood is the best blood” idea keeps coming back in these dramas.

      They need to be more like Dickens where families formed from a bunch of non-related people.

  3. I find Se Young’s bio interesting. So Yoon Jae wanted to settle down and have a family but she didn’t? I hope that’s not the reason why YJ proposed to Da Ran so soon. If it wasn’t for ep 3’s flashback I would’ve been inclined to think so but since YJ really fell for DR… I don’t know what to think.

  4. Thanks you!!
    i love the description of DR’s family.Hope KY will be soon included .
    Yes, it seems like DR and KJ are the OTP but i like that everything is possible!!
    I don’t want KJ’s uncle be a bad person ,i thought he was only weak 🙁
    Will YJ’s family appear?it would be great.
    I can see how KJ will fall in love with DR but i can’t wait to see how she will fall in love with him and how she will not see him like her student but like a man

  5. This supposed to clear up for us, but it only made it worse…
    Now we have million questions, and only few answers…
    Not fan of birth secrets, hello I’m you’re father, mother, uncle, brother, sister…to many seen in Latin dramas…
    But my wish may get granted, DR and KJ.

    I won’t mind to have last episode of FBRS.

    • What if souls never switch back, what if they switch back and KJ and YJ wake up don’t remembering anything…, will DR go with wedding now, will she wait for real YJ.., if she falls for KJ, what she’ll do if he doesn’t remember time spent with her…omo…to much…

  6. Thanks for sharing.

    The chart just stop short of declaring that KJ and YJ are brothers (1/2 brothers).

    I wonder YJ was heading to LA to find his 1/2 brother after finding out about KJ’s mother’s death and realizing that his/their Dad wouldn’t step in.

    It would also explain why he was dragging his feet about the wedding and hesitating to fully disclose/communicate with DR. If he was thinking to taking responsibility for a heretofore unmentioned illegitimate half brother the might have been trying to figure out how to frame that decision before sharing it with his fiancee.

  7. I LOVED Kyung-Joon bickering with DR too (smexy, smoldering, sarcastic smart-arse) but they’ve turned him into a bumbling idiot. Me no like.
    MEH

    • I think he’ll get that swagger back the more he learns about YJ.
      Right now, KJ is sure to be intimidated by the fact that DR believes thinks YJ walks on water. He’s confused, and now,feeling wronged that DR won’t beleive him and playing defense.
      When he was himself, he was more comfortable in his skin. (Duh, I am so good at obvious.)

      • ROFL – Okee, I concede. Besides, GY looked too adorable in pink pj’s today. 🙂 Now I wanna see Shin Won Ho in pink pj’s.

  8. It does seem like the OTP is the DR-KJ, teacher-student relationship (sort of like DR’s parents). There would definitely have to be a time jump, however, since it doesn’t seem like there is anyway for it to be okay for a teacher to date his/her high school student. If YJ and KJ are really brothers, then maybe the time jump will have a grown-up KJ who looks like his brother (therefore allowing Gong Yoo to play the final OTP). But I do kind of miss seeing the younger actor playing KJ interact with DR. We didn’t get to see him open up and act like his childish self before the change.

    • I think KJ mentioned that he was going to take his finals soon, that would mean no teacher-student relationship anymore..

  9. Hrmm.. I thought one arrow mean one side love. So, that means CS have one side love to M ans M have one side love to KJ…. Thank Koala unni.

  10. thank you koala sis, love your post… now we get to be understand more of the characters. i am also so happy since… my kyung-ran ship definitely high hopes *tho i prefer it that it is kyung joon in kyung joon’s bod. ahhh… i miss the kid.

  11. i have a comment about Yoon Jae after reading this chart. Can you really become a dr or surgeon at the age of 30 in Korea or 28 in this case for the ex-girlfriend? In the States, you would have to be at over 30 after years old. 8 years of medical school after college plus internship at the hospital after. The ages dont seem realistic to me at all.

    • In Asia medical school is part of college, its not a post-graduate degree. You graduate by 22 and then do a residency, finishing by 26. It’s totally fine.

    • That’s what I’m also thinking. In Korea, you need 2 years for pre-medical course, followed by four years of the standard medical program, then 1 year for internship and 4 years residency plus you have to take several exams. In other words, to become a medical practitioner in Korea, you need at least 11 years and it will be longer depending upon what kind of specialist you want to be. Considering Yoon Jae is only 30 years old, It’s impossible for him to be a surgeon unless he’s not yet a full-pledged doctor but only a resident.

  12. Thanks! I just found this. So wait, Kyung Joon’s uncle was in love with Da ran’s mom but she fell for her teacher? Right? I’m wondering now if Da ran knows her own parents’ love story? I’m a total Kyung Joon/Da ran shipper, I’ll be crushed if their not the OTP. I mean that’s Kyung Joon’s soul in Yoon Jae’s body. I’m not feeling Yoon Jae’s character, I mean he’s nice and shy, but who gets enaged after two months and has only kissed once (while she’s alseep.) Da ran doesn’t seem to know Yoon Jae well at all.

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