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.