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Ever have one of those "what if" moments that makes your brain kind of short-circuit? For fans of 2000s television, there’s a massive one hidden in the archives of ABC casting. Yunjin Kim, the powerhouse actress we all know as Sun-Hwa Kwon from Lost, was nearly a resident at Seattle Grace.
It sounds fake, right? You’d assume she was up for Cristina Yang, given the timing and the industry's narrow casting habits back then. But that’s actually the first thing people get wrong. Yunjin Kim Grey's Anatomy history isn't about the role Sandra Oh made iconic.
She was actually the top contender for Izzie Stevens.
Honestly, trying to picture anyone but Katherine Heigl baking muffins in Meredith’s kitchen or falling for Denny Duquette is tough. But in 2004, the TV landscape was shifting. Yunjin Kim was fresh off a legendary career in South Korea—headlining blockbusters like Shiri—and she had just signed a holding deal with ABC. Basically, they paid her to stay in LA and audition for their pilots.
Grey’s Anatomy was her very first stop.
The Audition That Almost Changed TV History
When Yunjin Kim walked into the room for Shonda Rhimes' then-untitled medical pilot, she wasn't looking at the "Asian character." She went straight for Izzie.
According to an interview she did with Entertainment Weekly, Kim confirmed she got a callback for the part. Think about that for a second. The blonde, optimistic, sometimes-messy Izzie Stevens could have been a Korean immigrant character or a completely different version of the girl-next-door trope.
Kim didn't just show up; she impressed the casting directors. She was deep in the process when a little show about a plane crash on a mysterious island got in the way.
Why she chose the Island over the Hospital
Most actors would kill for a guaranteed role on a Shonda Rhimes show. Kim, however, was in a weird spot. She had already auditioned for the role of Kate Austen on Lost. J.J. Abrams and the producers loved her, but they knew she wasn't Kate.
Instead of letting her go, they did something rare. They wrote a brand-new character specifically for her.
"Sun became Sun after my audition," Kim recalled.
Here's where the drama happens. Kim actually had the callback for Grey's Anatomy scheduled for the same time the Lost deal was solidifying. Her agents were basically screaming at her to pack her bags for Hawaii. But Kim? She was hesitant. She told her team she might actually like the Grey's script more. She didn't want to "put all her eggs in one basket."
In the end, she skipped the callback. She chose the beach over the OR.
The Ripple Effect of the Yunjin Kim Grey's Anatomy Miss
If she had gone to that callback and landed the part, the butterfly effect would have been massive.
- Katherine Heigl: Might never have become a household name or won her Emmy.
- Sandra Oh: The dynamic between two Asian leads (Oh and Kim) would have been groundbreaking for 2005.
- The Jin and Sun Story: One of the most heartbreaking romances in TV history simply wouldn't exist. Daniel Dae Kim might have played a totally different role, or the character of Jin wouldn't have been created at all.
It’s wild how one skipped appointment in Los Angeles defined two of the biggest shows of the decade.
Does she finally appear in the "Grey's" Universe?
While she never donned the light blue scrubs, Yunjin Kim finally made her "Shondaland" debut in 2024. It only took about twenty years.
She joined the cast of the Grey's Anatomy spinoff, Station 19, during its final season. She played Jeonghee "Jinny" Lee, the sister of Natasha Ross. It was a guest arc, but it felt like a full-circle moment for fans who knew about her history with the franchise.
Her character was described as a "woman at a crossroads," which is kind of poetic when you think about Kim's own crossroads between two legendary pilots back in '04.
What we can learn from her career path
Yunjin Kim’s journey is a masterclass in trusting the process. She’s built a career that bridges the gap between East and West, starring in Mistresses, the Korean remake of Money Heist, and Netflix’s XO, Kitty.
If you're tracking her career, here are the moves that actually mattered:
- Leverage your wins: She used her "holding deal" to explore multiple genres, not just the first thing offered.
- Character over script: She chose the role that was built for her (Lost) rather than the one she had to fit into (Grey's).
- Longevity pays off: By staying versatile, she eventually found her way into the Shondaland family on her own terms.
Next time you’re rewatching the early seasons of Grey's, try to spot the "Izzie" moments and imagine Yunjin Kim in that trailer with Denny. It changes the whole vibe. For more deep dives into casting secrets, check out the oral histories of 2000s TV pilots—the "what ifs" are usually better than the actual shows.
Actionable Insight: If you're a fan of Kim's work, track down her early Korean film Shiri. It's the reason ABC brought her to America in the first place and showcases the range that almost made her the star of Seattle Grace.
