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"This is really the first opportunity I've had to play someone who is a Korean national, so I want to be as sensitive as possible with regard to representing that," he said.
"It's important that if I am in a position of visibility that I use that position to not only help myself and my career but [also to] continue to help the image of Asian portrayals in the media."
A recent study by the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium found that Asians make up 5 percent of the U.S. population and play 2.7 percent of the regular roles on TV.
Before landing the role on "Lost," Kim played an FBI agent on "24," a social worker on "ER," and a really evil lawyer on "Angel."
"Most of the roles that I've done have been written for non-Asian people, so it has been a conscious choice to try to expand the notion of what's acceptable for an Asian person to play," Kim said.
Kim grew up thinking he would become a doctor, like his father, or a lawyer. But once a friend at Haverford College asked him to be in a play, he was hooked. So he went to New York University and earned a master's degree in acting. During his summer hiatus, Kim will return to his theater roots and New York to star in the off-Broadway production of the Chekhov play "Ivanov," where he looks forward to performing before a live audience.
Being in New York also puts him closer to his parents. They love watching their son on TV every week, but Kim's mother has one small request.
"My mom can't stand to see me get hit on the show," Kim said. "She asks me to tell her whenever I'm going to be involved in violence. When I got killed off on 'Angel,' my mom literally couldn't sleep that night."
Kim couldn't offer many hints about what viewers can expect to see in Wednesday's two-hour finale or answer any questions about the puzzling hints the series has been dropping all season.
"The party line happens to be the truth: I really don't know," Kim said. "I have my own theories. That's how bad it is.
"I like to parallel the character's journey and the character doesn't know and the character is trying to sort it out, so I like to walk along with him," Kim said. "One thing that I do believe is that all the characters are on the island for a reason. I don't think it's a coincidence that they just happen to be there and survive."
LOST
Two-hour season finale Wednesday at 8 on ABC
