- Hey, I am a fanatic audiophile. That comes with responsibilities that a grounding doesn’t alter
- —Lane[src]
Lane Kim is a principal character on Gilmore Girls, portrayed by Keiko Agena.
Quick Answers
Who does Lane Kim end up marrying in Gilmore Girls?
How does Lane Kim manage to hide her love for music from her strict family?
Does Lane Kim ever return from Korea in Gilmore Girls?
Who are some of Lane Kim's boyfriends in the series?
What is the significance of the 'Mojo bible of music' to Lane Kim?
Character[]
Lane is Stars Hollow's resident music lover. Lane is seen toting what she refers to as the Mojo bible of music around, aiming to procure every last record in it. Due to her family's strict religious adherence, Lane is a master of ingenuity, successfully executing various schemes to procure the aforementioned tunes – often with the help of her childhood best friend, Rory. Lane leads a double life, hiding all evidence of her American lifestyle such as rock CDs, make-up, and forbidden clothing under her floorboards, in her closet, and under the mattress in her bedroom. She also has a secret hangout lair arranged in her closet, with feathery pillows, a disco ball and mood lighting where she sometimes listens to music when her parents aren't home. Lane once impulsively dyed her hair purple to rebel against her mother, but quickly panicked over what her mother would think and dyed it black again.[1] Lane is sometimes hard on herself, feeling like she isn't brave enough to admit her true life to her parents. She is also a loyal and devoted friend, who supports and champions her best friend, Rory, at every turn.
Story[]
Lane in her secret hangout lair in her closet.
- Lorelai – Where does your mother think you are?
- Lane – Oh, on a park bench contemplating the reunification of the two Koreas
- Lorelai – Not here, skanking to Rancid?
- Lane – Wouldn't be included[2]
16-year-old Lane leads a double life, eating pizza and wearing band shirts when hanging out with Lorelai and Rory, singing Christian hymns and living off tofu in bulk at the Kim house, due to her conservative religious parents. Her parents also set her up on proper dates with what they deem to be suitable, respectable young Korean boys, often events where his whole family comes along in a group, such as the autumn 2000 Stars Hollow hayride.[3] When Rory is accepted to Chilton Preparatory School, Lane is sad as the two of them are the outsider duo at Stars Hollow High School and Lane doesn't feel she has anything in common with the other girls. They also miss each other, so Lorelai offers to bring Lane along for her business class twice a week so Lane and Rory can hang out together in Hartford.[4]
Lane and Rory work at the Autumn Festival
- Rory – You got kissed last weekend. Remember? You told me. That guy your parents set you up with. The one with the Lincoln Continental. What's his name? Patrick Cho!
- Lane – OK, let's do a little compare and contrast here. You get kissed on the mouth by a cute, cool, sexy guy you really like! And I get kissed on the forehead by a theology major in a Members-Only jacket who truly believes that rock music leads to hard drugs[5]
Despite Rory's move to a new school, Lane still sometimes studies with Rory in Stars Hollow.[6] She also comes over to Lorelai's House in the mornings having made up a story to tell her parents in order to do so. On Rory's 16th birthday, Lane and Rory go to Luke's Diner in the morning before school and eat a coffee cake that Luke made for Rory. Lane also attends Rory's birthday party at the Gilmore house with most of the town.[7] When Rory has her first kiss with Dean, Mrs. Kim overhears Rory telling Lane about the kiss and though she accepts Lane's fib about it in front of the girls, Mrs. Kim later confronts Lorelai about it, insisting that Lane is too young and impressionable to hear about Rory kissing a boy. Lane and Rory work at a canned food drive at the Autumn Festival together, dressed as pilgrim era garb. Lane tells Rory that she's jealous and living vicariously through her as her own so-called dating life is really dismal, and makes Rory tell the story a dozen times. She also relays info to Rory that she got from one of Dean's friends, Todd, whom Lane is interested in and wants Rory to ask Dean about for her.[5]
- No, you come on. You're always at school or you're talking about school or you're with Dean. You have everything now and I have nothing except for 2000 Korean bibles and a potential 'F' in jazz band[8]
While Lane and Rory try to keep their relationship the same, Rory eventually becomes so busy with school and gets a bit of tunnel vision when she and Dean start dating, that she neglects her friendship with Lane. This culminates in Lane feeling left out as she tries to tell a preoccupied Rory about an intense crush she's having. Lane, not getting any advice or sparring from her best friend, has a moment where she forgets herself and her intense feelings express themselves in her running her hand through her crush's hair during band practice. Realising what she's done, Lane feels embarrassed and scarpers to Rory's house. She pages Rory who calls home and is surprised Lane is there. Lane is hurt and tells her how she feels left out of Rory's busy life and needs her friend around to deal with her strict parents and double life. Rory starts to apologise but the line is cut off because of the snowstorm. Lane waits for Rory not knowing she's stuck at her grandparents' and later accidentally walks in on Lorelai making out with Max. She runs into Rory's room and cries, and Lorelai comforts her and offers that she can stay the night. Lane feels a bit better and when Rory returns in the morning, Rory ascertains how important Lane is to her. Lane forgives Rory and they make up. Rory asks Lane to meet up later at Luke's and hear about Lane's life and Lane agrees.[8]
Lane on a date with Todd.
Lane convinces Rory to ask Dean to set Lane up with his aforementioned friend, Todd. Rory is hesitant because they don't really know a lot of about Todd, but Lane convinces her, and Dean sets it up. In order to go out, Lane tells her parents that she's hanging out with the Gilmore girls and they get ready at Rory's house, with Lane borrowing Rory's clothes. They watch Attack Of The Fifty-Foot Woman at the Black-White-Read Bookstore. Lane tries to get to know Todd during the film and quickly realises he's not really her type. After the film, Lane tries to find a way to end the evening, but they're interrupted by Mrs. Kim and Lorelai, who have learned of the machinations that went into Lane going on a date. Lane is horrified and told to go home immediately by her mother. Lane is grounded and Rory climbs a tree in Lane's yard to visit her at her window. Lane tells Rory that Todd called and Lane pretended to be her mother and refused to let him speak to her because she had such a bad date with him. Lorelai tries to fight for Lane's social life by talking with Mrs. Kim. It works as Lane gets to stand in her yard a few days later and can call Rory on the phone.[9]
Lane and Henry.
- I'm falling for a guy my parents would approve of!
- —Lane to Rory[10]
Sookie gets tickets to see The Bangles in New York for her, Lorelai, Lane and Rory. Lane tries to figure out how to ask her mother to go without actually telling her it's a concert in New York. After some jumbled attempts, she decides to just tell the truth and is of course not allowed to go.[11] When the annual Firelight Festival rolls around, Mrs. Kim sets Lane up with a guy who is a future proctologist. Lane dreads the evening, which will also include an extensive array of the guy's relatives and tries to hang out with Lorelai to postpone the experience.[12] The following day, Lane goes with Rory to at party at Madeline's Mansion, to also be there for Rory after Rory and Dean break up. A guy from Chilton named Henry comes up to them and asks Lane to dance. Lane is hesitant because he's Korean aka someone her parents would approve of, but says yes and ends up really liking Henry. She panics and rants to Rory about how he's going to be a doctor and helps out at church, all things her parents would love and tries to get Rory to leave with her. Henry comes over and asks Lane to dance again, and despite Rory running interference for Lane, she can't help but like him and says yes, much to Rory's confusion. After Rory and Tristin kiss, Rory is upset and wants to leave, and Lane tells Henry to call her as she goes.[10]
Henry eventually breaks up with Lane, before they even go out, due to the excessive maneuvering necessary for them to even see and talk to each other, leaving Lane devastated. Her mother is furious that Lane was thinking about going out with a boy and tells her that Lane's heartache is why she wouldn't let Lane date as she wants to protect her. Lane responds by telling Mrs. Kim that Henry was Korean and going to med-school at which point Mrs. Kim worries that she caused a good boy to leave Lane.
Hep Alien[]
In the spring of 2002 a music shop opens in Stars Hollow and Lane is overjoyed. She quickly discovers a love of playing the drums and devotes all of her time and energy to perfect her art, convincing Sophie, the shopkeeper, to let her practice in the dark after hours. Lane studiously selects the perfect sample of bands for a flyer and meets Dave Rygalski, a guitarist with his own band looking for a drummer.
Their first encounter is a meet cute and they soon develop feelings for one another. Initially Lane refuses to acknowledge her feelings for Dave, not wanting it to come between the band and cause them to break up. She likes him but loves being a drummer more. The band, Hep Alien, is comprised of Dave, Zack and Brian who initially struggle to find a place to practice until Lorelai offers them her garage. Eventually they start seeing each other secretly before slowly letting people into the know about their relationship. Lane expects that Dave, too, will be overwhelmed by the effort it takes to date her, but Dave goes out of his way to convince Mrs. Kim to let him be with Lane, even reading the entire Bible in one night. The band starts rehearsing in Lorelai's garage and Lane spends most of her time practicing, when not at school. She and Dave go to their Senior Prom together, but their romance is short lived as Dave leaves for college in California. While they attempt long-distance, their relationship fades.
After Dave leaves, Lane attended a Seventh-day Adventist college, at her mother's request, until Lane and her band (Dave now replaced in the band by Gil) had a gig at a club in New York at two in the morning. Unable to come up with an alibi acceptable to Mrs. Kim, Lane instead sneaks out of the house. The gig is cancelled leading Lane to freak out about sneaking out for no reason and she calls Lorelai to let her know what's going on and asks her to inform Mrs. Kim that she is safe. She then calls Luke and lets him know that she won't be able to make her shifts at the dinner as she anticipates being grounded. Lorelai calls a panicked Mrs. Kim who is sending out search parties of relatives and praying for Lane's safety. She notes that Lane called Lorelai and Luke before she called her. When Lane returns home she enters her room to find that her mother has found all her secret stashes in the cupboards, under the bed and the walls. She exposes her secret stash in the floor boards and tells Mrs. Kim that she wants to make her happy but she cannot continue living like this and the mother-daughter duo should come to a compromise. Mrs. Kim responds by asking Lane to move out.
Independence[]
After a few weeks of playing house-keeper for Rory and her Yale dorm mates in exchange for accommodations, Lane decided to move into a rental house with her band mates, Zack and Brian. While living with the two of them, she continued to work as a waitress at Luke's. They move into an old, furniture-less apartment with a single bedroom, causing Zach and Brian to live in bunk beds in the living room. She didn't return to the Seventh-day Adventist college and instead focuses on her job and the band. She moves her stuff out of her old house with the help of her cousin who is very excited to her about a Kim rebelling. When she starts excitedly asking Lane about what rebelling is like Lane snaps at her clearly upset by her mother's formal and cold treatment of her.
A little while later an exchange student from Seoul, Kyon, moves into Lane's house as Mrs. Kim hosts her for three months. Lane does not know this and upon seeing her mother and Kyon getting along and Kyon wearing her old clothes she gets mad and starts a fight with Kyon. Later that night Lane goes into her old house and sees her old bedroom where Kyon sleeps, she then goes into her mothers room and kisses her forehead before walking out of the house feeling sad.
Upon some encouraging from Lorelai- Mrs. Kim, clearly missing Lane very much, decided to try and repair their relationship. She sends Lane's Aunt Jen to her apartment to request a social call where she would visit Lane's apartment. She provides Lane with three times she is free the present week, if those do not work she would offer three other times that work for her. If those to are not good she will understand and rescind the offer. Lane agrees to meet with her mother and in an effort to rectify her mistakes decides not to hide any aspects of her new life. She does however make Zach and Brian clean the house and put on ties in anticipation of the visit. Mrs. Kim brings Lane's favourite multi-grain soy pudding, extra chunky as she likes it as a peace offering. She is visibly caught off guard when Lane introduces her to her two male flatmates (who have clearly rehearsed conversation and manners to make Mrs. Kim feel more at home. It's adorable) and is even more horrified as she sees the state of the apartment her daughter's living in. She panics and flees without a word. Mrs. Kim goes to Lorelai for advise, who helps Mrs. Kim navigate her feelings about Lane's lifestyle and Mrs. Kim decides the best way for her to process this is to pretend that Zach and Brian are girls. She goes back to Lane's apartment and says that she will help them clean the apartment and that she is okay with Lane living with two girls which Z and B seem to accept and then they bring Mrs. Kim some tea.
Lane helps Rory through her moral crisis over losing her virginity to her now married ex-boyfriend and then realizes that she's developing feelings for Zach. She grows increasingly jealous of the girls Zach brings home but does not want to tell him how she feels in fear of messing up her living situation or the band. The band then plays at Jackson's Mayoral rally. Zach brings home a couple of girls after a good set and Lane snaps and tells him how she feels before walking away. She then gets increasingly frustrated as Zach pretends that nothing happened. Zach sees her getting frustrated and assures her that he just needs time to process what she told him.
2016[]
Lane in 2016
Lane is settled as an adult, living in Stars Hollow with Zack and their 9-year-old sons, Steve and Kwan. Lane works with her parents in Kim's Antiques and still plays various gigs with Hep Alien. During summer, she and Zack perform as a duo at the secret Stars Hollow café. Lane seems happy and content with her life and still maintains a close friendship with Rory, despite the latter travelling a lot for work and the differences in their lifestyles.
Relationships[]
- Rory Gilmore
- Main article: Rory and Lane
Rory and Lane meet on Rory's first day of kindergarten and have been best friends ever since. While they miss each other greatly after Rory leaves Stars Hollow High for Chilton, they remain close and spend a lot of time together outside of school. When Rory moves to Yale and spends much less time in Stars Hollow, Lane also has her first real confrontation with the difference between her passions in life and her mother's lifestyle. Rory supports Lane through this period and Lane decides to go for what she wants in life, giving her band her all. Rory turns to Lane when she realises she messed up her life and stays with Lane until Rory reunites with Lorelai. Rory is Lane's maid-of-honour at her wedding in 2006.
Young Chui is a Korean boy, with whom Mrs. Kim sets up Lane. However, Lane and Young Chui mutually agree to use each other as cover-ups for their real romances. Lane and Young Chui become friends, but Young Chui falls in love with her and tries to pursue Lane despite her being with Dave. Lane never returns Young Chui's romantic feelings for her.
Romances[]
Lane and Henry meet at a Chilton party, which Lane attends with Rory after Dean has broken up with Rory. Although initially put off by the thought of a boy her parents might approve of, Lane is charmed by Henry and gives him her number. They start talking on the phone (via Rory) and plan to go on a date, but never make it that far as Lane had trouble being honest with her parents about wanting to date Henry. Lane is temporarily freaked thinking she'll never see Henry again because her parents send her to Pusan for the summer without a return ticket. She does however return, but continues to put off telling her parents. They really like each other, but Henry gets tired of waiting for Lane to come clean to her parents. He ends their relationship over the phone, telling Lane he has asked another girl to prom. Lane is heartbroken and gets grounded after her cousin, David, a decoy for Lane and Henry's planned picnic date, tells on Lane. Mrs. Kim is disappointed when she realises that Henry was Korean.
- Dave Rygalski
- Main article: Lane and Dave
Dave and Lane meet after Lane posts a 'Drummer seeks Band' notice, eventually forming Hep Alien with Dave, Zack and Brian. Again, the relationship had to be a secret from Mrs. Kim, as Dave was not a desirable match, being neither Korean nor possessing a desire to become a doctor. Mrs. Kim had repeatedly tried to set Lane up with potential young Korean doctors in the hope of one sticking, so to speak. Unlike Henry, Dave was willing to keep their relationship a secret while setting up the illusion that he and Lane met when she discovered his guitar-player flyer at church. Mrs. Kim used his services several times, and she even let him sit in their pew at church (which is a big deal for Mrs. Kim). Lane wants Dave to be the boy to take her to the prom, and she believes in Dave gets in this way, Mrs. Kim will already like him enough to bend her rules. However, Lane grows impatient, and she gets drunk at a party in 3.19. She calls her mother, tells her she's in a band, loves Dave, and want to go to prom with him. Mrs. Kim gives Lane a cold shoulder until Dave unexpectedly shows up at their house, and says he wants to take Lane to the prom. Mrs. Kim eventually agrees, but Lane will be grounded before and after the prom. Dave takes Lane to the prom, and they have a great time with Lane taking over 300 photos of the evening. However, Dave later moves to California to go to college. It is assumed they speak over the phone, but their relationships fades away.
- Zack Van Gerbig
- Main article: Lane and Zack
A while after Dave and Lane break off their long-distance relationship, Lane realises that Zack's groupie enthusiasm annoys her beyond a general feminist irk. She has a freak-out at Zack and two of his flings, one of whom apologises and Lane has to start dealing with the notion that she has developed real feelings for Zack.
Quotes[]
- Rory – When are you going to let your parents know that you listen to the evil rock music? You're an American teenager, for God's sake
- Lane – Rory, if my parents still get upset over the obscene portion size of American food, I seriously doubt I'm gonna make any inroads with Eminem
- ―Pilot
- Lane – My parents set me up with the son of a business associate. He's gonna be a doctor
Rory – How old is he?
Lane – Sixteen
Rory – So he's gonna be a doctor in a hundred years
Lane – Well, my parents like to plan ahead
– Pilot
Trivia[]
- Lane parallels Lorelai in some ways: They have strict (Mrs. Kim) or abusive (Emily) mothers and distant fathers; also, their parents' visions for their lives don't turn out as expected. They have children young (Lorelai at 16, Lane at 22) and are a treasured part of Stars Hollow. Despite their upbringing, their lives turn out for the better, and their relationship with their parents do as well because they're finally allowed to be themselves. However, a stark difference is Mrs. Kim's softness and love for Lane, while Richard and Emily are emotionally abusive to Lorelai.
- Lane's house is located on Elm (Street) in Stars Hollow.
- Lane sometimes chills in a psychedelic closet, with disco lights and colorful blankets.[13]
- She has a huge CD collection, which is hidden under her bedroom's floorboards. Lane is also knowledgeable and opinionated about music, with rock and roll being a particular favorite.
- Lane's music collection[14], hidden underneath floorboards, is classified in genres:
- classic rock/progressive rock/pretty boy rock, punk/new wave/german metal bands/broadway soundtracks, jazz/jazz vocals/classical/country/rockabilly/Frank Sinatra (The Capitol Years), and then last section, miscellaneous.
- Lane's music collection[14], hidden underneath floorboards, is classified in genres:
- Lane's first real boyfriend is bandmate Dave Rygalski and they bond over having mutual music tastes. Lane is wearing a Dead Kennedys shirt when she meets Dave.[15]
- When she went to Adventist College, there were two parks (one for each sex). They also allowed makeup as long as it matched one's skin tone exactly. She considered her life to be over. She got in trouble once for wearing a bracelet to school.
- Lane's relationship with Lorelai is a positive one; she went to Lorelai when she had boy issues and when she had issues with her own mother.
- Lane asks Rory to be her children's godmother after stating that they needed "a Lorelai" in their life like she had one (in Rory's mother).
- Her mom was constantly on a health kick, and would make extremely healthy and unappetizing meals; Rory would supply her with junk food because of this.
- Cleverly utilises complex ruses to subvert her Mother's overly strict rules, enabling her to see her friends, boyfriends, watch TV, own and listen to music, play in the band, dress like a normal teenager, wear makeup and eat junk food.
- Her parents tried to set her up with multiple boys throughout the show. The potential suitors include a future proctologist, pediatrician, minister, and chiropractor.
- Her Korean name is Hyun-Kyung.[16]
- She had a high aptitude for sales according to a high school career placement test.[17]
- Lane often refers to her "parents", but her father, Mr. Kim, is not seen. He appears in a quick cutaway gag in A Year In The Life.
- Her family has Sing-Your-Favorite-Hymn nights.[18]
- She is at least proficient in Korean; when she goes off on a forbidden date, her mother scolds her in Korean and she responds correctly. Moreso, when her parents send her off to Korea, she leaves Rory with a list of crucial Korean phrases written in Korean and with English transliterations.
- She has more in common with her mother than she knows; they were both in bands (her mother was in a tambourine band and even went on tour), and they both kept things from their mothers. However, while Lane kept her love for music and American secular culture under wraps, her mother kept their Adventist leanings hidden from her strict Buddhist mother.[19]
- She has family in Busan, South Korea, whom she stays with for the summer between her sophomore and junior year of high school in 2001.[20]
Backstage[]
- While Lane is Korean, Keiko Agena is Japanese.
Photos[]
Videos[]
Media[]
- Free Lane Kim
- (VANDERWERFF NEWSLETTER • JANUARY 2021)
- The Importance of Lane
- (BUZZFEED • OCTOBER 2015)