Key Yong Lu was a character who appeared in the Season 9 episode of M*A*S*H titled "Oh, How We Danced". The part of Key Yong Lu is played in the episode by Yuki Shimoda, who also played two other characters, in the episodes "Yessir, That's Our Baby" and "The Price" .
About Key Yong Lu[]
Key Yong Lu brings his grandson to the MASH for emergency treatment. They had been moving south after their village had been destroyed by the enemy. His grandson, Soon Chi Lu had fallen into a ditch which trying to evade enemy shelling and had fractured his leg. After the operation, Lu is with his grandson in Post-Op when Lieutenant Shari tells him he cannot stay there. Lu pleads to be allowed to remain with his grandson - the mother had been killed by enemy soldiers and his father was away fighting in the army. Touched, B.J. agrees, saying, "He's the next of kin, let him stay next to his kin." Shortly thereafter, the boy wakes and mumbles a few words. Lu tells B.J. the boy is asking for his "mouth music", his harmonica, which was the only thing he could carry with him. Unfortunately, the instrument, which was a gift from a G.I., had been lost during the enemy attack.
B.J. is inspired and he and Hawkeye ask Klinger to scrounge for a harmonica but he fails. Soon, a fresh opening develops. Major Finch turns up at the MASH. Earlier on, Winchester had given his unit a failing grade for a hygiene inspection. Finch came to appeal to Winchester to pass him, but nothing doing, so Finch punches Winchester in the jaw, knocking a tooth out and then leaves. B.J. and Hawkeye seizes this opportunity and give Finch a call. Hawkeye pretends to be Winchester and threatens to file charges unless Finch can cough up a harmonica.
Meanwhile, Lu notices Winchester's distress at being unable to defend himself and offers to give him karate lessons. Winchester is hesitant to injure his hands but Lu demonstrates that he can also use his leg. Winchester is impressed and begins training with Lu.
All ends well. Finch is tricked into delivering a harmonica which is presented to the grandson, an act which Lu calls the best medicine of all. Winchester bumps into Finch again and is able to give a "convincing" demonstration of his new martial arts skills which scares Finch into beating a hasty retreat. Lu's grandson, cheered by the gift of a harmonica, completes his recovery and is able to play romantic music for a surprise anniversary party which the MASH staff throw for B.J.
Research notes[]
Going by the names of the grandfather and grandson, it is clear that "Lu" is the family name. "Yong Lu" would be the grandfather's given name and "Soon Chi" that of the grandson. In Korean name order, as with Chinese names, the family name usually comes first followed by the given name. Hence the grandfather's name should be "Lu Key Yong". In fact, B.J. shows an understanding of and sensitivity to this when he addresses the grandson as "Soon Chi", using the correct given name. However, the grandfather, when introducing himself to the hospital staff, inverts his name to the western order, saying he is "Key Yong Lu". Asians with frequent contact with Westerners sometimes invert their names to avoid confusion. "Syngman Rhee" is another example of this inversion.