Yul Kwon

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For the 17C Korean general, see Kwon Yul.
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Yul Kwon
Survivor contestant
Yul Kwon
Born February 14, 1975 (1975-02-14) (age 34)
Resides San Mateo, California,
United States
Season(s) Cook Islands
Finish Winner
Tribe(s)      Puka Puka
     Aitutaki
     Aitutonga

Yul Kwon (born February 14, 1975 in Queens, New York) is a lawyer, management consultant, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the winner of Survivor: Cook Islands. Kwon is a resident of Arlington, Virginia. On October 22, 2009, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Kwon was born in Flushing, New York, to South Korean immigrants.[2] He moved to Concord, CA and attended Northgate High School, where he graduated valedictorian[3] and played varsity water polo and track & field.[4] Kwon attended college at Stanford University, graduating in 1997 with a B.S. degree in Symbolic Systems. As a student, he earned recognition for both academic achievement (Phi Beta Kappa) and community service (James Lyons Award).[5] In his sophomore year, Kwon’s childhood friend and roommate, Evan Chen, was diagnosed with a terminal case of leukemia. Kwon organized an intense nationwide bone marrow campaign in an effort to find a bone marrow donor for his friend. Although the search was successful and Chen underwent a marrow transplant, the procedure ultimately failed and Chen died two years later. Kwon continues to organize bone marrow drives and serves as a national spokesperson for the Asian American Donor Program.[6] After graduation, Kwon attended Yale Law School, where he earned a J.D. in 2000 and was an editor on The Yale Law Journal.[7]

[edit] Career Before Survivor

Kwon’s professional career spanned a variety of roles across technology, law, business, and government. He worked at two law firms - Venture Law Group and Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. He served a judicial clerkship with Judge Barrington D. Parker, Jr. on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He also worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman in Washington, DC.

Kwon’s private sector business experience includes working in Google’s business strategy group and as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company[8] and the Trium Group.[9]

[edit] Survivor: Cook Islands

In 2006, Kwon was recruited to participate in the thirteenth season of Survivor, which took place in the Cook Islands. This season was notable for the producers’ decision to divide the contestants into ethnic tribes, a decision that generated substantial controversy.[10] When asked why he agreed to go on the show, he cited the lack of representation by Asian Americans on television and his desire to provide a positive role model for his community.[11]

Originally the leader of the Asian American Puka Puka tribe, Kwon led his tribe to dominate in the first two tribal immunity challenges in episodes 1 and 2. On Puka Puka, Kwon developed a long-lasting alliance and friendship with fellow-Korean and attorney Rebekah "Becky" Lee. In Episode 2, Kwon was banished to Exile Island by the Hispanic Aitutaki tribe after Aitutaki threw and intentionally lost the second immunity challenge. On Exile Island, Kwon was able to decipher the clues and find the hidden immunity idol, which would be very instrumental to his survival later in the game.

In Episode 3, the four ethnically-divided tribes integrated into two tribes, and both Kwon and Lee became members of the new Aitutaki tribe. Kwon and Lee immediately developed a four-person alliance with Jonathan Penner and Candice Woodcock of the old Caucasian Rarotonga tribe. When Aitutaki lost the next immunity challenge and the opposing new Rarotonga tribe sent Woodcock to Exile Island, Yul's alliance became outnumbered and Lee became the first target. However, Kwon and Penner were able to convince Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui and Jessica "Flicka" Smith from their old respective tribes to side with them and voted out Cecilia Mansilla. After that, the new Aitutaki tribe enjoyed back-to-back immunity wins in episodes 4 and 5.

In Episode 6, both tribes were informed they would have to vote someone out of their tribe, regardless of the challenge results. Despite being from the same original tribe, Kwon and his alliance voted out "Cao Boi", seeing him as a loose cannon not to be trusted. It was around this point that Kwon, Lee, Penner and Woodcock recruited Sundra Oakley to their now 5-person alliance. In Episode 7, this new alliance targeted Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth due to his strength in challenges. But when the Aitutaki tribe lost immunity, they voted out "Flicka", admitting they needed Ozzy for future challenges. Both tribes were now tied at 6 members each.

In Episode 8, all remaining survivors were given the chance to "mutiny" and defect to the opposite tribe. Woodcock saw this as an opportunity to get back to her old-Rarotonga friends Adam Gentry and Parvati Shallow and mutinied to the Rarotonga tribe, and Penner followed Woodcock. The mutiny left Kwon, Lee, Oakley and Lusth as a tribe of four against a tribe of eight. Despite these odds, the new "Aitu 4" were able to dominate in the challenges and win four challenges in a row, sending Rarotonga to tribal council where they voted out Brad Virata, Rebecca Borman and (in a twist where they had to vote twice in one tribal council) Jenny Guzon-Bae. These three survivors became members of a larger jury.

At the Final 9, the two tribes (Aitutaki and Rarotonga) merged into Aitutonga. The "Aitu 4" (Yul, Lusth, Lee and Oakley) became outnumbered by the five Rarotonga members. Kwon devised a plan to use the Hidden Immunity Idol to blackmail former ally and mutineer Penner. By using his Hidden Immunity Idol to threaten to eliminate Penner at Tribal Council, Penner decided to defect from Rarotonga and join the "Aitu 4" to save himself. "Aitu 4" and Penner surprised Rarotonga at Tribal Council and voted out Nathan "Nate" Gonzalez. In the Survivor Auction at the Final 8, Kwon revealed to the remaining Rarotonga members and the host Jeff Probst that he held the Hidden Immunity Idol. The "Aitu 4" and Penner continued to control the game and voted out former ally and mutineer Woodcock.

At the Final 7, Kwon, then dubbed the "Ringleader", "Puppet Master" and "Godfather", was constantly being pressured by the remaining bitter Rarotonga members, Adam and Parvati, to vote out the traitor Penner. Adam and Parvati, knowing that their days in the game were numbered, threatened to vote against Kwon in the jury if Kwon refused to vote out Penner before them. Kwon made a deal with Adam that if Penner was voted out ahead of him and Parvati, he would gain Adam's vote in the jury, and Penner was voted out. In the next two Tribal Councils, Parvati and Adam were voted out respectively, propelling the "Aitu 4" into the final 4.

Once in the Final 4, Lee, Lusth, Oakley and Kwon were shocked to hear that instead of a standard Final Two, the final tribal council would consist of three members. At the immunity challenge, Lusth continued to dominate, winning his spot in the Final Three. Yul, still protected by the hidden immunity idol, was also safe. Both Lusth and Kwon agreed that the fairest decision would be a tie-breaker challenge between Lee and Oakley. Kwon offered his idol to Lee, but she declined. In the tie-breaker, both Lee and Oakley could not start a fire with flint for 1 hour. Moving to matches, both still had trouble, and Oakley ran out of matches. Lee went on to win the challenge, moving her into the Final Three with Lusth and Kwon.

In the Final Tribal Council, Kwon was credited for his strategic prowess and his ability in the social aspect of the game, whereas Lusth was credited for his domination in the physical aspect of the game. In the end, Kwon beat out Ozzy Lusth and Becky Lee in a 5-4-0 vote to become the Sole Survivor, gaining the votes of Brad Virata, Candice Woodcock, Jonathan Penner, Adam Gentry and Sundra Oakley.

[edit] Career after Survivor

[edit] Immediate aftermath

Shortly after winning Survivor, Kwon appeared on several talk shows, including Live with Regis & Kelly.[12] He received positive media coverage for his strategic and honest gameplay, as well as for breaking stereotypes about Asian American men in the media.[13]

Kwon made several notable lists in 2006/2007, including People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive,[14] People Magazine's Hottest Bachelors[15], and Extra TV's Most Eligible Bachelors.[16] He was profiled in VIBE Magazine’s “Juice” issue as part of the New Power Generation, consisting of people who will shape the future.[17]. An online poll by Entertainment Weekly also found Kwon to be the favorite Survivor winner among its readers.[18]

[edit] Subsequent television appearances

Kwon worked as a special correspondent for CNN on a series exploring issues affecting the Asian American community.[19] The series, “Uncovering America,” aired on CNN's American Morning in May 2007.[20] The topics Kwon examined included the portrayal of Asian Americans in the media[21], the glass ceiling in the corporate workplace,[22], and affirmative action. He was also interviewed regarding these issues on Anderson Cooper 360.[23] Other contributors to the series were Dan Simon, Betty Nguyen, Richard Lui, Dan Lothian, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Veronica De La Cruz and Alina Cho.

Kwon co-hosted a show, “How Not to Become Shark Bait,” on the Discovery Channel during 2008’s "Shark Week."[24]

[edit] Other activities

Kwon is involved with numerous charitable projects. After Survivor, he helped his co-finalist, Becky Lee, establish Becky’s Fund, a nonprofit helping victims of domestic violence.[25] He works with several nonprofits to raise awareness of the need for more minority bone marrow donors, and is a spokesperson for the Asian American Donor Program and the National Marrow Donor Program.[26]

During the 2007-2008 U.S. presidential campaign, Kwon supported then-Senator Barack Obama and campaigned for him as a surrogate in the Asian American community.[27]

Kwon, with business partners, became the Northern California franchisee for Red Mango, a national frozen yogurt brand specializing in healthy probiotic yogurt and yogurt-based foods.[28]

Kwon is active on the speaking circuit[29], and is currently a lecturer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[30]

On October 22, 2009, Kwon was appointed Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He said he will be responsible for making the FCC more consumer-friendly and educating the public on the relevance of telecom issues to people's lives.[1]

[edit] Personal life

Kwon proposed to his girlfriend, Sophie Tan, in April 2008.[31] The couple had been set up by one of Kwon’s Survivor tribemates, Brad Virata.[32] Kwon and Tan were married in 2009 at Clos La Chance winery in San Martin, California. The ceremony was televised and aired on the TV Guide Channel.[33]

[edit] Interviews

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts (2009-10-22). ""Survivor": Bureaucracy". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/10/rs-kwon22.html. Retrieved 2009-10-27. 
  2. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2006/09/10/2006-09-10__survivor__new_york__it_s_ci.html
  3. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/19/SURVIVOR.TMP
  4. ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_4867101?nclick_check=1
  5. ^ http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/marapr/red/kwon.html
  6. ^ http://www.aadp.org/pages/main.php?pageid=49&pagecategory=1
  7. ^ http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/university-news/2007/04/20/survivor-champ-talks-about-his-experiences/
  8. ^ Survivor Champ Talks About Experiences, Yale Daily News, http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/university-news/2007/04/20/survivor-champ-talks-about-his-experiences/, Apr. 20, 2007
  9. ^ NAAAP Convention Speaker Bios, http://www.naaapconvention.org/2009/ConventionProgramming/Speakers.aspx
  10. ^ Yul Kwon Wins 'Survivor', USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-12-17-survivor_x.htm, Dec. 17, 2006
  11. ^ Win Boosts Asian Image, San Jose Mercury News, http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_4867101?nclick_check=1, Dec. 19, 2006
  12. ^ Yul Kwon Appearance, Live with Regis & Kelly, available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMZHJ4I3It8
  13. ^ ASIAN POP: Do You Think We're Sexy?, San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2006/11/22/apop.DTL, Nov. 22, 2006
  14. ^ People Magazine, http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20004428,00.html, Dec. 18, 2006
  15. ^ People Magazine, http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20061242,00.html, Jun. 06, 2007
  16. ^ Yul Kwon Profile, Extra, available at: http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2007/05/this_eligible_bachelor_is_a_tr.php
  17. ^ Yul Kwon: The Survivor, VIBE Magazine, Sept. 09, 2007, profile available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=nyYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA167&dq=vibe+yul+kwon&ei=tUreSuPnLoGKzASU5rShBw#v=onepage&q=vibe%20yul%20kwon&f=false
  18. ^ Entertainment Weekly, http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20171836,00.html, Dec. 21, 2007
  19. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itQjBBK6hww
  20. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfBjLzeAa9c
  21. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXjaWqXrpM
  22. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmymZlzWYgQ
  23. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9oczQKwIwk
  24. ^ http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/sharkweek/episode-guide/episode-guide.html
  25. ^ 'Survivor' finalist to host domestic violence workshop for SU students, Daily Orange, http://media.www.dailyorange.com/media/storage/paper522/news/2008/11/12/News/survivor.Finalist.To.Host.Domestic.Violence.Workshop.For.Su.Students-3538363.shtml, Nov. 12, 2008
  26. ^ Survivor Winner Turns to Charity, The Examiner, http://www.examiner.com/a-466648~_Survivor__winner_turns_to_charity.html] [http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/90349, Dec. 20, 2006
  27. ^ FlowTV, http://flowtv.org/?p=4035, Barackobama.com, Organizing for America Blog, http://nh.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/keithkamisugi
  28. ^ Survivor: Social experiment ripens into career move, Franchise Times, http://franchisetimes.com/content/story.php?article=01274, Mar. 2009, Yul Kwon Comes Home, Diablo Magazine, http://www.diablomag.com/D-blog/News-and-Community/June-2009/Yul-Kwon-Comes-Home/, Jun. 2009
  29. ^ Yul Kwon Keynote Speaker profile, 23rd Annual NAAAP National Convention, http://www.naaapconvention.org/2009/ConventionProgramming/Speakers.aspx
  30. ^ Real-life Survivor Kwon rides reality show to the FBI, San Francisco Business Times, http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/08/31/tidbits4.html, Aug. 28, 2009
  31. ^ Survivor Winner Yul Kwon Gets Engaged, People Magazine TV Watch, http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/04/16/survivor-winner-yul-kwon-gets-engaged/, Apr. 16, 2008
  32. ^ Yul Kwon Gives Fiancé Immunity, AsianWeek, http://www.asianweek.com/2008/04/26/yune-never-know-asian-american-celebrity-gossi/, Apr. 26, 2008
  33. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptQD3McSzfw

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yul_Kwon"
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