- Yul Kwon
Survivor contestant
name = Yul Kwon
birthdate = birth date and age|1975|2|14
location =San Mateo, California ,United States
season =
finish = Winner
tribe = Puka Puka, Aitutaki, AitutongaYul Kwon (Korean: 권율, born
February 14 ,1975 inQueens, New York ) is the winner of "". Kwon is ofSouth Korean descent, and a resident of San Mateo,California .Education
Kwon attended
Northgate High School inWalnut Creek, California , where he graduated Valedictorian. He is famous in Northgate circles both for an allegedly eidetic (photographic) memory and a unique valedictory address at graduation. Legend has it that Kwon began his speech by stating "You can't graduate until I finish my speech" and then proceeded to drink a soda and read the newspaper, silently.He holds a B.S. degree in Symbolic Systems from
Stanford University , where he was in the Delta Class of Theta Chapter ofLambda Phi Epsilon , an Asian-interest fraternity, and graduatedPhi Beta Kappa in 1997. He earned a J.D. in 2000 fromYale Law School , where he served on the editorial board of TheYale Law Journal .After graduating from Yale Law School, Kwon served as a law clerk to the Honorable Barrington D. Parker, Jr., of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit . He then worked at several law firms. Kwon was a legislative aide toConnecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman , helping draft sections of theHomeland Security Bill and other technology-related legislation. He has also worked forMcKinsey & Co. andGoogle ’s business strategy group. Kwon has recently been considering running for California Congress.Survivor: Cook Islands
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 attorneyBecky 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 andCandice 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 Cao Boi Bui and Jessica Smith (Flicka Flame) 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 targetedOzzy Lusth due to his strength in challenges. But when the Aitutaki tribe lost immunity, they voted out Jessica (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 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 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.
urvivor Firsts by Yul Kwon
*First Asian American winner
*First to defeat two other Survivors in the final tribal council
*First to find the "Hidden Immunity Idol" and win the game
*First male winner to not win an individual challenge (Sandra Diaz-Twine was the first winner)Career after Survivor
Immediate aftermath
Kwon was voted one of "People" magazine's Sexiest Men for 2006. He donated $50,000 of his Survivor earnings to a program to encourage Asian-Americans to become
bone marrow donors. Kwon also hosted the Survivor Fiji: TV Guide Preview on TV Guide Channel.CNN series on Asian American issues
Kwon worked as a correspondent on a special series about Asian-American issues titled "Uncovering America" which aired on CNN's American Morning in May of 2007. His topics included portrayals of Asian-Americans in the media and the high expectations placed on the minority. Kwon also made appearances relating to the series on
Paula Zahn Now andAnderson Cooper 360 . Contributors to the series were Dan Simon,Betty Nguyen ,Richard Lui ,Dan Lothian , Dr.Sanjay Gupta ,Veronica De La Cruz andAlina Cho .Entrepreneur
Kwon, with business partners, invested in a
Red Mango yogurt shop inSan Francisco 's North Beach neighborhood. However, development on the store was stopped in early 2008 when the store ran afoul of a local ordinance prohibitingchain store s.cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/22/BALOUJ5PM.DTL|title='Survivor' champ may not make it in S.F.|author=C.W. Nevius|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|date=January 22, 2008|accessdate=2008-01-22]Now he has opened Red Mango yogurt shop in Palo Alto, CA.
Asian Political Leadership Fund
Kwon is a co-founder of the [http://asianleader.org/ Asian Political Leadership Fund] , a federally-designated 527 fund whose purpose is to promote political leadership from within the Asian-American community.
Personal life
Kwon is currently engaged to Sophie Tan, a product manager. [ [http://www.intagems.com/?page=about&action=press&pressID=19 Diamond Platinum Engagement Rings At Inta Gems & Diamonds Jewelry Store – Gia Ideal Cut Certified Diamonds, Sapphires & Wedding Ring At The Wholesale La Mart In The Los Angeles Jewelry District ] ]
External links
* [http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor13/survivors/bio_yul.shtml CBS bio]
* [http://television.aol.com/tv-celebrity-interviews/survivor-cook-islands-yul-kwon Yul Kwon interview]
* [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/survivor/exclusive-interview-yul-kwon-w-2957.aspx Interview with Yul Kwon]
*
*http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/20834
*youtube|ueHwa6LURyY|TV Guide interview with Yul Kwon
*youtube|5Hi5oPJIwCs|CBS Early Show with Yul Kwon
*youtube|SS-ibTZboFw|Million dollar check presentation to Yul Kwon
* [http://asianleader.org/ Asian Political Leadership Fund]References
Persondata
NAME=Kwon, Yul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Winner of ""
DATE OF BIRTH=February 14 ,1975
PLACE OF BIRTH=Queens, New York ,United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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