Yul Kwon

Yul Julius Kwon (born February 14, 1975) is an American television host and former government official, lawyer, and management consultant based in California.

Kwon attended college at Stanford University, graduating in 1997 with a B.S. degree in Symbolic Systems and is a brother of Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity.

As a student, he earned recognition for both academic achievement (Phi Beta Kappa) and community service (James Lyons Award).

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.

He continues to organize bone marrow drives and serves as a national spokesperson for the Asian American Donor Program.

After graduation from Stanford, Kwon attended Yale Law School, where he earned a J.D. in 2000 and was an editor on The Yale Law Journal.

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.

He first gained national recognition and popularity as the winner of the reality TV show Survivor: Cook Islands in 2006.

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 tribes by their ethnicity, a decision that generated substantial controversy.

When asked why he agreed to go on the show, he cited his desire to provide a positive role model for his community, and the lack of representation by Asian Americans on television.

Originally on the Asian American Puka Puka tribe, Kwon led his tribe to dominate in the first two tribal immunity challenges, while winning rewards on both occasions.

On Puka Puka, Kwon developed a long-lasting alliance and friendship with fellow Korean-American attorney Rebekah "Becky" Lee.

In Episode 2, Kwon was banished to Exile Island by the Hispanic Aitutaki tribe, after Aitutaki 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 Three, 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 white Rarotonga tribe.

When Aitutaki lost the next immunity challenge and the opposing new Rarotonga tribe sent Candice to Exile Island, Yul's alliance became outnumbered and Lee became a 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 challenge wins in episodes 4 and 5.

In Episode Six, 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 that could 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.

In 2009, Kwon was appointed Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

In 2011, Kwon left the FCC and became the host of a new television series on PBS, America Revealed.

He became the host of a weekly news show, LinkAsia, which airs on LinkTV.

Kwon's private sector business experience includes working in Google's business strategy group and as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and The Trium Group.

Kwon hosted the 2012 four-part TV series America Revealed on PBS as well as LinkAsia on Link TV.

Kwon was born in Flushing in the Queens borough of New York City, to South Korean immigrants.

He moved to Concord, California and attended Northgate High School, in Walnut Creek, where he graduated valedictorian and played varsity water polo and track and field.

In February 2013, Kwon joined Facebook's Privacy product team, and in 2015, he moved into the position of Product Management Director.

He appeared again in Survivor: Winners at War, where he placed 14th.

In June 2018, he left Facebook and is currently working at Google as a Vice President of Product Management.

Kwon became a lecturer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.