Q&A WITH SURVIVOR WINNER YUL KWON
Yul Kwon is the latest winner of CBS's reality hit Survivor. The 31-year-old strategic management consultant tackled Cook Islands with ease, but can he handle his first Star interview? Read on!
When you decided to go on the show, what were your expectations?
Most of the contestants this season where recruited. The tribes were divided on ethnicity and Survivor had a lot of trouble getting minority applicants so I was just in the right place. One of the recruiting agents contacted one of my friends who recommended me and I talked to the recruiting director and she said, 'Could you come down to LA tomorrow, we're having final interviews.' I came down, it worked out. It's amazing how much my life has turned around in the space of a few months.
Can you describe how things have changed?
It's weird that being on Survivor was the thing that engaged me on every level. Being a lawyer and being able to construct arguments and persuade people came in really useful. Being a strategy consultant helped on strategy. I think I'm more of an emotional guy and one of the things I was always frustrated about was that the jobs I had challenged me on an intellectual level and not an emotional one. Survivor is all about relating and interacting with people and if you have empathy and can understand how people are feeling, what they're thinking, it's a big advantage in the game. I've always liked physical challenges too so it's kind of weird how I found the right fit for all the things I've done, and it's on a reality show. I found new confidence in myself. It has really helped me get perspective on what I feel passionate about. I'm much more interested in community and public service.
Who did you feel empathy for?
Ozzie is an amazing competitor. I can't say I deserved to win any more than he did. Any other season I think he would have won hands down. If you had a different group of jurors, it could have very easily gone his way. In some ways, I really don't think there should be such a difference between first and second place, in some ways, I wish we could have both won. He does deserve it.
What do you think meant when he said you was the puppetmaster of the island?
At some point in the game I got labeled as being the puppetmaster and the godfather. I don't think it was accurate. The way I tried to lead my alliance was to try to listen to people, understand where they were coming from, incorporate their views and let them feel they really had a lot of influence, which was true. I think that's why we stayed so tight. From the other tribe, I think they thought I was basically running the show, that I was telling everyone what to do and everyone was taking orders and I tried to explain to them that was not true, that that was true, that wasn't the way we were working and that wasn't the way I wanted to work. But the more I denied it the more they felt I was lying to them. So at one point I said if they're going to stick that label on me then I will embrace it and use it to my advantage.
Now that it's over, who was the hardest person to beat?
The thing was, after the mutiny, we were down in numbers eight to four so the majority of the people on the jury were members of the other tribe, so I think if any of them had made it to the end, they would have won so there were so many people from their own tribe packing the jury they would have voted for people that they like, so from my standpoint the worst possible scenario was if any of those people from the other tribe had made it to the end because they would have beaten any of us, but within my own alliance the biggest competition was Ozzie.
Who if anyone did you really feel the most connected to?
I was really tight with Becky. We had very similar values and ideals. She's a nonprofit attorney who does a lot of work for battered women and I think we're very committed to trying to serve our community and trying to make a difference. So we formed a really tight bond and a really deep friendship.
Do you think you will stay in touch?
Absolutely. I made a lot of close friends on the show. I feel very fortunate.
How did you adjust to your every thought and emotion being on display?
It was hard. I don't actually like being in the spotlight. I know it's ironic saying this being on a reality show but in some ways I was more afraid of winning because I would have the spotlight put on me. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I don't know if I will ever be totally comfortable.
What did you find out about Cook Islands that you didn't expect?
It looks like the Garden of Eden. What it looks like from an aerial shot is this deep blue ocean and there's this circle of light blue lagoon and the coral reef causes a standing wave to circle the lagoon. You feel like you're the center of the world. It's very romantic if it weren't for the fact that we were hungry and hadn't showered in six weeks. But as it was, I didn't want to touch anybody including myself.
What are some of your plans for your winnings?
I feel so fortunate and blessed to have this opportunity. I really want to use this opportunity to really make a difference and do things for my community. Beyond that, I'd like to help out my parents. It's the classic immigrant's story, my parents came to this country and didn't have a lot of money and they worked really hard, they gave me and my brother opportunities to educate ourselves and I'd like to help them do things they were never able to do on their own.
