Yul Kwon

Yul Julius Kwon, born on February 14, 1975, in Flushing, Queens, New York, to South Korean immigrants, has carved out a diverse and impactful career. He spent his early years in Concord, California, graduating as valedictorian from Northgate High School, where he was also involved in varsity water polo and track and field. Kwon pursued higher education at Stanford University, earning a B.S. degree in Symbolic Systems in 1997, where he was recognized for academic achievement with Phi Beta Kappa and for community service with the James Lyons Award. He furthered his education at Yale Law School, obtaining a J.D. in 2000 and serving as an editor for The Yale Law Journal. During his sophomore year at Stanford, Kwon initiated a nationwide bone marrow campaign for his childhood friend, Evan Chen, who had leukemia. Although the marrow transplant was unsuccessful, Kwon remains a national spokesperson for the Asian American Donor Program, continuing to organize bone marrow drives.

Kwon’s professional journey began in law, working at Venture Law Group and Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, and completing a judicial clerkship with Judge Barrington D. Parker, Jr. on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He also served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman. In 2006, Kwon gained national recognition as the winner of ‘Survivor: Cook Islands’, a season notable for its tribal division by ethnicity. His strategic gameplay and articulate responses helped challenge stereotypes of Asian American men on television. Following his ‘Survivor’ success, he parlayed his platform into impactful roles across various sectors. In 2009, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

After leaving the FCC in 2011, Kwon transitioned into media hosting, leading PBS’s ‘America Revealed’ and LinkTV’s ‘LinkAsia’. His career also includes substantial contributions to the technology industry, with roles in Google’s business strategy group, as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, and later at Facebook, where he became Product Management Director. As of June 2018, he returned to Google as a Vice President of Product Management. Kwon made a return to ‘Survivor’ in 2020 for ‘Survivor: Winners at War’, placing 14th. He is married to Sophie Tan, and they have two children. His multi-faceted career highlights a sustained commitment to public service, media engagement, and private sector innovation.