Survivor
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 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 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 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 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. 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, who saw this as an opportunity to get back to her old Rarotonga tribemates & friends, Adam Gentry and Parvati Shallow, mutinied to the Rarotonga tribe, and Penner would subsequently follow 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 out two members in one tribal council) Jenny Guzon-Bae. These three survivors became members of the jury.
At the Final 9, the two tribes (Aitutaki and Rarotonga) merged into Aitutonga. The "Aitu 4" (Yul, Lusth, Lee and Oakley) were still 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 Rarotonga members to vote out the traitor Penner. Knowing that their days in the game were numbered, Gentry and Shallow both threatened to vote against Kwon in the jury if Kwon refused to vote out Penner before them. Kwon made a deal with Gentry that if Penner was voted out ahead of him and Shallow, he would gain Gentry's vote in the jury, and Penner was voted out. In the next two Tribal Councils, Shallow and Gentry 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. Kwon, 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.
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