Korean-American business consultant Yul Kwon of San Mateo prevailed in Sunday’s season finale of Survivor: Cook Islands, winning 5 out of 9 jury votes to take the $1 million top prize.
His main competition was Oscar (Ozzie) Lusth, a Mexican American who excelled in the season's physical challenges.
However, in a twist for the show, Becky Lee was named as a third finalist. Also a Korean American, Lee had maintained a solid alliance with Kwon since the show's beginning, but by the end had not fared well enough in the individual survival challenges to be a serious comeptitor for the top spot.
Although initially controversial for the way in which starting teams were segregated by race, the reality show ended up being a dramatic and highly engaging "showcase" for diversity, asserted Kwon, who said in the finale that that the under-representation of strong, positive Asian American figures in mainstream media was a major motivator for him to participate in the show.
