8Asians.com » Yul Kwon Actually Fails at Something (Opening a Yogurt Shop): An Asian American/Asian Canadian Blog By Ernie

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think 8Asians.com was a blog about Yul Kwon. Winner of Survivor this, possibly running for Government that. Between all that and his refined jaw line, is there anything Yul Kwon CAN’T do?

Open up on a frozen yogurt shop, apparently.

Accordingly to the San Francisco Chronicle, Yul and a couple of his buddies are trying to open up a Red Mango franchise (a copycat of Pinkberry, as previously discussed by John) in the trendy, picturesque North Beach district of San Francisco. Except for one thing: North Beach’s “formula retail” ordinance, which prohibits chain stores from coming into the neighborhood to preserve a “neighborhood’s unique character.”

[Marsha Garland, founder and executive director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce] found that Red Mango had continued to add franchises in the time since Kwon’s group was granted a building permit. So by now - and even Young admits this - there are more than 11 locations across the country. Case closed, said the North Beach watchdogs.

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‘Survivor’ champ may not make it in S.F.

When he was a contestant on the reality show “Survivor,” Yul Kwon cruised through the rain forests of the Cook Islands with ease. In fact, as the CBS show’s motto says, he was able to “Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast” the other contestants to win the $1 million grand prize.

But navigating the jungle of San Francisco politics is proving to be a tougher challenge.

Kwon, who was voted “favorite ‘Survivor’ winner” by Entertainment Weekly readers, wanted to open a yogurt store in North Beach with a couple of friends. But last week they ran afoul of the neighborhood’s strict “formula retail” ordinance, which is designed to protect the neighborhood’s unique character. The point of the law is to keep large retail chains - Starbucks is the evil empire most often cited - out of the traditional North Beach neighborhood. The question is what defines a “chain.”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s the Shah of Iran or the winner of ‘Survivor,’ ” said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, whose district includes North Beach. “The law’s the law’s the law.” More… »

MSNBC.com

Q: For the first time, I enjoyed a reality tv show. Yul on “Survivor” was great. My pick all the way for his actions. What is he doing with his money? —Jo, California

A: Andy says: Yul Kwon is the 13th millionaire minted by “Survivor,” and he impressed everyone with his game play and strategizing.

After receiving his check on The Early Show, Yul told AOL that he will first and foremost use the money “to provide [his parents] with some things they werent able to [have] on their own,” because they “came over here as immigrants and didnt have a lot of money. They made a lot of sacrifices to provide opportunities for me and my brother.”

He also said, though, that he’d like “to use the money and my position right now to try to serve my community and do socially constructive things with it.”

Hes not yet announced any plans for charity or similar work, although hes expressed an interest in advocacy for bone marrow donor registration. He did similar work in college to help a friend who later died of leukemia.

But for now, Kwon isnt going to run out and spend it all right away. As Yul told the New York Times, “I plan on sitting on the money for a while so I can get my feet on the ground. I don’t want to be rash about it.”

Gael says: According to this article in the Fayetteville Observer, Yul is “contemplating buying a hybrid car.” He also had laser eye surgery, as did his fellow “Survivor: Cook Islands” contestant Becky. They both had the procedure done by Dr. Michael Woodcock, father of yet another “Survivor” from their season, Candice.

cbs5.com - Survivor Winner Helps Bay Area Cancer Patient Sue Kwon

CBS 5 DANVILLE Bay Area native and Survivor Cook Islands winner Yul Kwon is trying to save the life of another Bay Area man.

Barry Foon is a 46-year old husband and father of two little girls. He is fighting non-Hodgkins lymphoma and so far, chemotherapy has not worked in stopping the cancer — so he desperately needs a bone marrow donor.

Foon lives in Danville and hes a Fairfield native and graduate of Sacramento State.

Several donor drives all over the Bay Area have not turned up a perfect DNA match.

Kwon donated $50,000 to the Asian American Donor Program to continue their efforts in finding a DNA match. Kwon lost his college roommate to leukemia. More… »

FayObserver.come Jessica Banov

By most standards, “Survivor” winner Yul Kwon is a pretty wealthy man.

In December, he won $1 million on the CBS reality show “Survivor: Cook Islands.” Even when you siphon off the sizable chunk of cash that goes to the IRS, he’s still left with enough money that he could pick any eye doctor in the world to perform Lasik eye surgery.

But Yul, who lives in California, decided to come to Fayetteville to let Dr. Michael Woodcock do the procedure. Woodcock, who owns Carolina Vision Center, just happens to be the father of Yul’s “Survivor” competitor and onetime rival, Candice.

Becky Lee, the show’s third-place winner and Yul’s biggest ally on the show, also came from Washington, D.C., to have her eyes fixed.

Was Dr. Woodcock running a “Survivor” two-for-one special? More… »

www.canada.com CanWest News Service Published: Wednesday, January 24, 2007

John Paul Calderone on Survivor: Cook Islands.

A Survivor: Cook Islands competitor is coming out of the closet amidst reports that he was, or is, dating a fellow castaway.

JP Calderone is set to appear on the cover of an upcoming issue of Instinct, a gay magazine, in which he explains why he kept his sexuality under wraps while on the hit reality series.

Survivor: Cook Islands aired in Canada on Global last year.

Calderone, 30, reportedly addresses speculation that he dated his “tribe” mate Brad Virata, an openly gay fashion director.

Calderone’s coming out story will also be told on an episode of the reality show The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, which airs in Canada on TVtropolis. The former pro volleyball player and coach recently joined the agency as a model.

Prior to competing for the million-dollar prize on Survivor: Cook Islands, Calderone worked part-time as a bartender at a gay bar in Long Beach, California.

In an interview with AfterElton.com last November, Virata refused to talk about his rumored relationship with Calderone.

“Um, it’s all about timing in life. I can’t answer that,” he said. “JP is a great guy.”

BuddyTV January 11, 2007

Yul Kwon will go down as one the greatest Survivor contestants to ever play the game. His masterful planning, strategy and execution throughout the contest was a sight to behold and played a large part in Survivor: Cook Islands becoming one of the best seasons the show has yet seen.

Yul sat down with us yesterday to discuss how he wound up on Survivor, his time on the show, and his plans for the future.

Can you explain why you applied for Survivor and your expectations going in? More… »

Broadcasting & Cable

The three-hour season finale of Survivor including the reunion show put CBS in the first-place position in primetime on Sunday. The Eye network scored a 4.7 rating/12 share in the key 18-49 demo; Survivors three hours earned a 5.5/13.

Fox was in the No. 2 slot with its football overrun, The OT, and its lineup of comedies; the network scored a 4.4/11.

Close behind with a 4.3/11 was NBC for a night of football the Kansas City Chiefs versus the San Diego Chargers.

At No. 4 was ABC with a 3.6/9. Its highest-rated offering was the seasonal flick Santa Clause 2 5.1/12.

The CW earned an 0.6/2 for a rerun-heavy night; its only original show was Reba the networks highest-rated program of the night in the 7:30-8 slot.

The final vote was 4 for Ozzy and 5 for Yul in the 3 way final tribal council. Becky was also included in the final vote, but did not receive one vote. I was up late watching Survivor tonight, so this is a quick update. More to come later.

The first immunity challenge was the most difficult in 13 seasons. They had to gather puzzle pieces and complete the puzzle. Adam was a close second to Ozzy. If Adam had won, one of the Aitu 4 would have to go home, but since Adam lost, he went home at the next Tribal Council.

That leaves the Aitu 4 as the final 4, a proud achievement. The final immunity challenge is standing on a small platform that got smaller as time went on. Becky, then Yul fell off. Jeff made a point of saying that the platforms were proportional, something that didn’t happen last season. Sundra gave Ozzy a run, but finally fell off, letting Ozzy win, yet again. If he had lost, then he would have been voted off as the outsider. Since both he and Yul now had immunity, they decided to split the vote between the 2 girls and make it into a tie-breaker.

The tie-breaker was a fire building competition, as it has been in the past. The two girls worked and worked. No fire with the flints and knives after a half hour. Yawns were visible in the jury. After an hour with no fire (an hour!!!), Jeff said that we’ll go to matches. They both got a box of matches and tried that. After another half hour, there was still no fire. Sundra ran out of matches and Becky finally got it going. It was the funniest moment in Survivor history. Sundra goes home.

The final 3 were Yul, Ozzy, and Becky. The jury got to ask them questions. Jonathan had some good shots, as did Nate. They voted and it came down to a one vote difference, and Yul was the winner.

More images and more episode recap tomorrow.

Congratulations to Yul. The final 4 had no “white” people in it. Black, Yellow, and Brown. Well played. I think this has been one of the better seasons in recent memory.

See you in Fiji for Survivor 14!

Final show will be 2 hours long, starting at 8pm, with a Reunion Show for another hour at 10pm. There are 5 survivors left, Favorites Yul and Ozzy, Sundra and Becky, and the outcast from the other tribe, Adam. We will find out who will take home the $million at about 9:59pm.

Get your popcorn ready. This is going to come down to the wire. Yul has been the favorite to win, but Ozzy has made a strong showing recently, and not angered any of the jury members, so he could pull it out.

Check back here on Monday morning for the play by play as well as screen captures of the show.

courant.com

Allegiances are so well known among the jury that winning final competitions, traditionally based on patience and longevity, will be key to winning the $1 million finale of “Survivor: Cook Islands” CBS, Sunday, 8 p.m..

Its not until “Survivor: Cook Islands Reunion” CBS, Sunday, 10 p.m. that the participants will likely talk about the gimmick that started the season and long since fizzled, separating castaways by race.

Cao Boi hoofs it back to Survivor - Roanoke.com By Donna Alvis-Banks

The Christiansburg contestant will appear on the reality shows finale. He may not have won, but he was still “the star of the show.”

CHRISTIANSBURG — Well, he’s off to L.A.

Anh-Tuan “Cao Boi” Bui — the sixth and most colorful person voted off “Survivor: Cook Islands” — will once again appear on national television when the live “Survivor” finale airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS.

And Bui will be just a bit more colorful than the last time viewers saw him. At a send-off celebration Thursday in Christiansburg, Bui sported a full-back tattoo of the Immunity Idol — the coveted “Survivor” prize that he tried and failed to win. More… »

You want to work on the show? This is what it’s like…

Surviving “Survivor:” Recording reality on Cook Island By Laura Kenyon

Hours after Nick Fager arrived in Guatemala last summer, he was coated in mud in 100-degree heat, struggling with all his might to thrust his new roommate off a seven-foot mountain of dirt.

After 15 minutes of grunts, close calls and balance-regaining spasms, the mud-caked 20-year-old successfully slung his opponent to the ground and claimed his kingdom.

It was his first day on the set of “Survivor: Guatemala — The Maya Empire,” and the fun was just beginning. More… »

TV.com By Colin Mahan -

Reality franchise down from last cycle, but still beats the stuffing out of The Office and a bunch of repeats.

CBSs reality show Survivor: Cook Islands took top honors for the night last night, but that may have been due to the fact the other nets were mainly showing repeats.
Survivor: Cook Islands

Last nights episode, the penultimate episode before Sundays season finale, scored a 14.5 million viewers and a 4.9 rating/13 share in the adults 18-49 demographic. Thats down 18 percent from last seasons average for Survivor: Palau. More… »

TV Week By James Hibberd

The penultimate episode of “Survivor” gave CBS a Thursday night ratings victory and the highest-rated “Survivor” episode of the season, while “The OC” rebounded a bit for Fox.

The CBS reality series earned a 5.0 in the national ratings among adults 18 to 49, according to Nielsen Media Research. Even with the rest of CBSs lineup full of repeats, that was enough to put the network well above closest competitor NBC, which continued to draw strength from its new comedy lineup.

NBC opened the night with a one-hour episode of “The Office” 3.9, down slightly from last weeks hour-long “My Name Is Earl.” “Scrubs” 3.8 and “30 Rock” 2.8 followed, and both were about average.

ABC came in third with a repeat-filled lineup, followed by Fox in fourth place. Fox had “Til Death” 1.9, which had its highest rating in four weeks, then “The War at Home” 1.8. At 9 p.m., “The OC” 2.0 continued to show growth following its weak debut and posted its best rating this season.

The CW was in fifth place with repeats.

Parvati Has Her Moment in The Hot Tub, Then Goes Home

Reward challenge
Princess Partvati and Adumb talk about winning and staying strong and blah, blah, blah. Thanks, Captian Obvious. The reward challenge has to do with mud. They have to run over to a mud pit and cover themselves in mud, then run back and squish off as much as possible into a bucket. The one with the most mud in their bucket after 10 minutes, wins. The top three finishers get a trip to a spa with massages, food, and a hot tub.

Of course, Ozzy is first into the mud. Yul tries carrying it on his back. They can use their arms or the hands to carry it. Eventually, Ozzy uses his head. This whole challenge makse for some pretty funny photos. Check them out on the screen capture page. Parvati never gets her face dirty. She always has to look good. Oh, and what part of her body does she use? The asset she has, her chest. Jeff calls it “bad performance art”.

Ozzy has his bucket filled at 45lbs, while the next the next in line are Prvati at 24lbs., Adumb at 22lbs., Sundra at 22lbs. and Becky at 22lbs. also. Yul brings up the rear with 22 and a half to blow out Adumb. Ozzy picks Adumb to go to Exile Island.Sundra and Becky go back to camp, alone, to relax and worry about Ozzy winning everything. It begins to rain.

Parvati, Yul, and Ozzy fly to their spa. They put plastic over the seats while they are covered in mud. They shower, get massages, and eat. The lights go out and they light candles to see the native dancers give them a show. Adumb is out on Exile Island all alone and it rains on him too. He’s miserable. Then Parvati tries to use the only talent she has. They all get naked in the hot tub and she flirts as hard as she can. She says that she has the advantage because it’s 2 guys to a girl. That’s the only advantage that she has for the whole game.

The Immunity Challenge
Becky tells Yul that she’s worried about Ozzy being too strong. They are all worried that Pzzy was flirting with Ozzy. The challenge is taking some boards across balance beams and jumping off the other end. When you get all 4 bundles of boards across, assemble them into a maze. Roll a ball through the maze and drop it into each of the corner holes. You must do this twice to get one in each hole. Who is the first across? Ozzy. Who is the first to get all of them across? Ozzy. Who is the first to finish and win immunity? Ozzy. Is this getting boring yet, folks?

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Princess Partvati cuts her finger to start this week’s show. The medical team show up and gives her a stitch. “Right here??!!” she says. She’s fine, after the anesthesia takes effect.

Reward challenge
The challenge is to take a small bucket to transfer water from the ocean into a larger bucket that will raise a flag when it gets full enough. The twist? They play with their loved ones. Jonathan and his wife (somebody loves him anyway…) Parvati and her dad, the guy who named her “Parvati”. Adam and his twin, I mean, his dad. They both have the same goofy grin. Becky and her sister. Becky tells her not to cry. Yul and his brother Paul. Ozzy sees his mom. Ahhhh…. Sundra cries like a baby to see her mom.

They are terrible at throwing the water and catching it. Jonathan’s wife starts wringing out her shirt and they pull ahead. Half the loved ones get soaked. Parvati has a pretty good aim and they barely pull ahead and win. She sends Jonathan to Exile Island with no hesitation. He kisses his wive and leaves immediately. 2 other survivors and loved ones are going on the reward. Her dad chooses, with no direction from her, Adam and Sundra.

After some time in camp together, they leave for the reward, a trip to a sacred cave, followed by a feast. Back at camp, Ozzy and Yul decide to hide food so the others won’t get strong. When they others bring food back for them, that plan falls a part. Sundras gets to be friends with Adam and Parvati. When they get back to camp, Jonatahn is the only one not there and they have food. They are calm and comfortable, and they notice that Jonthan’s not there to add stress.

See the next post for more images.

The Immunity Challenge
Jonatahn comes back for the immunity challenge. No one speaks to him. They have to go out across a bunch of things floating in the water, swim out to get some sticks, and come back across the floating things. When they have done that twice, they tie the sticks together and make one long one to move rings off a hook and on to another hook. Did I mention swimming? Guess who wins this one. Sundra takes a fall. Other people fall. It’s painful to watch, but Ozzy just nails it and wins.

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