06.09.07

Interview with Yul Kwon

Posted in Interviews, FALLOUT CENTRAL Podcast at 10:44 pm by admin

(**This is an excerpt from the 6/3/07 FALLOUT CENTRAL Interview with Yul Kwon. Click here to listen to the full interview.)

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George: Moving on to your life after [Survivor: Cook Islands]… now you have a million dollars in your pocket… Most people would just put it in the bank, get interest, and live a very carefree life, away from the spotlight and all troubles. … You’ve decided to put yourself in the spotlight even more and to help out the community, of all things to do. … What do you have to say to those who think you’re crazy for doing this?

Yul Kwon: I feel a sense of responsibility and obligation to use that to try to raise issues within the community, to try and represent the community in a positive way. … I basically made a promise to myself … that if I were ever in a position where I could make a difference, that I would, … so I’m trying to leverage my exposure to not only raising awareness for minority bone marrow donors, but really to draw attention to issues within our community that have often been overlooked in the media.

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George: I was very pleased to see that you were reporting on Asian American issues on CNN. How did that come about?

Yul Kwon: I often felt that the Asian American community has lacked a voice in national news. We’re often relegated to the role of being the silent minority, and a lot of our issues and voices aren’t heard in national debates. … They were interested in maybe working with me, and an opportunity came up during APA Heritage month when various CNN shows wanted to do something to spotlight issues in the Asian American community. So they asked me to help out, and, this is something that is close to my heart, so I figured what a great opportunity to bring out to the general audience things that are important.

George: You’ve been spreading awareness of Asian American issues. Even though you’re out there trying to bring out these issues in our communities, do you think that people are actually “getting it?”

Yul Kwon: I think so. … I think we basically need a two pronged approach. One is: you want to work on a platform within the community so that you can try to galvanize the community, raise issues within the community , and try to organize people together so that they’re working towards a common objective. Unfortunately, I think that within the Asian American community, a lot of times, people are more focused on maintaining distinctions between ethnic sub-communities, as opposed to working together. … I think if you want to fundamentally change perceptions and stereotypes about Asian Americans in this country, you have to go where people are watching. You have to go into the braoder mainstream. That’s ultimately why I went on the reality show. Reality shows are often very cheesy, but the fact is, millions of people watch these shows, and it’s not just Asian Americans, it’s people in the broader community. I do feel that we have to serve the community and work within the community, but also try to change perceptions by targeting the broader mainstream.

William: You were very vocal about your interests in Asian American issues. You are one of the only high profile Asian Americans who have explicitly expressed this type of sentiments publicly, and I’m not talking about when you’re in room with only Asian Americans. Why do you think other APA celebs, who our community regularly honors with awards, and promotes them as sort of community leaders, shy away from this type of rhetoric, especially at times when our community is looking to them to represent us?

Yul Kwon: Yeah, you know, that’s something I’ve noticed as well. I’ve now worked in politics, media/entertainment, and business, and I’ve encountered the same phenomenon across all three fields. For a lot of Asian Americans, they ultimately want to get in the main stream, and acheive mainstream success. But a lot of them, once they cross over, are definitely afraid of being pigeon holed as an Asian American actor, or an Asian American politician, or an Asian American businessman, so once they cross over, they often distance themselves or divorce themselves from the community. They don’t want to be publicly associated or identified with it. … Personally I feel that that’s a mistake. I think that’s a tragedy. I think that none of us get that level of success on our own. You have to get the support of the community behind you. And once you cross over, you have an obligation to try to create opportunities for other people coming after you and try to use your position to actually try to speak up on behalf of the community. It’s something that I’ve seen not just in media and entertainment, but you see it in politics and in business. And I feel that ultimately that’s something we need to change.

William: So, are you saying that these APA celebs, once they make it big, when certain things come up like the Rosie O’Donnell “ching chong” slur– if they would have said something in support of the community about that, then they would get fewer roles? They would get fewer contracts? Or something like that?

Yul Kwon: I think that’s certainly possible. If you’re an actor, for example, your manager may be telling you you don’t want to step into this controversy– you don’t want to be known as just an Asian American figurehead. Because if you do you’ll only be considered for those types of roles. I do think there is a fear, by a lot of people who acheive that mainstream recognition, from being too closely tied to the community. I’m fortunate enough to be one of the few Asian Americans who has gotten cross-over appeal, … but I’ve made my choice, and I’ve thought about it. How many people are in this position that I’m in right now? If I didn’t do something that I felt was constructive to serve the interests of the community, I’d be disappointed in myself.

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Albert: Yul, can you elaborate on your approach toward your goal of presenting a positive image of the Asian American man?

Yul Kwon: I feel like whenever you see an Asian American male in national media, whether it’s on news or television, typically they conform to these stereotypes that are depicted in a very negative kind of way. I just wanted to show a different side, or demonstrate that you can be an Asian American male, and not be socially backward or maladjusted or not integrated into the larger mainstream.

Albert: We have a lot of role models out there. You’re one of them. But they’re very few and far between. They’re more exceptions rather than the rule. If you could guess how many years is it going to take before there’s some big shift in these pre-conceptions about us and the images we see out there?

Yul Kwon: You know, I’m hoping it’s not going to be that long. In terms of media and entertainment, I think we only need one major break out star to demonstrate the … viability of casting Asian Americans in leading roles. Once that happens, I think others will follow. The same thing [applies to] … politics. Once we have … someone that can really be recognized as a leader on behalf of the community. Ultimately if we have a viable Asian American presidential candidate, I think we’ve really arrived. I’m hoping that it’s not too far off into the future. I do beleive we’ll get there, it’s just a matter of time. The question is: what can we do now to accelerate that process?

Albert: Who were your role models growing up? Who are they now?

Yul Kwon: I’ve been asked that question before and I’ve really struggled in answering it because I couldn’t really think of who my role models were. What I realized is that when I was growing up, I didn’t see a lot of people that I could identify with in the media. So, I … resorted to fantasy. I read a lot of books when I was a kid. I read a lot of fiction… a lot of fantasy novels. When I was a kid I read a lot of Lloyd Alexander, Terry Brooks, Susan Cooper, and really identified with the fictional characters in those novels.

George: You were chosen as one of People Magazine’s sexiest men of the year. What was your reaction when you heard that?

Yul Kwon: I’m happy to see more Asian American men in [the People Magazine’s sexiest men of the year] issue. For a long time we’ve really … haven’t been thought of as sexual beings or romantic leads, and the fact that there are more Asian Americans in that issue is great news.

George: Masi Oka is playing kind of a nerdy role on the show “Heros,” and he’s making it seem kind of cool by being nerdy. On the current season of survivor, Yao Man was the favorite to win, but he lost… some people say it’s because he didn’t have ripped muscles like you. Now, how important do you think it is for people to be a role model to conform to the “western way” in order to be seen as a role model…

Albert: …appearance wise.

Yul Kwon: At first blush [Masi Oka] seems to be the quinitssential Asian nerd. A geeky figure. … Some people think that he … cements that image of Asian American men not being sexual beings. That would appear to be a negative. Another way of looking at it is that he’s been incredibly popular. He’s been on a show that has an evolution to his personality and there’s a story arch so that you’re actually seeing more depth to his character, so that goes away from presenting him as a one dimensional character to a more three dimensional one, which is good. The other thing is, in terms of changeing stereotypes about Asian Americans– changing the way they’re viewed– there are two approaches. One is to accept the western model of what constitutes a man, to accept that standard, and demonstrate that Asian American men can meet that standard. I’ve fallen more in that approach– by just demonstrating that you can be assertive and athletic. … The other way to do it is to change fundamentally the definition of what is cool– to change the standard of what constitutes a man.That’s what Masi Oka’s doing. He’s making that nerdy image… cool. He’s redefining what cool means. That’s another positive development. … When people look at Masi Oka or Yau Man, instead of just writing them off, you might think, “Hey, wait a second… these people might be wonderful personalities or role models…”

Albert: Your mission sounds like a tall order. It sounds like it’s going to take more than just one man. Who else would you like to work with?

Yul Kwon: I’ve been trying to create as broad of a network as I can. In politics I’ve been working with a lot of the APA leaders — Mike Honda.Norm Minetta, [NYC Council Member] John Liu, … In terms of media, I’ve been talking to Daniel Dae Kim, Justin Lin, Rodger Fan… basically trying to build these linkages across different sectors… in business… I used to work at McKinsey, I used to work at google. So I still have close ties on the professional community. What I’m really hoping to do is create a web of relationships amongst people from differnt sectors. I feel … within our community, people focus on their own spheres of interest, and they don’t think more broad mindedly about supporting efforts going on in other areas. I think that’s something that we need to change, and I think I can play a role in that.

Albert: You have said before that you didn’t have people who looked like you that you could look up to. For me, and many other Asian Americans, you have become that person. Thank you for that.

Yul Kwon: Thank you. I appreciate that sentiment. I feel … a sense of responsibility because I feel like too many people who have that spotlight haven’t used it for doing something positive.

George: In my opinion, you could possibly be one of the best things that could ever happen to Asian Americans.

Albert: I think your victory is going to go down in history. I think it’s going to be .. a watershed victory in Asian American history, and I’m not even exaggerating when I say that. When I was watching “Cook Islands,” I was wondering, “Where have I seen this before?” and it came to me, you could be Jack on “Lost.” You could have been that guy! You could have cleaned house.

Yul Kwon: [laughs] … If I’ve helped any way in changing stereotypes, or advanced the interests of the community, then I feel … very honored. Thank you so much. That does mean a lot to me.

Albert: We’re lucky to have you.

(**This is an excerpt from the 6/3/07 FALLOUT CENTRAL Interview with Yul Kwon. Click here to listen to the full interview.)

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