One of those first-time returnees is Yul Kwon. Kwon was Survivor's first Asian-American winner, and he quickly won over fans with his easygoing nature and smart strategic plays. In honor of his return to the show, we decided to take a look back at Kwon's win.

How did Yul Kwon win Survivor: Cook Islands?

Survivor: Cook Islands has the unfortunate distinction of having one of the worst themes the show has ever seen, as the season divided the castaways into tribes based on their race. And while the contestants didn't know about the race breakdown until after they started filming, Kwon was able to figure out the season's theme shortly after he stepped onto the beach.

In 2012, Kwon told Entertainment Weekly that he hadn't been happy with the theme: "Im happy I won Cook Islands, but I cant say I had a lot of fun that season," he explained. "The racial theme made me feel like I was under a microscope."

Kwon moved through the game with strategy and a tight alliance, and he never even had to use the immunity idol that he found on Day 5. Kwon's alliance included Ozzy Lusth, and since he was so good at challenges, less attention was paid to Kwon.

"In terms of deflecting attention from me in the game, Ozzy was my best hedge. It didnt make any sense for me to win challenges because I had the immunity idol, and it would just paint a bigger target on my back," Yul explained to The East Bay Times .

Kwon ended up at the Final Three (the first Final Three in the series' history) with Lusth and Becky Lee, and he won in a 5-4-0 vote. The jury credited him for his smart strategical plays and strong social bonds with the other players.

Where is Yul Kwon now?

After winning Survivor, Kwon told Xfinity that he began working with a number of non-profits. "One thing I was very active in and have been for most of my lifemy best friend, my roommate died from leukemia because he couldnt find a bone marrow donor," Kwon revealed. "Ive been active in raising awareness for the need for more minority bone marrow donors."

Kwon's impressive resume also includes some time on President Barack Obama's campaign, a stint hosting as PBS series called America Revealed, and a return to the tech world, where he first worked with Facebook, and then Google.

Why did Yul Kwon agree to join the cast of Survivor?

Kwon says that he was recruited for Cook Islands, but he wanted to join because he "saw it as a real opportunity. Asians are an under-represented minority in TV and when we are on TV, its usually as a stereotype or a caricature."

And while he wasn't a fan of the season's tribe-by-race breakdown, he told ET Canada that he wanted to represent and show young Asian kids that they also can be in leadership roles on reality TV.

As for Winners at War, Kwon said that he's looking forward to playing with a little less self-restraint, and it's his wife that pushed him to return. Kwon also told Mercury News that he's still close with Cook Island's Jonathan Penner, and he wanted to help raise awareness for Penner's wife Stacy Title , who is battling ALS.

Most recently, Kwon talked to Entertainment Weekly about how he feels about coming back 13 years after his first season:

"Coming in, Im already at a disadvantage. There are probably connections that have already been made pre-alliance, or pre-game, to form these alliances. So, its a very good chance that there might be literally nothing I could do. Im just not in one of these alliances. That said, if I make it past that initial phase that I think is high-risk for me, I think I have a really good chance at going far. Because what will happen is Im generally seen as a free agent who played a clean game...So, I think what I can do is hopefully get recruited into one of these other alliances, as a loyal foot soldier, ride the people who are the leaders of those alliances, like the Boston Robs, or the Sandras, or the Parvatis. So that they act as a shield for me, and in the meantime I can play my own game and come out ahead."