Yul Kwon, host of Link TV's LinkAsia, recently did a Red Chair Interview with CNN, in which he shares some key experiences in his life. Along with his on-air interview, Yul ellaborates further in an eloquently written essay posted on the CNN blogs about his Korean background, explaining how he turned to a career in television to overcome social stereotyping of Asian-Americans in the media and come to terms with his own cultural identity. Both video and essay can be seen here. Below is a moving excerpt from his essay:

"My parents immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1970 with big dreams, but little money. Since they couldn't afford to put my brother and me in daycare or preschool, they encouraged us to watch television as a way to learn English. Every morning, my brother and I watched "Sesame Street" on PBS, which taught us how to count and recite the alphabet. Not only did our TV become another caregiver, it became the primary medium through which I learned about the world. It allowed me to see and experience things I'd never seen before.  It helped me imagine a better future for me and my family. I studied hard and eventually made my way to Stanford University and then Yale Law School. For a poor kid like me, television helped provide the inspiration and vision I needed to realize the American dream.

But as much as television was a source of empowerment and inspiration, it was also a powerful source of constraint. Television defined the way I saw myself and my relationships with other people, and I didn't see a lot of people who looked like me. Asian-American characters were few and far between, and for lack of better alternatives, my favorite childhood hero was Big Bird. He wasn't real, of course, but I didn’t care. He was nice, had lots of friends and was yellow -- and hence, clearly, Asian..."

Read the complete blog post on CNN here.

About Yul Kwon

Yul Kwon is the host of Link TV's original Asian news program LinkAsia. Yul has had a diverse career spanning law, business, technology, and media. Although his multifaceted professional experience spans almost two decades, his rise to international acclaim began in 2006, when he became the first Asian American to win the CBS reality show, Survivor.

Prior to his Survivor victory, Yul held positions at both Google and McKinsey & Company. As an attorney, he clerked on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, practiced law at Venture Law Group and Wiltshire & Grannis, worked as a legislative aide in the US Senate, and most recently served as Deputy Chief of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.

(Al Jazeera English: 0405 PT, May 13, 2011) This exclusive report reveals the Bahraini government destroyed Shia mosques and religious institutions as part of its crackdown on dissent.

'The Mosques That Have Been Demolished, Most of Them Are Not Mosques'

(Al Jazeera English: 0609 PT, May 13, 2011) Adel Al-Moawda, deputy Chairman of the Bahraini Parliament, reponds to allegations of attacks on mosques and medical staff by Bahraini authorities.

(Al Jazeera English: 0408 PT, May 12, 2011) Al Jazeera's exclusive report on Bahrain looks at the abuse of medical workers as part of the government's crackdown on dissent.

'Bahrain Has Placed Healthcare at the Center of a System of Oppression'

(Al Jazeera English: 0408 PT, May 12, 2011) AJE interviews Christopher Stokes of Doctors Without Borders on the subject of the abuse of medical workers as part of the government's crackdown on dissent.

(Euronews: 0549 PT, May 9, 2011) The Egyptian Army is demonstrating its promised "iron fist" in Cairo, after two days of deadly clashes between Coptic Christians and Muslims. At least 12 people were killed and more than 200 injured.

Clashes flared between Christians and Muslims in the capital on Saturday and Sunday. Stones were thrown and there were reports of gunfire and bullet wounds; 190 people were arrested. The army's aim now is to reassure the people.

Deadly Sectarian Clashes Erupt in Cairo

(Al Jazeera English: 1610 PT, May 8, 2011) Christians marching against the military in the Egyptian capital and calling for more rights have come under attack. While some blamed hardline Muslims, others said the attack is symptomatic of rampant lawlessness in the country following the revolution that overthrew long-time leader, Hosni Mubarak. Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Cairo.

Rising Sectarian Tension in Cairo

(Democracy Now! 0752 PT, May 9, 2011) Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous reports from Cairo, where 12 people died and more than 180 were wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo over the weekend.

"This was a major attack," says Kouddous. "What many people, many Coptic people in particular, do not understand is why the military, who was present at the scene while the violence was happening stood by while the worst of it took place and did not intervene."

(Al Jazeera English: 1248 PT, May 6, 2011) The once massive pro-democracy protests in Bahrain has been reduced to small clashes between youth and police in predominantly Shia areas. Security forces have allegedly launched a brutal crackdown on protesters with beatings and sweeping arrests. Nearly 1,000 demonstrators have been imprisoned, among them doctors, artists and lawyers.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, says severe torture is being used against prisoners, and he is calling on the Bahraini government to stop intimidating and harassing human rights defenders and political activists. May Welsh reports.

(Al Jazeera English: 0101 PST, April 19, 2011) The Syrian government has approved a measure to remove the country's decades-old state of emergency, and is reportedly passing a new law that will allow "peaceful" protests.

The move comes after Syrian security forces in Homs used live ammunition against demonstrators staging a sit-in, and the country's interior minister told citizens to stay off the streets.

(Al Jazeera English: 0714 PST, March 30, 2011) President Bashar al-Assad has defied expectations on Wednesday that he would lift Syria's decades-old emergency law after nearly two weeks of protests that have presented the gravest challenge to his 11-year rule.

Addressing the nation for the first time since the start of the unprecedented wave of protests, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world, Assad said he supported reform but offered no new commitment to change Syria's one-party political system. Al Jazeera's correspondents have more on this developing story.

(Mosaic Video Alert: March 28, 2011) NBN reports on a new crime committed by Muammar Gaddafi and his regime: the rape of Iman al-Obeidi. The victim is a "lawyer who embodies the model Libyan woman, but bothered the regime for being a free woman.” Iman was detained and raped by 15 of Gaddafi's mercenaries. The regime first accused al-Obeidi of being drunk and mentally ill, then offered to bribe the rape victim in exchange for her silence, a request that was rejected. Benghazi residents held a solidarity rally with Iman and online activists rallied behind her with a Facebook page entitled "We are all Iman al-Obeidi."

BBC Arabic reports tonight that the Syrian authority has announced its decision to lift the state of emergency that has been in place in the country since 1963, amidst increased security at protests. However, in the announcement, spokeswoman Bouthaina Shaaban did not mention when the decision would be implemented. Thus, the Syrian people see this as yet another empty promise made by their government. In addition to restricting people’s basic rights, the emergency law allows authorities to arrest anyone seen as a threat to public security, detain people without a trial, to monitor phone calls, letters, and the media.

Al Iraqiya reports from Baghdad's Tahrir Square on the hundreds of protestors who took part in a peaceful rally today, calling for authorities to enhance charges against arrested terror suspects. They also called for the release of prisoners who haven’t received a trial. In the report, al Iraqiya states that the Iraqi protest seemed to be taking a different approach, calling for unity and denouncing a Baathist campaign that seeks to fuel sectarian division among Iraqis.

Al-Jazeera reports that at least 110 people were killed in explosions at an arms factory in Abyan province, Yemen. Medical sources say that the death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are recovered from the factory. A group of armed men seized control of the factory yesterday and looted its contents after the Yemeni army withdrew. The gunmen are now patrolling the streets of the city in armored military vehicles, armed with automatic weapons seized from the factory.

NBN reports on a new crime committed by Muammar Gaddafi and his regime: the rape of Iman al-Obeidi, “a lawyer who embodies the model Libyan woman, but who bothered the regime by being a free woman.” Iman was detained and raped by 15 of Gaddafi's mercenaries. The spokesman for Gaddafi's regime, Moussa Ibrahim, accused al-Obeidi of being drunk and mentally ill. The regime also called al-Obeidi's parents to ask that their daughter change her statement in exchange for financial compensation. Their request was denied. Meanwhile, activists on Facebook created a page in solidarity with Iman, entitled "We are all Iman al-Obeidi."

Al-Alalm also reports from Libya, where revolutionaries say they are engaged in battles with Gaddafi's battalions in the outskirts of Nawfaliyah, 120 kilometers east of Gaddafi’s tribal and military base in Sirte city. Gaddafi’s forces in Sirte are in a state of high alert, expecting attacks from revolutionaries in the near future. Meanwhile, coalition forces have launched a number of strikes on Gaddafi’s military bases in the city. Libyan state TV reports that Gaddafi’s regime has not killed any civilians, despite this ongoing violence.

(Al Jazeera English: 0000 PST, March 18, 2011) Bahrain's largest opposition group has urged Saudi Arabia to withdraw its forces and called for a UN inquiry into the the government's on-going crackdown. Clashes between security forces and anti goverment protesters continue, spilling into villages across the country. Our special correspondent, whom we are not naming for security reasons, filed this report