_Exceptional Woman: Meet Kate Song

With over 18 years of experience in commercial real estate, Kate Song joined Knight Frank Korea 10 years ago. Reflecting on her career, Kate thinks that what makes the difference is that the firm gives the tools to their employees to respond to challenges and support everyone’s development regardless of their level or their specialities.

The editorial team has spent some time with Kate to better understand her motivations and why she has been nominated Exceptional Woman of the Year!

How do you ensure you bring your best every day?

Kate Song: My daily routine starts very early in the morning with exercise and meditation. This is the time when I am the most energetic and full of ideas. It also gives me the confidence to do anything with a sense of accomplishment, and meditation helps me start the day with focus and make the most of my day. 

How do you contribute to a more inclusive environment in the workplace?

KS: Working with millennials (by the way, I'm Generation X), I support their creative thinking and initiatives, and it is refreshing to see that I am learning a lot from them. I believe that embracing the experiences and perspectives of other generations in the workplace helps us widen our horizons and see things from a different angle.

Can you give us an example of long-term decisions that contributed to a Client’s success?

KS: Since the beginning of the pandemic, securing tenants three or four years ahead for new developments has been quite challenging. This has been the case for one of our ongoing mix-used development projects. However, by approaching our mandate differently and introducing new concepts such as co-planning, co-service providing, and co-operating with new platforms and categories, we have been able to engage with many brands and get their buy-in. The project has moved forward with some of the leading end-users and has proven to be very successful. The developer, our client, has been supporting this initiative all along and we are already discussing our next assignment.

Relating to this year’s Women International day theme #BreakTheBias, how do you think you could contribute to breaking the bias?

KS: As mentioned previously, the pandemic has changed many things, and it is essential for us to be more agile and respond to new needs. Our team likes to approach projects differently, think outside the existing framework and we have been very successful. I will keep challenging myself to break the bias by being flexible and embracing changes while I continue to seek new opportunities.