In our second Inquiry Log interview, we sit down with Song Min-jun from ONDA Management. Before managing properties for others, Song ran his own accommodation business for years. What operational secrets did he pick up along the way? Let's find out.
Hello. This is ONDA, leading the digital transformation of Korea's hospitality ecosystem.
Our second Inquiry Log interview features Song Min-jun from ONDA Management.
Before managing properties for other owners, Song ran his own accommodations — and built a playbook over years of hands-on operation.
What did he learn? Let's dive in.
What does ONDA Management do? And what's your role there?
Hi, I'm Song Min-jun.
I'm currently CEO of Wassong Co., Ltd., a property management company operating in Gangwon Province, and I lead the development division at ONDA Management.
ONDA Management handles property management, real estate development, and more — staffed by some of the best hotel operations professionals in Korea.
We heard you ran a pension before getting into property management. How did that start?
It was 2012. Korea's economy was struggling, and my father's construction business was falling apart. His last project was a pension construction site in Sokcho.
But the client went bankrupt mid-build. The property went to auction, and my father had to bid on it just to recover something.
I'd studied music in college and was planning to study abroad. Instead, I ended up starting a hospitality business with my dad.
So how did you get into property management?
Before 2017, Korea didn't have enough accommodations — especially in places like Sokcho.
On New Year's Eve, we'd have guests fighting over our rooftop room. It didn't even have a bathroom.
That's when things shifted. People with disposable income who loved Gangwon Province would visit, experience the shortage firsthand, and start looking for second homes. Sokcho didn't have many real estate agents back then, so they'd come to me — a young guy actually running a pension — for advice.
At first, I helped people buy properties. Then they started asking me to manage them. That's how I got into property management full-time.
When you were running your own place, did you develop any particular operating principles?
When you run a property, facility issues pop up every single day. If you don't fix them immediately, you get complaints. And complaints mean lost revenue.
In hospitality, vacancy equals loss. The ability to solve problems on the spot isn't optional — it's essential.
You probably understand pension owners' pain points better than anyone. What's the hardest part of running a pension?
First: staffing.
Unless you're tiny, you need at least one or two employees. But room rates keep dropping while costs keep rising. It's hard to afford labor.
And in rural areas? Even if you pay well, there's just no one to hire.
Second: marketing.
It used to be that hustle, good service, and smart positioning could get you somewhere. But now? Capital wins. Build a stunning property, buy ads, climb the OTA rankings, even buy reviews. That's the reality.
Song Min-jun's interview continues in Part 2!