ϟOY

SOY KIM is a bridge builder. Bicultural and bilingual, Soy has launched first-in-market collaborations between the U.S. and Korea from both sides of the globe. As a marketing executive, Soy has developed record-breaking, GRAMMY-winning campaigns for artists including BTS, Chloe x Halle, John Legend, and Baby Keem. Today, she heads music and podcast content strategy for North America at YouTube.

Previously, she worked at Spotify as a PMM across content discovery, audience development products, and artist education. For 3 years, Soy also led global programming and partnerships to drive Asian & Pacific Islander (API) inclusion and community for Spotify’s API ERG of 600+ employees. Her experience also spans D2C / B2B marketing, content distribution, and international business strategy in music and film at Columbia Records in NYC and CJ ENM in Seoul. She was honored in the 2021 Alt Power 100 Music List.

Soy believes in paying it forward. She serves as a mentor for national non-profit Asian American Collective and the Recording Academy’s GRAMMYU program. Soy has been invited to speak at NYU Stern, USC School of Annenberg, Drexel U, and as a keynote speaker, panelist, or moderator to conferences including MU:CON, SXSW, Music Biz, NY:LON CONNECT, Country Radio Seminar, and #NEXTGEN_NOW to discuss: global music cultures, tech x entertainment, K-culture / K-pop / Korean diaspora, data platforms in music, DE&I thought leadership, and more. She has received academic grants to conduct ethnographic research on Korean society and is a published thought leader on Asian Pacific content and culture.

Outside of work, Soy is a former semi-pro cellist turned dedicated sports super fan (EPL, F1, World Cup, Olympics, UEFA, NBA). She believes in the power of sports to enact societal change and serves on the non-profit board for Street Soccer USA, a national non-profit dedicated to eradicating youth poverty through soccer. Soy enjoys traveling, exploring art galleries, spinning live DJ sets, and learning new languages. She holds an MBA from Yale and a BA from Harvard.

In our saturated digital landscape, stories are shared every second. And in this landscape, we must question: what is the purpose of the increasingly ephemeral stories we share, if not to expand our collective consciousness? Connecting disparate communities, building experiences that bring delight, and championing lesser heard voices remain urgent life priorities.

ϟOY•JOURN: Soy + sojourn = I am journey-ing.

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