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Doah's Daydream dreams big
"First K-pop song to come out of San Diego, I think.”
She started out busking on the streets in OB; now Doah Lee now fronts the genre-breaking island grunge band Doah’s Daydream. Born in Seoul, raised in Hawaii, and now rooted in San Diego, she moved with her family to the Hawaiian island of Oahu when she was nine. “When I was in Korea growing up, I sang a lot when I was little, and then we moved to Hawaii, which was a hard life because it was hard to adjust to the language and culture. My parents were highly educated folks in Korea. When they moved to America, because of not being able to speak the language and living in a different country, poverty was kind of how I grew up. When we moved to Hawaii, all the art stopped — a little bit. It’s always been in my heart, though.”
By the time she reached community college, she realized that she "wasn’t into school. I was kind of forced to go by my parents. I kept failing classes. I was taking classes that I didn’t enjoy, like biology.” But at least school offered the opportunity for music classes: piano, guitar, choir, and musical theater. After minoring in music at the University of Hawaii, Lee saved up her money and moved to San Diego with little more than her surfboard and a suitcase full of clothes.
Her latest K-pop-infused single “Girls Girl” is inspired by a recent trip to Korea, with an accompanying video that flows with feminine solidarity. In tapping into her Korean roots and writing a K-pop-influenced pop song, she decided to break the standard mold. “The girls or K-pop idols all have the same look, very skinny and tall. I made a song, ‘Girls Girl;’ I wanted to celebrate my newfound appreciation for women, sisterhood, and friendship.” Ever critical of the rigid beauty standards often portrayed by mainstream K-pop, her video for the track features women of different sizes and appearances and styles. “[It was] my first time singing in Korean, not for the whole song but for a part of it. I was nervous, but I was so happy and had so much fun doing it. First K-pop song to come out of San Diego, I think.”
Video:
Doah's Daydream: "Girl's Girl"
She’s now on a quest to leave her IT Salesperson corporate job and follow her dreams. “Music and food are my life. I never thought food could be a thing, until recent years. I’ve always been that one person in my friend’s group that’s always cooking. You’ve got football and parties. Everybody wants to come over to eat your food! It’s been like that ever since I was in college. My friends were telling me I need to open my own restaurant. I’m like, 'Yeah, whatever.' It’s such hard work, and there’s lots of hours and preparation. I don’t know where to even start. But, yeah, I’m in the process of launching Bomb Bibimbap,” a pop-up shop named after a traditional Korean dish. She spices it up with her special sauces. “I had so many ideas. I like cooking Hawaiian-influenced type of food, but that’s already been done.”
But maybe Korean-influenced? “Their food was so fresh, healthy, and incredibly delicious. When I came back from the trip, I didn’t crave to eat anything else for two weeks. Burger, pizza, and tacos, nah. Even though I love all those foods. I was missing Korean food so bad. That’s when it clicked. I need to introduce healthy food that’s good for your soul and your body to the San Diego market. Where you can get it fresh and fast. We had our first pop-up, and people loved it.” She’s waiting to get all her permits finalized so she can apply for both farmers markets and music festivals. “I want to find a way to marry music and food together. Sometimes I think about going on tour and bringing a food truck with us. Gotta dream big sometimes.”
Having won Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song for their track “Ready To Love” at the 2025 San Diego Music Awards, Doah’s Daydream is returning to the Mission Bayfest on October 19. They plan on playing two new songs for the show. “Soul Sickness” is her ode to dealing with and fighting depression. “I was always a happy-go-lucky, outgoing, loud, and social butterfly type person. I think in the last few years, I’ve struggled with depression. I didn’t realize until recently that I was clinically depressed. I tried to ignore it, but it progressively got worse. I went and got help and am in therapy. Now, we’re working on tightening that song up. We’ve been playing it live a little bit since it came out. ‘Girls Girl’ is our newest song that we’re going to perform. It’s going to be our first time performing it live ever. We have an amazing dance team here in San Diego, led by Justine Wang, who choreographed it: the Sweet Dreams Dance Team."
Here's something you might be interested in.
Doah's Daydream dreams big
"First K-pop song to come out of San Diego, I think.”
Doah's Daydream dreams big
"First K-pop song to come out of San Diego, I think.”
She started out busking on the streets in OB; now Doah Lee now fronts the genre-breaking island grunge band Doah’s Daydream. Born in Seoul, raised in Hawaii, and now rooted in San Diego, she moved with her family to the Hawaiian island of Oahu when she was nine. “When I was in Korea growing up, I sang a lot when I was little, and then we moved to Hawaii, which was a hard life because it was hard to adjust to the language and culture. My parents were highly educated folks in Korea. When they moved to America, because of not being able to speak the language and living in a different country, poverty was kind of how I grew up. When we moved to Hawaii, all the art stopped — a little bit. It’s always been in my heart, though.”
By the time she reached community college, she realized that she "wasn’t into school. I was kind of forced to go by my parents. I kept failing classes. I was taking classes that I didn’t enjoy, like biology.” But at least school offered the opportunity for music classes: piano, guitar, choir, and musical theater. After minoring in music at the University of Hawaii, Lee saved up her money and moved to San Diego with little more than her surfboard and a suitcase full of clothes.
Her latest K-pop-infused single “Girls Girl” is inspired by a recent trip to Korea, with an accompanying video that flows with feminine solidarity. In tapping into her Korean roots and writing a K-pop-influenced pop song, she decided to break the standard mold. “The girls or K-pop idols all have the same look, very skinny and tall. I made a song, ‘Girls Girl;’ I wanted to celebrate my newfound appreciation for women, sisterhood, and friendship.” Ever critical of the rigid beauty standards often portrayed by mainstream K-pop, her video for the track features women of different sizes and appearances and styles. “[It was] my first time singing in Korean, not for the whole song but for a part of it. I was nervous, but I was so happy and had so much fun doing it. First K-pop song to come out of San Diego, I think.”
Video:
Doah's Daydream: "Girl's Girl"
She’s now on a quest to leave her IT Salesperson corporate job and follow her dreams. “Music and food are my life. I never thought food could be a thing, until recent years. I’ve always been that one person in my friend’s group that’s always cooking. You’ve got football and parties. Everybody wants to come over to eat your food! It’s been like that ever since I was in college. My friends were telling me I need to open my own restaurant. I’m like, 'Yeah, whatever.' It’s such hard work, and there’s lots of hours and preparation. I don’t know where to even start. But, yeah, I’m in the process of launching Bomb Bibimbap,” a pop-up shop named after a traditional Korean dish. She spices it up with her special sauces. “I had so many ideas. I like cooking Hawaiian-influenced type of food, but that’s already been done.”
But maybe Korean-influenced? “Their food was so fresh, healthy, and incredibly delicious. When I came back from the trip, I didn’t crave to eat anything else for two weeks. Burger, pizza, and tacos, nah. Even though I love all those foods. I was missing Korean food so bad. That’s when it clicked. I need to introduce healthy food that’s good for your soul and your body to the San Diego market. Where you can get it fresh and fast. We had our first pop-up, and people loved it.” She’s waiting to get all her permits finalized so she can apply for both farmers markets and music festivals. “I want to find a way to marry music and food together. Sometimes I think about going on tour and bringing a food truck with us. Gotta dream big sometimes.”
Having won Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song for their track “Ready To Love” at the 2025 San Diego Music Awards, Doah’s Daydream is returning to the Mission Bayfest on October 19. They plan on playing two new songs for the show. “Soul Sickness” is her ode to dealing with and fighting depression. “I was always a happy-go-lucky, outgoing, loud, and social butterfly type person. I think in the last few years, I’ve struggled with depression. I didn’t realize until recently that I was clinically depressed. I tried to ignore it, but it progressively got worse. I went and got help and am in therapy. Now, we’re working on tightening that song up. We’ve been playing it live a little bit since it came out. ‘Girls Girl’ is our newest song that we’re going to perform. It’s going to be our first time performing it live ever. We have an amazing dance team here in San Diego, led by Justine Wang, who choreographed it: the Sweet Dreams Dance Team."
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