It’s been two years since The Weekly last visited with Dami Im and her family. And it’s safe to say that while some things have changed, others have remained very much the same.
Let’s start first with the changes. Today we are meeting at Dami and husband Noah’s brand-new home, a light-filled duplex with views across to the Brisbane River and plenty of room for the family of three to enjoy and entertain in. It also has a garden, something that Dami particularly relishes — even breaking out her hedge clippers and lawnmower during a break in our photo shoot.
Another change is baby Harrison, or Harry as he’s nicknamed. Harry was barely three months old when we were first introduced. Now he’s a two-and-a-bit-year-old toddler who is charging around the garden, tearing about in his motorised car, pushing his toy trucks, jumping on the trampoline or banging away happily on a tambourine.
“He’s a happy kid, he loves music, he laughs so much, and he smiles a lot,” Dami says with pride. “He’s sensitive by nature, as I am, but he’s a very cheerful person.”
Also different this time is Dami’s energy. As a brand-new mum, two years ago she was doing double duty — breast pumping as we sat down for our interview, her exhaustion masked by make-up and a bright smile. Harry was nearing his 100-day celebration — Baek-il — a significant milestone in Korean culture, celebrating a child having made it through those early treacherous months.
Back then, she was keen to appear like she could do it all unfazed. But Dami admits today that she was truly white-knuckling through those early days.
“I was so fresh out of having given birth,” she laughs at her naivety of thinking she could carry on as she had before Harry. “It feels like a lifetime ago.
“I’d gone from living an independent life, doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, to suddenly, this little being needs me 24/7. That was such a shock.
“But we’ve gone through that period. Now he’s slightly more independent and he’s very responsive. He’s learning and picking up new words every day. Having that feedback coming back to us makes everything so much more fun. I’m really enjoying this age.”
It’s not the only new thing she’s enjoying, either. Becoming a mother has finally allowed her to be less tough on herself and to let go of some of her inherent perfectionism. And that’s not just when it comes to her work.
“I’m less worried about my appearance; about outward things,” she says, surprising us with the thought she ever had concern about that in the first place.
“I always used to be, ‘Oh, why are my eyes uneven.’ I’d get really annoyed and try to correct it. But when my son was born, I’m like, ‘Oh, his eyes are uneven. That’s just how we are made. That’s us naturally.’ And I found it beautiful that he had uneven eyes. It wasn’t a problem, it was more like, ‘He’s perfect’. It’s made me realise that I’m perfect how I am, which I know sounds corny.
“I was really shy as a kid and I guess I still am afraid or suspicious of new things. I’m cautious. I can see that in him. He’s a bit more cautious than other kids. And I think that’s his nature. His DNA. So I can give myself a little more grace when I’m scared of new environments. The same grace I would give my son if he’s scared of something new.”
Not that he’s all Dami, of course.
“Noah is the sporty one and Harry’s definitely super active,” she says of father and son. “Harry climbs everything he can and he jumps on the trampoline for half an hour non-stop. He’s super coordinated which I’m very proud of because I don’t have that. I hope he gets the mechanical reasoning like Noah too.”
And now for a few of the things that have stayed the same.
Evident in the house is an enormous amount of love. Noah clearly adores his wife and Dami her husband. They laugh together while twirling for our cameras, little Harry basking in their displays of affection.
A psychologist with his own clinic, Noah is very much a hands-on dad, juggling his work hours with Dami’s necessary travel schedule so that they can both pursue their dreams while Harry remains the top priority.
“I was in Korea recently for a whole week,” Dami says of a recent example of their modern family approach. “Noah did everything — bedtime routines, the meals, taking Harry to daycare, to swimming lessons, to the park, being so present. Traditionally that’s a woman’s job, right? And I always feared that I would get stuck having to do everything. And Noah’s really shown me that no, Harry is our child. It’s both of us. Sometimes he does more than me and sometimes it’s vice versa.”
Last time we caught up, Dami had confided that the thought of marrying Noah — who she tied the knot with in 2012 after a six-year relationship — had made her frightened of “being put into a box”. She worried people would treat her differently, that she wouldn’t be taken seriously in life or in her career. That she’d need to stop working as much and dial down her ambition.
Becoming a mum, she says now, gave her those same thoughts. She felt she’d be infantilised and stereotyped. Forced into the “mum corner” and unable to dress, act or behave in certain ways. People would ask her if she was still singing, and it made her blood boil.
“And I think I internalised that [idea] now that I’m a mum maybe I’m meant to slow down and not do as much,” she says. “But men don’t do that.
“When I was young, a teenager, I had a timeline that I drew for my future. And when I reached 27, it kind of ended with “have a child”. That was the end. That’s what I thought had to happen and I was confused because I was like, ‘What do I do with the rest of my life?’
“Now I’m 35 with a child I have realised, oh no, life goes on. And you get better and better at what you do. But that’s almost a new concept to me.”
Before we move on, there’s one more thing that has stayed the same since we last caught up: It’s the resident grand piano which Dami has treasured since her parents gifted it to her as a 13-year-old. She’d been a finalist in a national Yamaha piano competition, representing Queensland, and they dug deep to help keep her dream of becoming a professional pianist alive.
“After that, my parents were like, ‘she’s serious about this, maybe she needs a grand piano’,” she says of the moment. “That’s when they invested big money to get me this one. It’s travelled as we’ve moved.”
In this new home, it’s currently sitting in the garage.
“It’s a bit sad, but it’s temporary,” she laughs of seeing her prized possession surrounded by power tools. “When we renovate, it will sit somewhere nicer. I thought about selling it because, you know, it’s really hard to lug around and it’s really expensive. But I couldn’t. It’s so precious to me and I want it to be a family heirloom.”
Certainly, Harry seems to be taken with it. Mother and son sit down together to play around at the keys, although she’s keen to stress that proper lessons won’t start until he’s a little older.
“At the moment he thinks it’s fun but if there’s a teacher involved it might just scare him away. And I don’t want that.”
For now, he’s her willing vocal accompaniment as she prepares for her upcoming Christmas Songbook Tour. Kicking off in December, it’s the perfect time to launch her latest single — a version of Silent Night — whilst also peppering in her other favourite seasonal classics, which she released as an album last year.
“We’ve been playing my Christmas album for the last few months, to be honest,” Dami says as she and Harry wrap up a rousing rendition of The Little Drummer Boy. “I’m almost getting sick of it! But Harry wants to listen to it and he sings along which is so cute.”
Keep up this love of Christmas songs and she could well become Australia’s answer to Mariah Carey, we tell her. Dami blushes and laughs, the idea clearly delighting her. “I don’t know if anyone has ever
said that to me,” she rebuts, “but that’s the dream.”
Christmas, says Dami, has long been a special time of year for her, ever since arriving on Australian shores at the age of nine. In Korea, where she was born and initially raised, Christmas is something generally only celebrated by Christians. It’s wintertime, often snowing and the holiday hadn’t been part of her life when she was a young girl. Moving to Australia changed all of that.
She loved the huge outdoor summer carols, and going swimming on Christmas Day. The feasting and festive spirit that surrounded the holiday. The gathering of the whole family and the joy that it all sparked. “It’s such a celebration,” she says, eyes shining.
Harry’s now at an age where he’s going to be far more cognisant of the meaning of the holiday. Getting to watch him help dress the tree and wake to unwrap his presents and delve into his Christmas stocking is something Dami and Noah are eagerly looking forward to.
This year, her new house will be the place where she gathers her little family as well as her parents, and her brother and his own son, who is three months Harry’s junior.
“To watch a new generation getting to enjoy it brings back all those fuzzy feelings and memories,” Dami says with a smile. “It will be so nice.”
For information and tickets for the Christmas Songbook Tour head to the website.
This feature was originally published in the December 2024 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly Magazine. Pick up the latest issue from your local newsagents or subscribe now.
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