Lee Da-hye

30-second overview: In 2023, she made her first official appearance at a Taiwan ballpark; in 2024, she transferred to the Wei Chuan Dragons; in 2026, she continued as captain of the Dragon Beauties. Lee Da-hye is not merely a highly popular Korean cheerleading import. She is more like a signal of an era: Korean cheerleaders in Taiwan have moved from "coming for a short stint" to "being able to stay."

In the spring of 2023, a new sound began appearing in the stands at ballparks in Taipei and Taoyuan: some people entered for the game, while others came to see Lee Da-hye. This was the first time Taiwan's professional baseball scene pushed the idea of a "Korean cheerleading import" into the center of public conversation.

Lee Da-hye already had a full record of cheerleading experience in South Korea. After coming to Taiwan, she first joined the Rakuten Girls, then transferred the following year to the Wei Chuan Dragons' Dragon Beauties. On the surface, the two moves looked like simple team changes. In practice, they pushed her from an "external focal point" into a long-term figure within the league.

From Korean Professional Baseball Experience to the Taiwan Stage

In her earlier years, Lee Da-hye accumulated extensive live performance experience in South Korea's professional sports cheerleading scene, including baseball and other professional competitions. This high-intensity training, with its emphasis on rhythm and interaction, allowed her to connect with home-field tempo in her first year in Taiwan.

After she joined the Rakuten Girls in 2023, her social media visibility and ballpark discussion both rose. High-density commercial collaborations also began appearing outside the stadium. For fans, she represented stage presence; for the team, she represented verifiable box-office draw and content momentum.

📝 Curator's Note
What was truly replicated from Lee Da-hye's rise in Taiwan was not her dance moves, but the professional density with which she made "every appearance feel like a formal performance."

Transfer and Positioning Upgrade: From Member to Captain

In 2024, Lee Da-hye transferred to the Wei Chuan Dragons' Dragon Beauties. This was not simply a team change, but an upgrade in role: within the new system, she was placed in a more prominent visual and content position, taking part in shaping the team's image and performance tone.

By 2026, when the Dragon Beauties announced their roster for the new season, Lee Da-hye was confirmed to remain and continue as captain. This meant that her position in Taiwan's professional baseball had shifted from "highly popular foreign reinforcement" to "core figure who can be developed over the long term."

At the same time, Taiwanese fans' expectations of her also shifted: from the initial "which song do we want to see her dance to?" to "what kind of team will she lead this year?"

2026: Korean Professional Baseball Exchange Schedule and Team Visuals

At the press conference opening the 2026 season, the Wei Chuan Dragons announced a strategic partnership with South Korea's LG TWINS of the Korea Baseball Organization. According to the digital edition of United Daily News / udn.com, the Dragon Beauties introduced a new qipao-style uniform designed by Lee Da-hye; representatives of the LG TWINS cheerleading squad also shared exchange plans at the press conference and previewed Wei Chuan Dragons and LG Twins cheerleading exchange theme days to be held at the Taipei Dome on May 26 and 27. [Source: United Daily News / udn.com]¹

Influence of Her Development in Taiwan

Lee Da-hye's influence has at least three layers. The first is performance: she raised public expectations for the degree of completion on cheerleading stages. The second is industrial: she encouraged more teams to invest in cross-border cheerleading talent. The third is cultural: she allowed the Korean Wave not only to remain at concerts, but to enter the everyday game-viewing scenes of Taiwan's professional baseball.

Her high exposure also turned "Korean cheerleaders developing in Taiwan" from a one-off event into a long-term phenomenon that can be tracked. Afterward, fans discussed not only individual candidates, but also the broader ecology of Korean cheerleading imports, schedule arrangements, degree of localization, and language interaction.

Challenges and Controversies: The Cost of High Visibility

High visibility also brings high pressure. When one person simultaneously bears ballpark performance, commercial collaborations, and social media attention, any scheduling, statement, or personal condition may be magnified for scrutiny. This condition of "being continuously watched" is a structural challenge commonly faced by Korean cheerleading imports in Taiwan.

Another common controversy is whether "traffic displaces local members." There is no single answer to this question, but it reminds us that competition in cheerleading culture is not only at center stage. It also lies in institutional design and resource allocation.

Her Place in Taiwan's Popular Culture

If the cheerleading culture of Taiwan's professional baseball after 2023 were drawn as a timeline, Lee Da-hye would be one of the most obvious upward points on that curve. She turned "Korean cheerleading imports" from an add-on topic into part of fans' everyday vocabulary.

Her story also reflects a new phenomenon in Taiwan's popular culture: cross-border content is no longer merely imported, but is rearranged by local competitions, local audiences, and local communities, then grows into a new local version.

This is why Lee Da-hye deserves to be placed within Taiwan.md's context of pop culture figures. She is not only an answer to "who is popular," but an index of "how Taiwan's entertainment scene is changing."

References / Sources

Other verifiable sources:

• Wikipedia (person overview): https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%8E%E5%A4%9A%E6%85%A7_(%E5%95%A6%E5%95%A6%E9%9A%8A)
• TVBS News (person / competition-related compilation): https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/3126261
• China Times News (breaking news): https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20260403001614-260404