Daewon Song was born on February 19, 1975, in Seoul, South Korea. He later moved to Gardena, California, following a year spent with his grandmother in Hawaii. Growing up, Daewon faced challenges in his neighborhood, where gang activity was prevalent.

At the age of fourteen, during a two-month separation of his parents, Daewon received his first skateboard from his mother.

Song provided insight into his family life at that time in a 2005 interview:

"You know Asian parents, man; they're gnarly. They want you to become some lead pianist in an orchestra, or, like every parent, they want you to become a doctor. I was really into art when I was a young kid, and I won a lot of awards, so my parents thought that's what I'd pursue. Then I got picked up in skateboarding and started getting free stuff. They were tripping, like, "Where are you getting all this free stuff?" They thought I was stealing money from them."

Daewon was first sponsored by a skateboard shop called Sporting Ideas in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. He then went on to be sponsored by several iconic brands throughout his career, including World Industries at the age of sixteen, appearing in numerous video productions for the company, including the classic skate video "Love Child". It is in Love Child that Song documented the first hardflip on film.

Song has spoken about his time with World Industries in numerous interviews, particularly focusing on his time at the World Industries indoor skate park and being involved with a company that was overseen by Steve Rocco, the founder of World Industries and former business partner of Rodney Mullen. Mullen would later become a close friend and mentor to Song. Videographer Socrates Leal, who filmed a large portion of the World Industries/Dwindle Distribution footage since the company's inception, released footage from the World Park as part of the "30 Shot" web-based project, including segments that feature Song. Leal has revealed during his narration for one of the segments that Song has always possessed a clear awareness of what aspects of his skateboarding he would like filmed and would often instruct the filmer while skateboarding.

Love Child was then followed up by the "New World Order" skate video, and Song has explained that the skateboarding world had significantly changed in the one-year period between the videos:

"Then in '93, with New World Order, things got more serious. More skaters started coming up, and if you were filming something and someone already did it, you'd have to come up with something better. From that point on, filming got a lot harder."

Song stated during his "Epicly Later'd" episode for Vice magazine's web channel that he misses his time at World Industries.

After leaving World Industries, Daewon founded Deca Skateboards in 1999 with team riders: Chris Haslam, JB Gillet, Shioh Greathouse and Marcus McBride. Decca operated for three years until it ceased in 2002. Daewon also co-founded Almost Skateboards, Matix Clothing (with Tim Gavin), and Thank You Skateboards. Thank You remains close to his heart, and he continues to skate for them. Alongside co-owner Torey Pudwill, he contributes to the brand’s unique identity and ethos.

Daewon is also known to have a pretty unique setup: he strips down the components of the front truck so that there are only one bushing "below" the truck (between the deck and the truck) and two washers "above" the truck.

Song has made several appearances as a playable character in skateboarding video games such as Grind Session, Session: Skate Sim and the Tony Hawk series of skateboarding video games. He featured as a playable character in many iterations of the Tony Hawk series, starting with Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, and appears in every main game since, with the exception of Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. He also appears in the game Tony Hawk: Ride.

Song also participated in "Tony Hawk's Secret Skatepark Tour" of America, which was organized to promote one of Hawk's video games. Alongside other skateboarders who appeared in the video game, Song toured the U.S. with Hawk's entourage and performed at random skatepark locations. During the tour, Song revealed his perspective in a magazine interview: "It's pretty crazy. I'm just used to some team manager knocking on your door, like, "Dude, we gotta get up." On this one we have like schedules."

Daewon’s impact on skateboarding earned him the prestigious title of “Skater of the Year” by Thrasher magazine in 2006. He was also voted as the Berrics' Populist poll most impactful skater of the year in 2014, and in 2017, Song was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.

In an interview with Juice Skateboarding magazine, Daewon explained his passion for skateboarding:

"I like skateboarding for what it is. I like being able to do it by myself. You need another person to hit the ball. You need someone to pitch something at you or block for you to make a basket. With skateboarding, I just pick up my board and do exactly what I want to do. Some days I have a good day, and some days I feel like a complete dip-shit; like I've never been skateboarding in my life. I love the experience of it. I love the fact that on one day I can do everything I've ever learned, and the next day I feel like I've lost everything. That's skateboarding. It's amazing. I like the challenges. Skateboarding is one of the most challenging things."

Daewon Song Skateboarding Videos:

Daewon Song "Daewon vs. Rodney" Skate Video

"I hope people recognize how important this guy is to skateboarding. And he's a fucking nice dude."

"Daewon Song discovered a time machine and traveled through space and time to wreck shop on everybody in the '90s and beyond."

"I remember the first time I saw this & picking my jaw up off the floor... Balance & precision I just couldn't fathom."

"This is the best. And not just because of the obvious fact that Song is the shit, but also because this filming is crazy"

"The song is "Street Jeopardy" by Wyclef Jean, from his The Carnival album. Fuckin legendary, bout as dope as Song."

"Its like Yoda and Obi Wan Kenobi on Boards."

Almost Round 3 | Daewon Song Skate Video

"Daewon Song's part from Almost Round Three originally released in 2004. [Original Footage From The Master Tapes]
Song: All These Things That I've Done - The Killers"

"almost 20 years later and rodney & daewon's parts are still absolutely mind-blowing. It could come out today and still be elite."

"Will always and forever be one of the greatest skate videos ever recorded. Daewon is timeless."

"This is the part that made me love skateboarding. Everything he did was like, the feeling of slicing through warm butter. He just glides, and his style is so smooth, it's like he lands trucks, every. single. time."

"Still a mind blowing part 19 years on. I still watch the full DVD sometimes because it’s just that good. Still gets me hyped to skate."

"Nearly every single trick is an ender by todays standard. It literally doesn’t make sense how advanced Daewon was and still is. And on top of that, doing inventive tricks while looking like he’s having the time of his life. Yeah he worked his ass off for these tricks but the passion is so palpable."

Daewon Song: Enter The Daewon Skate Video

"Daewon helps us all remember that even skating the smallest little things can be hella fun if you're having fun doing what you're doing."

"Guys like Daewon, Mullen, etc. have already reached another skating galaxy.. In a way, they show us another dimension. Respect......."

"I'm a big fan of Daewon's attitude, always laughing and smiling. Others try so hard to hit incredible tricks. Daewon just makes it look easy."