'1MILLION' choreographer Lia Kim talks about difficult past as idol trainee instructor

'1MILLION' choreographer Lia Kim opened up about her difficult past as an instructor for idol trainees.

Lia Kim is known as the co-founder and chief choreography for '1MILLION' dance studio, which is known to be behind the choreography for top K-Pop artists and a YouTube channel with 22.7 million subscribers. On the December 1st episode of tvN's 'The Moment I Became Me', she discussed the struggles in her past as a street dancer in 2007 and then as an instructor for idols.

She revealed, "When I brought up the fact that I didn't receive the payment for my lesson, they would get mad and say, 'Do I look like someone who wouldn't pay?'" Lia Kim continued, "No matter how famous I was as a street dancer, I didn't have a lot of students. I also felt burdened by the monthly rent of the practice room, so I slept there. There was a stale smell, and crickets ran around the place."

As for working with trainees from big agencies, Lia Kim said, "Trainees from big agencies asked me to eat with them, so I said I'll pay but the balance was insufficient. Then one of them would pay. That was embarrassing. There were a lot of times that I didn't even have money for the bus, so I would have to walk."

Did you know about Lia Kim's past struggles?