Idols who went from Rags to Riches

1. IU

Our beautiful princess may look like she lives a life of luxury but she struggled a poor childhood. Her parents were in deep debt so she and her younger brother had to move in with their grandmother. Fortunately, she has moved forward so far in her life to become one of the most loved idols.

2. Leeteuk

Despite his bright smile and great talent, Leeteuk comes from a rather painful past. Not only was his family super poor, his parents also fought a lot. He also shared being abused by his father who eventually committed suicide after murdering Leeteuk's grandparents. Despite this pain, Leeteuk still brings to his fans plenty of warm smiles and kindness proving him to be a truly genuine person.

3. Yunho

When he was just a teenager, his father went bankrupt so Yunho had to learn how to support himself and his younger sister at the young age of 12. When he went to pursue his dream as a trainee, his father disapproved and held back all financial support, resulting in Yunho sleeping on the floors of train stations. Who would have thought then that Yunho would now be one of the biggest stars of the nation?

4. Jaejoong

Jaejoong was given up for adoption at a young age by his birth mother because she could not afford to support him. As he grew older, he sought after his dream of being a singer, moving to Seoul by himself at age 15. At this time, he had no money or home so he resorted to taking various part-time jobs and even donating blood at the blood bank just to afford rent, food, and training fees.

5. Eunhyuk

Eunhyuk did not have the privilege of going to vocal training so he resorted to training himself and performing in the streets. His family lived in an incomplete house and had to walk to the nearest subway station in order to use the restroom.

6. Jo Kwon

The Diva of Korea may come off as confident and sassy but his past comes to show a rather rough life. His family was always low on funds resulting in him only have 5,000 KRW ($4.65) for food and transportation every day. Jo Kwon mentioned once he tried to steal some money from his parents but only found 10,000 KRW ($9.30) in their pockets. Despite it all he spent a good portion of his childhood training under JYP and debut successfully.

7. Dara

Despite her kind and beautiful smile, Dara comes from a lot of struggles and difficulties. When she was in the Philippines the money she earned was used by her father to gamble. He eventually left them and Sandara became the sole financial support for her family.

8. Sunggyu

His family was so poor he and his little sister had to live at his friend's house. But his friends used to tease him about his poverty which became something he still holds close to his heart despite his success as a singer.

9. BoA

The true Queen of KPOP had her share of struggles before she rose to glory. When she was only 13, BoA became the person to provide for her family. Eventually, she bought them a house and paid for her brothers' college tuitions.

10. Taeyang

During a harsh economic climate, he made the risk of moving out at the age of 13. He traveled to Seoul to audition for YG Entertainment and was approached directly by YG to be a singer. And he has proved to be a great investment for the K-POP world.

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