Former Lovelyz member (Mijoo) Lee Mi Joo has shared a shocking story about being scammed by a pre debut agency while preparing to become an idol.
On December 19, a video titled ‘Mi Joo’s Year End Q&A to Celebrate 100,000 Subscribers (feat. major announcement)’ was uploaded to Lee Mi Joo’s YouTube channel. To mark the milestone, Lee Mi Joo held a Q&A session with the production staff at the headquarters of her new agency AOMG.
When asked about the happiest moment of her life, Lee Mi Joo replied, “When I debuted as Lovelyz.” She recalled her trainee days, explaining, “The competition to become a trainee was extremely intense. There was an open audition to select the Lovelyz members, which made it even tougher.”
She continued, “There were around 30 to 40 trainees at the time, and many were eliminated during monthly evaluations. Even I wasn’t confident and kept thinking, ‘Will I really be able to make it into Lovelyz?’”
Lee Mi Joo also spoke honestly about the fear and pressure she felt back then. “I was so scared of being eliminated that I constantly wanted to go home. Whenever I cried to my mom on the phone saying I wanted to quit, she would yell, ‘You said this was what you wanted.’ I endured it for one or two months, and in the end, I debuted.”
When the production staff asked if she had auditioned for other companies, Lee Mi Joo revealed a story she said she was sharing publicly for the first time. “I did audition for another company when I was in high school. It was a newly established agency, but they turned out to be scammers,” she said, surprising viewers.
She explained, “They made the trainees sit in the office all day without teaching us anything. We didn’t receive any training at all. Then they said, ‘We invested in you,’ and told us to pay a penalty fee if we wanted to leave. I thought it was dirty and petty, but I paid and left.”
Lee Mi Joo debuted in 2014 under Woollim Entertainment as a member of Lovelyz. After the group’s activities, she moved to Antenna in 2021 and began her solo career. Last month, she parted ways with Antenna after four years and signed an exclusive contract with AOMG, opening a new chapter in her career.
SEE ALSO: Lovelyz reunite as a full group at the 2025 KBS Song Festival Global Festival
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