Apparently, the members of Big Bang were once pretty hungry for success.

In a wide-ranging, full-band interview aired Thursday on the South Korean television program "Happy Together," two members of the superstar K-pop act recalled a time when poverty drove them to take some fairly extreme measures.

"Because [our manager] was often busy, there was a time when he didn't bring us food for several weeks," Taeyang said.

"After we came back from practice hoping to see food in the refrigerator, we saw that it was completely empty."

According to the Big Bang singer, he and bandmate G-Dragon started to suspect that the manager was holding out on them.

"We wondered if there was food in [his room], since we couldn't find food anywhere else," Taeyang said. "So, after thinking it over, we decided to break into the room."

After G-Dragon jimmied open the door with a coin, the two future stars entered the room, pulling off the bed sheets to reveal a cache of snacks. 

"The sorrow that we got from that discovery, G-Dragon and I just kind of hugged each other," Taeyang said.

The duo's disappointment, G-Dragon explained, was because they knew if they consumed the snacks, they would be busted.

"If we took the food, we would get caught when the manager came back," he said.

But the Big Bang band members' starvation didn't stop them from engaging in some small luxuries.

"There was this chocolate cracker that we liked, the one made with wheat," T.O.P said.

"We really wanted it, but it was kind of a luxurious snack. It was [50 cents] more expensive than the other snacks. If you buy one package, there are like 18 or 20 of them inside. We would decide on how many we'd eat per day and eat one at a time. Even though we were so hungry and wanted to eat them all in one sitting, we thought we might crave them later at night. We ate [the crackers] slowly, letting them melt on our tongues."

Back in those early days, before Big Bang's official debut in 2006, the band members recalled living on the equivalent of $4.50.

Perhaps prompted by malnutrition, G-Dragon was a vocal opponent of the new five-person lineup of the band early on, according to singer Seungri.

"G-Dragon actually didn't like the idea of us becoming a group," he said.

The group's de facto frontman was upset that the hip-hop duo he had been preparing for with his childhood friend Taeyang was now something quite different. When Seungri overheard G-Dragon voicing this feeling, the pair didn't speak to each other for weeks.

"G-Dragon saw me and he just passed by without saying anything," Seungri said. "We didn't talk for three months. "But three months later, there was something that made us really close. We both got really into this drama called 'Princess Hours.'"

And the K-pop icon's love of K-drama doesn't stop there.

"He [showed up one day] with puffy eyes for an event," Seungri said.  

"I asked him if something was wrong, and he said he had cried all night because 'Queen Seondeok' was so sad," Taeyang said.

Beyond just a glimpse into G-Dragon's taste in TV, the "Happy Together" interview also offered some insight into the K-pop star's famous work ethic that has undoubtedly helped to propel him and his band to the top.

"I started at the age of 13," G-Dragon said of his songwriting career.

"At that time, [YG Entertainment CEO] Yang Hyun Suk said I must write two songs every day. I did that for years."

But the man widely considered to be Big Bang's creative center, was quick to point out that starting early isn't enough to guarantee success.

"I think you should have your own kind of talent, rather than just starting early," he said.

"It is important to understand your own strengths first. Of course a will to be musician is also important, but you have to have the right kind of talent."