AKMU is one of the most popular groups in Korea today, but things weren't always rosy for the siblings.

Lee Chan Hyuk and Lee Soo Hyun of Akdong Musician recently revealed that life had not always been easy for them before becoming YG Entertainment's latest breakout act. The siblings raised in Mongolia, where they had an extremely atypical upbringing due to their family's financial woes.

On the July 8 episode of Healing Camp, the duo explained how bad the situation was. "After [our] parents said that they were unable to afford to send us to school, we gave up on school and began to be homeschooled."

They then added that grew up without many friends because of this, and have never worn the school uniforms that are worn by most schoolchildren in Asia. 

The family also struggled even to keep food on the table; the siblings admitted that they remembered days when all they ate for a meal was rice with soy sauce.

The two lived in Mongolia with thier parents, who were their to do missionary work.

Prior to this interview, the sibling duo had never opened up about the hard childhood that they have had. However, the circumstances do offer an explanation for the close relationship between the brother and sister musicians and has likely shaped their unique style and approach that was able to develop outside of the structure of typical schools. 

AKMU rose to fame as Akdong Musician on the show K-Pop Star 2, and signed on with YG Entertainment after winning the competition and having the opportunity to choose from several entertainment companies.

The duo recently officially debuted as YG artists earlier this year with the album Play, which was extremely well recieved thanks to its fun, charming songs and AKMU's popularity from K-Pop Star 2.