'Street Woman Fighter 2' Winner BADA Returns to Mnet After Three Years

"I don't compete thinking I can't go home unless I win," dancer BADA said. "I always go in wanting to give it everything, so I won't have any regrets."

She was talking about her return to the music channel Mnet's dance survival shows, her first in three years. On "Street World Fighter: Directors War," she finished in the Top 4 and made it to the live final.

BADA first became widely known in 2023, when she led her crew BEBE to the win on "Street Woman Fighter 2." This time, she came back as a performance director. The new show put 10 directors, all with proven skills, up against each other. She recently sat down with the Korean outlet Tenasia at its office in Seoul's Jungnim area.

On both shows, her goal was the same. She wanted to reach the final, not necessarily win it.

"Luckily, I hit that goal both times," she said. "On 'Street Woman Fighter 2,' I was honored to win, and this time I got to stand on the final stage too. I wanted to show people something great, both as a director and as a dancer."

She said she is happy with where she landed. "I'm satisfied," she said. "There were things I could have done better, but I never finished a mission and asked myself, 'Why did I do that?'"

A lot had changed on set since her last run. The working conditions, she said, were much better.

"Back on 'Street Woman Fighter 2,' the seven BEBE members lived in a really small room," she said. "This time, the space was big and comfortable. They also gave us the gear we needed to work, like laptops, iPads and headphones. It felt like they were telling us to go all out, and I liked that."

The missions, though, were much harder. The very first one was called "Signature 400."

"I had no idea we'd be doing that right away," she said. "I got the mission, walked out the door, and there were 400 people waiting. I had no clue how I was going to choreograph for that many people or put the stage together."

She said past seasons gave her less to lean on this time. "On 'Street Woman Fighter 2,' I could look back at missions from 'Street Woman Fighter' and 'Street Man Fighter,'" she said. "This time, most of the missions were brand new. The scale was much bigger, and they were much harder. It wasn't easy."

The show also pushed her into new areas. As a director, she handled the music, lighting and costumes herself. That is rare in her regular work as a K-pop choreographer.

"When I make K-pop choreography, it's hard to get involved in the music or lighting," she said. "There's a stage director and other people who handle each part. On this show, I made music from scratch and designed lighting that fit the performance. I wrote out the lighting plans one by one and thought about the costumes starting from the fabric. I got to work in areas I don't usually get to touch, and I learned so much."

What kept her going was support from fans. She said she reads a lot of what people write about her online.

"I really love being loved, so I look up public reactions a lot," she said. "When I see posts cheering me on, it makes me want to dance more. Those reactions are a huge source of energy for me."

One fan message stuck with her through the hardest days of the competition.

"There's a fan post I think about whenever things get tough," she said. "When I felt shaky or down while getting ready for a mission, I'd think of those words and pull myself together. They kept me from trapping myself in a dark place and helped me get back up."