Yoona Kim began her journey into Korean music at the age of 8, starting with the gayageum(12 string plucking zither instrument). In middle school, she studied Minyo(traditional folk songs). At 15, she discovered the allure of the ajaeng, and began training under renowned ajaeng performer, Seokyeong Yun, son of Yunseok Yun who is master of ajaeng. Yoona further pursued her studies in Ajaeng performance at the National Gugak High School and Seoul National University.

In addition to mastering the ajaeng, Yoona Kim has explored a variety of other instruments and genres of Korean traditional vocal music. She studied pansori with Jeong Cheol-ho, a holder of Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 5, Pansori Gobeob (traditional narrative singing), recognized for his mastery in the traditional art of Gobeob, the rhythmic accompaniment of pansori. While working at the Jeonggaakhoi in 2015, she was drawn to Jeongga (traditional Korean vocal music), and began studying it and composing original works based on both Jeongga and Jeongak (classical Korean court music). Through this diverse exploration, Yoona Kim has developed a broad spectrum of expertise in traditional music and continues to create her own unique interpretation of Korean traditional music.