Are you ready to find out all about their friendship? Check out all of their moments below!
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship between IU and Sulli
IU and Sulli’s friendship started when the two of them co-hosted the MBC’s music program Inkigayo in 2011. They hosted it along with 2AM‘s Jo Kwon and Highlight’s Lee Gi-kwang. At that time, the two of them were both active as a soloist and a member of a girl group.
The one-year age difference between IU (1993) and Sulli (1994) wasn’t a problem for their friendship. From their moments together as co-hosts, they became good friends for years.
IU’s Songs That Are Inspired By Sulli
Throughout her career, IU has often talked about how her songs are inspired by her friends. One of these friends was Sulli. In 2012, IU released the album The Spring of Twenty with a total of three songs. The song titled “Peach” was inspired by Sulli. IU revealed that during a me2day mobile chat session with her fans. “I wrote ‘Peach’ thinking about f(x)’s Sulli from a man’s point of view,” she said. Although she didn’t explain what made the song fit with Sulli, the fans can guess by the lyrics. “I can’t take my eyes off your white skin. How can I be bored with you?” the lyrics said.
Sulli is known for her fair skin and bright blush. It turns out, IU gave Sulli this nickname during their time co-hosting MBC’s Inkigayo together in 2011. Because of this, Sulli is nicknamed Human Peach. Sulli also gave comments about this song during her appearance on MBC’s Radio Star in 2013. “When I together with IU took on the MC role for a music show, I heard she told me that ‘I will compose a song whose main character is you.’ Fan nicknamed me ‘Peach.’ After hearing that song’s title, I called her to confirm and she said that I was the main character of the song,” she said. “The lyrics are all praises and things IU would say to me every time she saw me,” she added. Sulli even performed the song during her appearance on SBS’s 2012 drama To the Beautiful You.
After Sulli’s death, the song also once again climbed the music charts. The public listened to the song again in memory of the late Sulli. Aside from “Peach,” IU also dedicated another song to Sulli titled “Red Queen” in 2015. IU explained, “I got the motive for the song from a picture Sulli drew for me.”
Sulli’s Drawing for IU’s Album Chat-Shire
As IU said, she drew inspiration for her songs in her album Chat-Shire from the drawing that Sulli gave her. On October 23, 2019, IU reminisced about Sulli in her own way. She uploaded a drawing that Sulli made for her mini-album Chat-Shire through her Instagram. The post also marked the fourth anniversary since the release of Chat-Shire in 2015. IU wrote, “Dear Chat-Shire, happy 4th birthday.” The drawing was also previously uploaded by Sulli on her old Instagram account with the photo caption, “Portrait.” After giving it to IU, the picture became a feature on the mini-album Chat-Shire and became the inspiration for the lyrics of her song “Red Queen.” During the album’s release in 2015, IU also revealed the story behind the image made by Sulli. She said that she initially saw the picture for the first time at Sulli’s house. IU then showed interest because the drawing matched the lyrics she was writing at the time. Sulli then gave her drawing to IU.
IU Sending Food to Sulli
Despite not showcasing much of their friendship on social media, fans knew that IU and Sulli’s friendship remained strong in 2018. Sulli uploaded a photo of a home-cooked meal that IU sent to her on October 6, 2018. Sulli also called IU god-Jieun because she can cook delicious seaweed soup on her first try. Sulli wrote in the caption, “#Food that ‘God-Jieun’ [IU’s given name] just made. Really, [your] first seaweed soup was top-notch.” She also praised the side dishes made by IU’s mother.
Sulli’s Last Cameo on IU’s Drama Hotel De Luna
One of the last on-screen appearances of Sulli was in tvN’s Hotel Del Luna. It was a form of her support for IU’s drama. According to the production crew, Sulli’s cameo appearance was based on IU’s request and Sulli immediately accepted the offer without thinking. Hotel Del Luna, starring IU and Yeo Jin-goo, achieved an average rating of 12%, which is quite high for a TV cable drama. One of the aspects of Hotel Del Luna that made it successful in achieving high ratings is the various guest stars in each episode. And, Sulli was one of the guest stars of the drama. Sulli appeared in episode 10 as Jang Ji-eun, the granddaughter of Chairman Wang. Chairman Wang asked Koo Chang-Sung (Yeo Jin-goo) to marry Jang Ji-Eun (Sulli). Thus, Jang Ji-eun became the target of jealousy for Jang Man-Wol (IU). In the end, Jang Ji-Eun accepted that Koo Chang-Sung refused the match because he loved Jang Man-wol. Sulli spoke about her cameo appearance at Hotel Del Luna on MBC’s Night of Hate Comments. Sulli revealed that she was contacted by IU to guess on Hotel Del Luna. “She said my role is the role she likes. I still didn’t know what my role is, but I quickly said I wanted to do it,” said Sulli. The MC also had time to ask Sulli if she got any hate comments from netizens about her appearance on Hotel Del Luna. Sulli said that she didn’t receive many hate comments “I saw [netizen comments], but what’s amazing is that there weren’t many hate comments. I think I did quite well,” said Sulli with a laugh. After the drama, Sulli posted pictures on her Instagram to support IU’s drama. In the pictures, she posed with both IU and Yeo Jin-goo and wrote, “Jang Man-wol and Koo Chan-sung. Hotel Del Luna.” Additionally, Sulli even sent a food truck to the shooting location of the drama. IU then expressed her gratitude to her best friend through a post on her personal Instagram account. “Because of you [Sulli], our filming tonight received good support. Thank you, Jinri,” IU wrote.
