IU began her career in the entertainment industry at the age of 15. She found a passion for singing after getting appreciation for her performance in a school competition. Although failed countless times during auditions, she finally got accepted as a trainee. Her agency coined her stage name, “IU”, which stands for I and You.
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Even at a young age, she already established herself as the star of the Korean music industry. In over a decade of having her career in music and acting, she developed friendships with several other famous Korean celebrities. Find out her close friends are in the article below!
Brown Eyed Girls’ Gain
IU and Gain from the Brown Eyed Girls have collaborated on several music projects. They participated in teasers promoting each other’s album. Gain appeared in a teaser for her duet in IU’s song, Everyone Has Secrets, which was released in March, 2014. In February, 2014, Gain invited IU and other friends to feature in a teaser for a song titled Truth or Dare. In the teaser, they talk about Gain’s character, rumors, and other personal things. Gain is notoriously famous for her strong older sister image, and IU joked she can’t talk behind Gain Unnie’s back. She can only talk about Gain in front of her. In the Everyone Has Secrets music video, IU jokingly confessed that Gain asked her to dress up like a man so Gain could wear provocative clothes and seduce IU.
Singer/Songwriter SHINee’s Jonghyun
IU and SHINee’s Jonghyun debuted in the same year. Jonghyun composed a song titled Gloomy Clock for IU’s third album, “Modern Times”. IU fell in love with the song and begged Jonghyun to give the song to her. The album “Modern Times” received positive reviews and debuted at number one on album charts. In 2015, Jonghyun invited IU to perform at his solo concert “The Story by Jonghyun”. They sang Gloomy Clock together at the concert. The singers were known to be close friends. At her 10th anniversary concert in Singapore, IU paid a tribute to the late SHINee member Jonghyun. She sang Gloomy Clock with Jonghyun’s voice as original backing vocal. The song initially wasn’t on the set list, but she prepared it to honor the one-year anniversary of hs death. Through her speech at recent award ceremony, she recalled Jonghyun as a colleague who shared similar dreams, worries, and problems. They also had similar career development in the entertainment industry.
Comedian/DJ Park Myungsoo
IU was invited to make a guest appearance on MBC’s popular variety show Infinite Challenge. In the music festival segment, each regular member of the show was challenged to produce a song with a partner artist. IU was paired with Park Myung Soo to perform for the Infinite Challenge music festival. They formed a group called God-G and released a song titled Leon. Their song and concert performance were inspired by the film Leon: The Professional. The song went on to top all the Korean music charts for two days straight in August, 2015. Following the success of their duet performance, Park Myung Soo invited IU to collaborate with him multiple times. He even prepared a song for her as female featuring artist. IU promised that in the future she would collaborate with Park Myung Soo. Every Thanksgiving holiday, IU sends holiday gifts to several Korean artists, and Park Myung Soo is one of the few lucky people.
Actress Yoo In Na
Yoo In Na and IU met on the set of SBS’s Heroes in 2010. An 11-year age difference didn’t stop IU and Yoo In Na from being close friends. Yoo In Na said that they have similar characters, soft on the outside but strong on the inside. Yoo In Na said IU was more mature and she depended on IU a lot for advice. IU and Yoo In Na said they recently learned to play traditional Korean card game called “Go Stop”. It’s IU’s favorite game and she wants to play more often than Yo In Na. When they met, IU and Yoo In Na rarely talked about guys. Yoo In Na said that IU seemed to enjoy working and living her life happily. She considered IU as her sister, best friend and favorite singer. IU mentioned Yoo In Na during her speech for “Best album of the Year” at the 2017 Melon Music Awards. She said although Yoo In Na wasn’t related by blood, she was her best friend and her number one fan. IU also thanked Yoo In Na for always supporting her. Yoo In Na attended IU’s concert, “24 Steps: One, Two, Three, Four”. IU noticed her during the performance and announced Yoo In Na’s presence to the audience. Tghe actress waved at IU and appeared touched by IU’s attention. They promised to meet every week despite their busy schedules. Recently, on February 13, 2019, IU showed her support to Yoo In Na on the set of her current drama, Touch Your Heart. IU sent various main dishes, side dishes, and fruits to the drama staff. She also sent a coffee truck to the set and wished good luck to all the actors and staff members.
Actress/Singer Suzy
On an episode of MBC’s Weekly Idol hosted by Jung Hyung Don and Defcon, IU told the hosts about her close friendship with the beautiful actress Suzy. Although a year younger than IU, Suzy is considered as one of her best friends. She said that Suzy is like a magnet to her and they attract and stick to each other as magnet polar opposites. Even during their busy schedule, they always had time to text each other. Their close friendship started at the end of their drama Dream High, where they played the roles of high school friends. Due to her shy character, IU had a hard time talking to new people. IU wanted to be close to Suzy during filming, but she didn’t have the courage until they were nearly finished shooting the drama. She kept using honorifics when talking with Suzy even though Suzy asked her to drop the honorifics. At first, they are not interested in each other. IU usually went to Suzy’s dormitory if they had a time to meet. They went to play in a nearby playground. IU called a taxi for them and asked the driver to go directly without mentioning a destination. IU admired Suzy’s beauty and has even called Suzy the prettiest out of all Korean singers. If possible, IU wanted to be born with a face and body like Suzy’s. Coincidentally, they both have birthmarks at the same position on the underside of their right hand.
T-ara Member/Soloist Jiyeon
IU and Ji Yeon of T-ara have had a close friendship since young age. They both appeared on the variety show Heroes in 2011. However, since the T-ara bullying scandal was exposed in public and T-ara was boycotted, the girls couldn’t be seen together and weren’t as close as once were. IU received criticism for leaving behind a close friend who’s having a difficult period. However, both IU and Jiyeon pay attention to each other activities. Jiyeon supported IU by cheering her at her 10th anniversary concert, while IU supported Jiyeon by praising her dance videos on Instagram. T-ara Jiyeon , Suzy, and IU are known to be close friends. Jiyeon appeared jealous when IU and Suzy were hanging out during lunchtime and leaving her. Envious, she asked Suzy to eat together and leave IU behind. Suzy responded sweetly by saying she will alternate and go out with both of them.
Big Bang Leader G-Dragon
G-Dragon and IU’s special friendship seems to have started during the recording of the variety show Infinite Challenge’s bi-annual music festival. Each host member was challenged to produce a song with a partner artist. IU was teamed up with Comedian Park MyungSoo, while G-Dragon and other Big Bang member, Taeyang, were partnered with Comedian Hwang GwangHee. All the partners interacted between each segment withv talk sessions and activity games. On the show, IU and G-Dragon appeared interested on each other. IU and G-Dragon recently collaborated on IU’s song, Pallette. The song was included in IU’s 4th full music album with the same name. She asked G-Dragon for a lot of suggestion for the album, and there was a rap verse in the song “Pallette” which was destined for G-Dragon to perform the part. IU and G-Dragon supported each other by appearing and performing as guests in their individual concerts. IU performed at G-Dragon’s “Motte III” world tour concert in Taiwan while G-Dragon also performed at IU’s “Pallette” concert. Both seemed to have high respect to each other. In June, 2017, IU presented G-Dragon with a refrigerator filled with packs of soju that IU endorsed before G Dragon left to serve out his mandatory army service. In return, IU received a special present from G-Dragon. He bought IU’s album “Pallette” and customized the cover himself before presenting it to IU. The cover was ornamented with beautiful flower palette and 3-D stickers. IU revealed it was one of most special gift that she received throughout the year. G Dragon and IU also showed support to each other through their Instagram posts. IU posted a photo of her face on a soju glass as the model of a soju brand. The caption said “Nice to see you”. Surprisingly, out of nowhere G-Dragon commented “My favorite” on the post.
Actor Kim Soo Hyun
IU and handsome actor Kim Soo Hyun have been long time friends dating back to IU’s early TV dramas. The two appeared as co-stars on the teen drama Dream High and in The Producers. Since then, both stars have been appearing in each other’s projects. IU appeared on Kim Soo Hyun’s film Real, while he appeared in her music video. IU asked Kim Soo Hyun to appear in the music video for the song Ending Scene and let him know how important it would be for her music video and her album. Despite his busy schedule, Kim Soo Hyun agreed to appear in the music videos. On April 21, 2017, during a listening session for Pallette, IU expressed her gratitude to Kim Soo Hyun for his support and her happiness for the video. In the Ending Scene video, IU appeared to be reading a letter addressed to Kim Soo Hyun. She revealed that the letter was actually a real letter. She ran through the letter with him before recording the scene. In the letter, she praised Kim Soo Hyun for his voice, face, and eyes. She admired his handsome and perfect look. Kim Soo Hyun couldn’t hide his feelings and was pleased and humbled by her compliments.
Actor Lee Joon gi
In September, 2016, IU starred as Hae Soo, with Lee Joon Gi as Wang Soo in the SBS hit drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. They remained close even after the drama and gave support to each other projects. IU sent a food truck and an ice truck to staff members and actors on the drama set for Lawless Lawyer. Lee Joon Gi appeared on IU’s concert. He praised IU for her energy during the concert and felt very proud of her. Two years after filming together, IU and Lee Joong Ki appeared together for the first time on JTBC’s variety show Knowing Bothers. On that episode, Lee Joon Ki said that he appeared at IU’s request. They shared their memories from Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo and their recent activities. Due to their appearance, the episode was Knowing Brothers record for viewership, with a rating of 7.3 percent.
Latest News
IU’s fans are looking forward to her most recent project. She took a female leading role in tnN’s upcoming weekend drama, Hotel Del Luna. IU acts alongside male leading actor Yeo Jin Goo. Yeo Jin Goo plays a hotelier running a hotel for ghosts, while IU plays a hot-tempered hotel owner. The drama is set to premiere on July 13, 2019. Happy to hear that! Best wishes for all of IU’s future projects! Don’t forget to give your thoughts and comment below!
