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Q1. Reason you decided to release this album

This was planned since the beginning of the year and these are songs that all my fans know.

My fans know them whether as one phrase or as the whole song and have always requested for the songs to be released.

It has been 10 years since I kept a song like ‘Drama’ to myself without releasing it.

So at age 30, before I move on to my 30s, would this be considered as brushing off all my experimental songs from my 20s?

I have decided to release this album as a gift for the fans and a new beginning of my musical endeavors.

Q2. ‘Pieces’ Album Introduction

Pieces between my images that I continuously portrayed through my music and revealed publicly?

It was made of pieces that were not released nor bothered to be released and that was why it was named ‘Pieces’.

Q3. ‘Pieces’ Song Introduction

The initial songs are ‘Drama’ and ‘You’, which I wrote around the age of 20 and 24, respectively, and ‘Next Stop’ is a song that started at 25 and finished at 26.

‘Winter Sleep’ and ‘Love Letter’ were also in my late twenties, around 27~28. There are many songs that I would start and take up to a year to finish.

Take ‘Next Stop’ from my mid-20s and ‘Winter Sleep’ and ‘Love Letter’ from my late 20s as songs that I have never planned to release because as I said, they are experimental and thus, took a long time to finish too.

Q4. What was different from the previous album preparation process?

I was a little less pressured… because they have already been released to the fans little by little.

In fact, I usually feel so much pressure about 'how will fans react to this song?'.

However, there wasn't much uncertainty since ‘Pieces’ was solely composed with only the fans in mind and these songs are already well-liked by the fans.

I can't help but be mindful of chart performance while making albums.

I can't help but think about album sales or what kind of response it will get from music sites as a producer, but since this album was composed that way (with only the fans in mind) from the start, it was definitely different from other albums.

Translated by ChoMin80 (@/JBap80)

Edited by IUteamstarcandy

Q5. The meaning behind the tracklist order in Pieces’?

The tracklist order is decided under the presumption that people will listen to the album as a whole. The structure (introduction, development, turn and conclusion) of the album is decided with the feeling of ‘as a listener, I am listening to an entire book’, but first and foremost the beginning is really important.

Deciding what song to place as track no. 1 is an important point both strategy-wise and in terms of how I want to tell my story, but this way or that way, we started off with ‘Drama’ which many fans were waiting for the most.

The song itself has a really nice feel and I believe that it is the song that holds the theme of what I wanted to show through this album the most.

I had always shared with fans the story behind why this song was not being released for such a long time and with the thought that simply including ‘Drama’ alone would be meaningful enough for fans to have this album, I thought that it should be placed as the first track. Subsequently, track no. 2 would be the stories that would be most emphasized and the songs that I believe people would listen to the most would usually be placed as track no. 2 and no. 3. That’s why ‘Next Stop’ and ‘Winter Sleep’ were placed in that order, then the order of the following songs, ‘Love Letter’ and ‘You’, was decided more comfortably and that is the basis upon which the tracklist order of the album was decided.

Q6. How did the word ‘Pieces’ come about?

It was just an idea that came to me suddenly, but I thought, “Why don’t we just go with ‘소품집’ (Etudes - musical term for a small collection of pieces)?” However, this title felt a little too simple? It’s a commonly used expression, so ‘조각집’ (Pieces) came about as we were thinking “Isn’t there anything a little different?”.

Of course, these songs are all very precious, hold good memories and are very dear to me, however, there were reasons why I couldn’t put them in official albums and so I thought instead of a complete picture, it felt more right to me that they were small pieces of that picture.

So when you put these pieces together, and gather these five songs together, it becomes a rather (complete) picture?

Meaning-wise, these songs are a bit different from the songs I would put on an album.

So I felt that if it was called ‘Pieces’ then what I wanted to say would become clearer, and that was how it was decided.

Q7. The reason why ‘Drama’ release was delayed

I don’t think there was an album that ‘Drama’ could fit in. I always tried to do so, but it was a song I made at the age of 20, kind of a song I made for fun and even compared to the other self-composed songs in this album, the emotions and vibe are a little different.

However, fans liked the song a lot and there were a lot of people who would request the song during en-encore at every concert. That is why even though I promised that I would release it someday, ultimately from the standpoint of a producer I would feel that putting this song into an album would be kind of forcing it too much, when considering the big picture I was trying to create and due to this reason, I would keep saying ‘next time, next time’ and the release eventually kept getting delayed.

Q8. Looking only at the lyrics of ‘Drama’ , I feel it would be believable if you said that the current IU at the brink of turning 30 wrote them.

I do think that is possible. The lyrics don’t quite have the vibe of a twenty year old.

The vibe of the song is like a children’s song, bright and sung cheerfully without too much technique. Although the vibe itself is like this, the lyrics show a bit more maturity. I borrowed the concept of a drama, but because I personally wrote the lyrics as if an old-aged actor were painting a picture, the content of the song does seem more fitting for a 30 year old than a 20 year old and yet even more so for a 40 year old than a 30 year old.

Translated by jjanghimi

Edited by IUteamstarcandy

Q9. Your thoughts on singing ‘Drama’ as you wrapped up your twenties?

My voice was a bit different. Back then, I was actually younger; the concept of singing it like a children’s song was not awkward, and I remember singing it without that much effort. Of course, though I did sing this song at every concert as I got older year by year, because recordings and live performances are completely different fields, grasping the feeling to sing the song with detail and move forward with the directing was harder compared to the other songs. The thought that “I’ve reached the point where expressing the simplicity that only comes from the innocent-like times of the younger self now requires some thinking” made it a bit difficult, and because my voice itself has aged since then, I thought, “Is it a little awkward to sing it like a children’s song?” Though these may be my own thoughts… That’s why I sang less cheerfully compared to then.

Q10. The atmosphere during the recording was so nice

I often vibe with the atmosphere of the song I’m singing at the moment. When I sing a sad song, I tend to completely turn off the lights and focus quietly. When singing a fun song, I also tend to express (the song) by dancing and making myself feel good. Isn’t this the only bright song out of the five songs I participated in this time? I purposely did it more excitedly, and I actually felt a lot better.

Q11. You played the recorder (musical instrument) yourself

I was very satisfied with (how the sound turned out with) the recorder. (laughs)

“Ah~ If I learnt the recorder professionally, I could probably do it? I’m so satisfied with the sound?” I had such thoughts.

Q12. When you were recording ‘Next Stop,’ did you think of Jian as you sang?

I did not do that this time. Back then, I had thought about singing it that way if this theme, this song, actually were to be used in the drama, but as (those plans) unfortunately fell through, I thought about the 25, 26-year-old me at the time as I sang.

Of course, although there is also Jian in that piece, to say that this is only the theme of Jian is a bit different; it’s just my sentiments. From there, the song was concluded through Jian.

Translated by yule

Edited by IUteamstarcandy

Q13. Your emotions back then when working on ‘Next Stop’

Actually, I can’t really remember clearly. Most of the songs on this album are like that. Since they are not songs that I wrote recently, but songs that I wrote as long as 10 years ago, I don’t recall exactly what kind of feelings I had when I wrote it, but for ‘Next Stop’, I remember that the melody probably came before the lyrics.

I think it was like “Ah!!”

Back then, I enjoyed taking the bus and travelling around alone.

I simply enjoyed taking the bus by myself to the Gwanghwamun area for a walk before returning home.

But I didn’t have a specific destination in mind when I boarded the bus back then.

I just felt stuffy and wanted to go for a walk, so I left my house, but it was like a tour without deciding in advance where I would be alighting.

As I thought to myself, “Where shall I alight? Where shall I alight?” I ended up not getting off the bus.

“Would there be a better destination that I prefer?”

“Rather than this place, would there be another place that suits me better?”

It’s a song that contains these emotions in a one-dimensional manner.

However, figuratively speaking, ‘Next Station’ is not just about a bus stop or train station,as it also refers to my feelings about my own life of ‘when will I get used to and accept the fact that right now where I am is where I should be in my life?’

I recall that the key to the lyrics is that I started writing upon receiving inspiration on a day when my twenty-five-year-old self took a bus and couldn’t decide where to alight.

Q14. What does ‘Next Station’ mean?

Destination, I guess? About what I should decide as my direction in life.

Actually, I think it’s not something that you come to realise with age, but that you keep thinking about over and over again. It’s a song about how lost and troubled I feel, because even though it’s been 4-5 years, I think I still haven’t decided on my destination and wonder about ‘the place I want to alight’, ‘the place I want to end up eventually’ and ‘the place I want to settle down in my life’.

Q15. Are you still as troubled as ever about where to alight?

That’s right. I’m not sure where that would be. I wonder, ‘Would I really find a clear answer to that in my lifetime?’

Q16. ‘Winter Sleep’ is an undisclosed song?

This is probably the song that fans have the least information about. As far as I can remember, I do recall singing a verse from the song when my fans asked me to sing one of my self-compositions on the spot at a fanmeeting after Hotel Del Luna ended in 2018.

That was the first and last piece of information to them, but there was actually another hint for this song in an IU merchandise that came out this year (2021).

The first page (of the merch) reads, ‘a stalk of spring, a cup of summer, a page of autumn, a breath of winter.’ They would be using the diary (merch) throughout the year, so I thought this would be a crucial mediator between the people who received the diary and the year that they’d be spending. So I jotted down and revealed what the four seasons mean to me, and what a year means to me through the merchandise, and that was the hint for ‘Winter Sleep’ and the expressions used in the lyrics.

But fortunately, (my fans) liked it a lot, though they obviously wouldn’t be able to link it to ‘Winter Sleep’…

Perhaps they will find out when the song is released?

Q17. Introducing the song ‘Winter Sleep’

When I first started writing, the song was about death. And it still was when I finished.

At that time, I wanted to depict myself not being able to accept that someone precious to me passed away, that they were gone from this world – I wanted to describe myself trying hard to remember them, imagining as if they were by my side.

In that one year after their death – the spring, summer, autumn, winter… As if I were telling a story to this friend, the one who passed…

“You can’t see them, but I’ve left in front of your room a bouquet of spring that hasn’t bloomed yet, a cup of summer that I’ve poured, a page of autumn that I’ve torn out, and a breath of winter infused with my true desire to see you.” It could be seen as me rambling endlessly about how much I miss them, yet sending them a message, “I’m okay,” and it could also be a story letting them know, “I miss you.”

It’s not about someone’s absence, that someone is no longer here - it’s more like what someone would feel if their pet crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

And I wrote with the thought, “Wouldn’t the family and friends of the deceased, who left so abruptly, accept their death in this way?”

They could be sad endlessly and be completely broken (by their death), but the song is imbued with the idea, “I’ve lived the 1 year, the 12 months, without you…with you.” as I thought, “Isn’t it possible for them to spend (the one year after the death) like that?”

Q18. The reason behind the title of the song ‘You’

Because I hadn’t planned on releasing this song either (laughing), I don’t think I put much effort into coming up with a title.

But the fans also showed so much affection for the song during fanmeetings that it deserved a title.

It’s a song with a lot of fortune.

And it gained fame as well.

Q19. When do you come up with song titles or album names?

There are songs like ‘Next Stop’ that I tend to think, “Can another title even exist for this song?” and thus decide on the title right away. But there are also songs like ‘Through the Night’ that I came up with the title extremely late. ‘Love Letter’ is also one of those songs, having come up with the title late after agonizing over it. It’s different from song to song.

Q20. The reason behind using friends as motifs when writing songs

It just comes naturally to me. I think if there’s something or someone that I have affection for, I can come up with a story about it naturally as well. Of course, I’ve also realized that when preparing a full-length album with dozens of songs, ‘it would be impossible to work as a lyricist if I wrote the lyrics based on only themes that came to me naturally’.

So I do use lines that didn’t find me naturally but are still good lines - the lines that I instead had to (actively) find in advance. That being said, it’s much better to write a song for someone I love, since it finds me so easily.

It’s easy to be written, it’s easy to be sung, and it’s easy to be attached to it.

Love has always been an inspiration for me.

Q21. What is the difference between words that find you and words that you find?

By “words that find me,” I mean something like, “I never used these words but they came to me?” There really are cases of this happening from time to time.

The time that I really felt, “It’s really fascinating. This moment.” was from the lyrics of ‘Through the Night’, when I wondered if these words were really inside me the entire time. They came to me on their own in one sudden moment, and even found a spot inside me. And I thought, “I finished writing a verse, just like that?”

After that were words that had trouble finding me, but these were the words that came in bulk. It was a moment where I thought, “How could these many lines come to me in such a short span of time…” There are also a lot of times when a sentence or a few words, not as long as full lines, suddenly find me. Most of the songs in this album were created this way.

On the other hand, I have to (actively) find words half of the time. This usually takes an extremely long time. I make space for the lyrics before the words come to me. I then bring the words that can roughly fit into these spaces and try placing them here and there.

Translated by wellstrong_

Edited by IUteamstarcandy

Q22. The meaning behind “Love Letter”, the song you initially gave to another singer?

It’s not my story, but I have written the song rather like a drama or fictional novel. At the time (of writing the lyrics), it was a story of an old couple, I guess. (The song) is about telling one side to not be sad when the other side leaves this world. That’s why I wrote it in 하오 style (T/L Note: The lyrics are written in an older form of speech with word-endings that are not often used colloquially, e.g., 다오 Da-o and 하오 ha-o). It’s about an old couple, so I purposely made it a little obvious (through the form of speech used). Along with talking about the most dazzling moments in life that are prominent enough (for one) to put a bookmark in between, I wrote the song thinking, ‘I hope you won’t be sad thinking about me just because I left, for you have these memories (with me). Instead, I ask you to smile as you recall the memories, and remember me that way.’

Q23. You sang “Love Letter” again.

It is a song I am very attached to. Although all five of them are songs that I feel particularly (attached to), this song is very dear to me, it’s also like a child still not all grown up (and thus I can’t help but care for more).

Seunghwan sang it really well. But it was presented in a totally different mood with a different arrangement and bpm (beats per min). Not to mention I think Seunghwan’s interpretation (of how the song should be delivered) itself is very different from my version. (His version is) way more modern and sophisticated. I liked (the song) because it sounded very different from the guide version that I sent to him, so I thought, ‘Ah, this is interesting.’ It was the first time I gave my (self-composed) song to another singer, to a vocalist I have faith in, and it was nice coming to realize how much a vocalist’s interpretation adds to the color/ style of a song.

From there, it crossed my mind that perhaps if I release my version, ‘it could also come across as completely different even though they’re the same song?’. I thought perhaps if you listen to ‘Love Letter’ from Seunghwan’s perspective and another version from my perspective like a set, you’ll somehow find them identical, yet different (at the same time) even though they’re conveying the same story. I sang (Love Letter) thinking, ‘I hope that my version would be accounted for the completion of this song too.’

Q24. IU’s 20 years old

Truthfully, it was such an age that made me upset because it was utterly meaningless.

I mean, isn’t there something special about (being or becoming) 20 when you’re still in your 10s? It is a symbolic age (marking adulthood), too.

So I was looking forward to being 20, but nothing in particular happened as expected.

Back then, I was also much gloomier, and much socially inept compared to now. So I remember being a little disappointed over the fact that ‘my life won’t magically become more interesting or different all of a sudden just because I’ve turned twenty.’

But then again, I also remember getting this type of question a lot at that time.

Since I couldn’t answer it (honestly) like this, I made up answers like ‘I’m so happy, so excited (about being 20)’, and which I think kind of made me feel guilty back then.

Q25. Your twenties were occupied with work, any regrets?

Honestly, there aren’t many. It does occur to me that I should have hung around more often when I was younger, but again, I always (shut down this kind of thoughts) and come to conclusions like ‘but you hate hanging around though’ / ‘right, yeah’. I bet even if I had the opportunity, I wouldn’t have been excited about it too.

Cause I don’t really like to hang around.. both then and now.

If I didn’t (occupy myself with) work, I would just be lolling around at home all the time, so I’m happy that I did well and spent my time more productively compared to that. Cause it's always good to work hard. That is why I would say rather than regrets, I thought, ‘ah, I guess I’ll be able to live more comfortably in my 30s given how hard I’ve worked in my 20s and I feel grateful too. To me, who has led a diligent life in my 20s.

I find working most fun. Among all the stuff I could do. I’ve been told by my acquaintances who have observed me that I’m the type of person who can’t stand sitting still and not working. ‘You really can’t stay still when you’re not working, and when you’re told to rest, you just sit there and start thinking about work, making plans and sorts’, I got these kinds of comments a lot. I don’t think it would be any different even if I were to go back to being 20 years old (now).

Even though 10 years have passed, the components (pieces) that make up the 20-year-old me and 30-year-old me haven’t changed much. I still dislike going out, so do I dislike being in crowded places. Eventually, if I'm given all that time again, wouldn’t I just end up working again?

Translated by jieunspoetry

Edited by IUteamstarcandy

Q26. A song that represents IU’s 20s?

If I were to pick a song that represents my 20s (trying hard to decide)

This again depends on what the criteria is, but a song that I definitely would have to be included would be ‘Friday’.

‘Through the Night’… would 10 songs be too many?

Later on, I might be like, ‘I need to include this song too!’ and the list would get longer, but right now the songs that come to my mind would be ‘Friday’, ‘Through the Night’, ‘Palette’, ‘Twenty-three’, umm… then ‘Full Stop’.

‘Knees’ and ‘Heart’ can make it too, right?

‘Celebrity’, ‘Epilogue’, ‘Dear Name’ would make 10 songs in total.

Q27. The reason you control everything?

It’s because I know player IU best (T/L note: ‘player’ refers to IU as someone being controlled in the ‘game’ of the entertainment industry), since I decided that I’m the best person to control her moves, I’m also the best at making use of myself in multiple ways, that’s why I have continued to take on the role of producer.

In my 30s, I’m thinking of letting someone else do the producing for me.

I feel that I've sufficiently done what I want to do in my 20s.

It would be refreshing to receive direction for an interesting project for a change.

Q28. Don’t you worry that you will lose your objectivity?

I’m not sure what I’ll be like right away next year, but for almost 15 years of my career, that’s something I am confident about. I’m good at being objective about myself. I don’t get excited about useless words, I don’t get hurt by useless words either and I think I’ve done a fine job with that so far. In this world, right now among the people in my life, I feel, ‘I know myself best’ and that ‘I know myself well career-wise’. And eventually it worked on me (laughs) so I think I made the right decision

(T/L note: IU means the mindset that she knows herself best worked on her because it kept her objective).

Q29. What is the reason behind you being thoroughly objective about yourself?

I think I have always been like that from a young age.

When I was young and even before I started this career…

It just seemed to be accurate all the time.

I tend to be accurate about my judgement of myself.

Just that when I was young, I was stricter (T/L note: in judging myself) and now less so.

I think my parents gave it to me.

Q30. Human Lee Jieun, what if you are no longer in the spotlight one day?

From the moment I gained popularity, there isn’t a moment that I haven’t thought about this. In some ways, I think I haven’t come to terms that I am a popular celebrity yet. Since it hasn’t hit me yet, I think it probably never will. Being loved is also just one piece of me (T/L note: one part of who I am) and I don’t think that’s entirely me either…

I’m not being humble. I sincerely do feel this way.

Because of that, I’m able to stay healthy and be free and also have a healthy relationship with my fans. Being able to last this long in my career, I thought it was how I objectively viewed myself and I would suddenly hear, ‘This was a hidden camera! Actually, IU being popular was a hidden camera!’ Like the Truman show… ‘So from tomorrow onwards, you will no longer be popular!’ I have imagined that sort of thing a lot.

I think about that a lot… During times like these, I would also always warn myself, ‘I have to leave something behind in my life.’

If I didn’t come into this world as myself, but came into this world as IU and left as IU, wouldn’t it be really sad?

IU is just one of the things that Lee Jieun did.

She is just one piece of Lee Jieun. I’m not someone who can be fully explained with only IU. Just because you call it self-love, is it self-love? I’ve always wondered about that.

I might feel really sad. (whisper) But then I think I wouldn’t feel that sad. (ahhahhahaha) I don’t think I would be so sad to that extent.

I would just be like, ‘Ah, I’ve been doing this for over 10 years, I had fun… I’ll have fun and take my leave~’ I think that’s the closest to how I truly feel.

Because it’s not like I was happy every single day. Living as IU.

There would be this much of a sense of freedom? And this much of sadness? I think there would be all of this coexisting.

Sadness would not be the dominant feeling and neither would a sense of relief be the dominant feeling.

I would be like, ‘Then what shall I do now?’

‘What shall I do with my spare time now?’ I think that’s what I would be concerned about.

Q31. What does being an adult mean to Lee Jieun?

(thinking carefully) I’m not sure. I recall answering this at some point in my life before, but from my current perspective, I’m not sure what being an adult means. Although it can be simply defined based on age and that once you are no longer a minor, you are considered to be an adult, but even though when I was young I vaguely imagined what an adult would be like, now that I have become one, I’m still unsure and I don’t know if I match up to that. Also, I wonder, ‘Is there such an adult around me?’ Of course, some people might find it too fake that I keep talking about age…

In terms of age, I’m all grown up, year by year as I mature, I find that I’m able to be more understanding and tolerant towards the world and people around me. I think I’m able to understand people in a more multi-dimensional way and sometimes, I discover an inner child in someone… ‘Ah, that person is still..!’ I don’t just mean it in a negative sense, but even as an adult, there could still be a child hidden inside the person, so would that part need to become an adult too for that person to be considered an adult?

But does such a person even exist in this world? Even in my grandmother, I discovered a child in her.

Could this just be a figment of our imagination? A fantasy? A fantasy that all the adults in this world have?

I wonder if it’s just a fantasy like, ‘At some point, I will be a much more adult-like adult than I am now!’ but if I were to just sum up my answer now, it would be to not behave in a more childish manner than those younger than me? (haha) That’s probably how I feel right now.

Q32. Is Lee Jieun considered an ‘adult’?

Yes, I would be, based on this criteria. In front of those younger than me, I try hard to pretend to be an adult, I’m that type of person and I hope to continue doing that.

Q33. The reason you want to become 30 soon

There was no ‘magic of 20-year-old’ when I became of age, but is there one at 30?

I’ll have the same expectation at the age of 40, but of course, I don’t have high hopes for it either.

Still, when I turn 30, I really won’t be (considered) young physically in age, so (although the wordings may sound harsh) I always have this sort of victim mentality towards this subject…

I debuted at such a young age that I think I used to have a tad bit of a victim mentality towards the fact that people often see me as a young (immature) person.

‘Yes I’m young, but I’m not handling or doing my stuff immaturely.’

‘If so, shouldn’t they treat me as a professional?’

‘I’m only physically young in age, but that doesn’t mean that I’m dealing with my career/ social life in a childish manner…’

‘Wouldn’t I finally be able to get closer to the age that matches my experience when I turn 30?’

‘I’m no longer in my 20s, so I bet no one will (continue to) see me as a young girl right?’

I have a bit of those expectations.

Q34. Tell us about your plan on your first day of being 30

None. I don’t have that sort of plan, it will probably be just~~~ the same. (laughs)

I bet I will really just be sleeping in, waking up and lolling around if I don’t have any work, then falling asleep (again) after having my dinner as per usual?

Q35. What kind of 30s do you want to spend?

Perhaps a 30s without much trouble? (LOL) I hope there won't be much trouble.

I hope whatever circumstances won’t drag or take me to somewhere (that I detest)

and that it will be a peaceful 30s for me. I hope it will be a solid 30s for me as an artist,

and no less, a diligent 30s for me as a diligent artist too.

Q36. Your thoughts on failure

I do have some thoughts on this. It makes me sound a little annoying (smiles gently) sharing this makes me sound a little annoying …

but I have never done things that I think I might fail at. Ahaha. I guess I make decisions that I have a plan for and some degree of confidence in. ‘Ah, I’m not so sure about this though? I’m not that confident though?’ For ‘me’ as a person, I’m always indecisive and feeling unsure, but as a producer I’ll just say it. If it’s something that people might not give attention to, I wouldn’t even release it in the first place.

Uhhurhurhurhur.

I think I have trusted my intuition so far.

Q37. Does ‘Pieces’ feel like (a baby) you carried inside you and gave birth to this time as well?

I’m not that noble, in fact… (laughs)

I think these songs might actually be the opposite of that concept?

(T/L note: IU always treats her albums like babies she kept to herself that are finally born into this world, but Pieces is a collection of unreleased songs over the years that didn’t make it into IU’s albums.)

Epilogue

As I was doing this interview and as we filmed this documentary over the past 2 months that can be considered short or long depending on your perspective…

Through this documentary, I really wanted to show every~~thing,

I wanted to show who I am much more clearly.

but I thought to myself, ‘Eventually, this will be a piece of me too.’

In a good way, a meaningful way.

It’s really difficult to define who I am by just putting all of me into one spot and saying, ‘This is me!!!’ and I thought that in future too, ‘That’s going to be tough.’

As I was preparing the ‘Pieces’ album and giving pieces of myself like hints about me, even though I have given my fans the bigger pieces so far, without these pieces, it (T/L note: the full picture) would not be complete, which I am trying to convey through my music and this documentary, so I thought, ‘In many ways, doing this really suits the meaning of ‘Pieces’’. That’s why I wanted to say that, even if it’s not today, someday…

Translated by squishy_blob, ChoMin80, yule, jjanghimi, wellstrong_, jieunspoetry, 4seasonswithIU, and forenexiaoseo

Edited by IUteamstarcandy

[TRANS] IU ‘Pieces’ Album and Song Introductions

IU [Pieces]

The pieces in between my 20s that I purposely didn’t take out

1. Drama

It’s a song that I wrote when I was 20. I composed it because I wanted to cheer up a friend who was going through a breakup and was being very pessimistic about love for a few days. Although I didn’t release it yet, I have so much affection for this song that I sang it for my concert en-encore [T/L note: another encore after the encore] every year without fail. I occasionally tried to write songs with similar emotions, but it seemed like I was just trying to imitate (a version of myself from) a chapter that had already passed in my life, so I stopped doing that.

When I sang it during concerts, because I was in the moment, I could sing it easily and cheerfully, but while recording it, I realised that this was indeed totally different. Out of all the songs I recorded this time, I had the most difficulty with this song, trying to find the character [get into character]. In order to bring out the atmosphere during concerts as much as possible, there wasn’t any special arrangement done for this song.

I’m sincerely grateful towards my fans who didn’t forget the existence of the song ‘Drama’ and strongly requested for it to be released officially. ‘Drama’ is in between ‘Hold My Hand’ which made my blood boil (with ambition) because it was my first (self-composed song) and ‘Friday’ which I was already feeling pretty relaxed about, before I knew it. This song which I was not ambitious about nominating (for this album), because it’s a precious song that I hold close to my heart, perhaps is the reason and theme for this collection of (music) pieces.

2. Next Stop

I started writing this song when I was 25, so by the time I was done, I was 26. There are some songs whereby the lyrics and melody come to my mind together, like a piece of music born with the two as one. It had been awhile since I had a song like that and this was one of them.

It can’t be helped that (I am) biased towards such songs.

There wasn’t any format or particular chord work that I worked hard on, but the moment I wrote the first verse as easily as breathing, I was so in love with this song.

But even then, I forgot about it. Heh.

It was a year later when I encountered my character ‘Jian’ in ‘My Mister’ that I naturally took on that character and was able to finish the second verse. While there was no plan cast in stone, it was a song that I definitely wanted to release one day. Beyond being a storyteller, but as a top liner [T/L note: person who composes the main melody of a song], I think this song contains my most central emotions as a creator.

This is the only song that we mixed in the vocals from the guide version. It contains both my voice from 3 years ago, as well as my current voice. I sang it calmly back then, by now I sing it in a way that appeals (to emotions). Ironically, it might be because it’s all in the past now.

Between Jieun and Jian is a ‘station’.

The two are connected by the distance of a station.

[T/L note: literal translation of the Korean song title is ‘The Station’.]

3. Winter Sleep

It started out as a sketch when I was 27 and had more thoughts than usual about a life leaving this world and about being left on such a world and I finally completed the song when I was 29, after experiencing several more huge separations.

It contains the story of welcoming the first year alone after sending off a beloved family member, friend or pet. It was a track that the lyrics were not difficult to write due to the clear plot in the order of spring, summer, autumn and winter, but in comparison to that, (the whole song) took a much longer time to be completed. That’s because I wanted to use direct expressions, yet I didn’t want the emotions to turn out to be too superficial.

This song took the longest time to record.

I’m usually the type to try my best to be as concise as possible in my expression during recordings, but for this song, I didn’t feel the need to hold back my emotions. Instead, to maximise the feelings of longing, I tried to go for a rather bold(?) arrangement in the precursor to the interlude in the middle of the song and not in the second half of the song [T/L note: question mark used in the original text]. That’s also the reason why the song is based on piano, unlike the other tracks.

Even though a great loss came into my world, there were flowers blooming, stars coming up and poems being born out there without delay. In between these repetitive seasons is ‘winter sleep’.

As I sing this song, this time I really won’t break down anymore. They’ll know this isn’t a lie.

4. You

This is a song I wrote at the age of 24, when I was filming a drama in the mountains, so I couldn’t go home for days and I missed my friend who lived upstairs so much. [T/L note: IU was filming the drama ‘Moon Lovers’ and missed Yoo Inna who lives in the apartment above hers.]

I remember immersing myself in my character of the historical drama I was filming for ten minutes and imagined myself to be writing a postcard to someone far away, not knowing whether it would reach the person and with that, I affectionately wrote the lyrics line by line.

I thought hard about whether to include this track or not.

Many years ago, I had already told my fans that I did not intend to release this song, so in my mind that was the end of it. Then one day as I was surfing on YouTube, I happened to listen to this song again after a long time and saw in the comments that there were more fans than I had thought waiting for this song to be released. On top of that, perhaps because I had written the song sincerely, the lyrics in the song still touched my heart.

Feeling uncertain about whether I would include it in this album, I sang this song in the recording studio again after about five years and amazingly, starting from the first verse, it just came out right.

This is the only song that I let my fans listen to in the one and only year that I did not have any music-related activities in the 14 years of my singing career. [T/L note: It was an untitled april fools song that IU uploaded on her fancafe for uaenas.]

Between ‘Chat-shire’ and ‘Palette’ is ‘You’ wanting to slowly and quietly flow along.

It’s probably the song (title) with the least syllables out of all the songs I’ve worked on.

5. Love Letter

I sketched this song at 26, completed it when I was 28, and “even” gave it to another artist. It was the first time ever since I started composing that another singer sang my song. [T/L note: Previously IU only wrote lyrics for others’ songs, like Cherry B’s “Her” and Jung Seunghwan’s “The Snowman”, Seulong’s “The Moment” and Sam Kim’s “When You Fall”.]

Last year, I went on KBS ‘Sketchbook’ and sang this song, which gave me the opportunity to work with Jung Seunghwan, who is a singer I admire. When we working together on this song, I briefly explained to Antenna and Jung Seunghwan about (my plans) to release this collection of my pieces and earned their consent to release the song. I wrote the lyrics based on the scenario of one half of an elderly couple leaving the world first and writing a final love letter for the other half who is left behind.

If Jung Seunghwan’s version is more calm and refined, I wanted my version of ‘Love Letter’ to be delivered in a more straightforward manner.

The arrangement of the song is fairytale-like and lovely, but I tried to make the vocals sound solid and the song was comparatively easy to record. I also tried to vary the ‘da-o’ part each time it was repeated throughout the song.

The last part of the lyrics, ‘I am still there, remaining in your heart, more than anywhere else’ became the seed of the last track ‘Epilogue’ in my 5th album ‘LILAC’. It’s also something that I want to tell my fans that I am grateful for, who have known me for a long time, know me (for who I am) and continue to want to know me better.

In between a novel and a letter, with this ‘Love Letter’ that I pressed my sincere emotions into and wish to send to those who love me, I close this collection of my (music) pieces.

01 라일락 (LILAC) [TITLE]

Lyrics By IU

Composed By Im Su Ho / Dr. JO / Woong Kim / N!ko

Arranged by Im Su Ho / Woong Kim / N!ko

The story of a couple bidding each other a happy farewell amidst the exclamation that spring is coming, after passionately being in love for 10 years.

The opening song for the full-length album with the same title as the album is ‘LILAC’, which presents us with the thrill of spring with a gorgeous and rhythmic sound.//

A 70-80s disco sound that harmonises the rhythmical bass line with funky and pop elements brings joy to the listeners. Im Su Ho, Dr. JO, Woong Kim, Niko participated in the song composition.

02 Flu

Lyrics By IU

Composed By Ryan S. Jhun / Martin Coogan / Madilyn Bailey / Zacchariah Palmer / London Jackson / Jacob Chatelain

Arranged By Jacob Chatelain / London Jackson / Ryan S. Jhun

When writing lyrics about the subject matter of ‘love’, the feeling that comes to the forefront for me is ‘agony’. When I finally come to the realisation that this feeling called love has been bothering me to the extent of discomfort, I feel like everything in my body has become topsy turvy. The feeling is not exactly refreshing.

This song tells the story of a final rebellion in a desperate fight from being attacked by the love virus, after a fierce denial ended in vain and left me powerless.//

Written by the hit song composer Ryan S. Jhun and his composing team, which has worked together on a variety of music projects, ‘Flu’ has an urban beat, a catchy hook and a fantasy-like melody, adding to the song’s vividness. The unique detailed lyrics filled with IU’s wit and her risqué voice maximise the song’s appeal.

03 Coin [TITLE]

Lyrics By IU

Composed By Poptime / kako / IU

Arranged by Poptime

Stimulating things have an irreplaceable appeal to them, but eventually are detrimental to our health.

Let me play just one more round of this game that is detrimental to my health. //

A new genre that IU has never tried was created by combining a sample sound reminiscent of a game room at the start, with Poptime’s funky groove band soundtrack and IU’s melody. With IU’s glamorous rapping revealed for the first time through the song release and an unconventional drop part, this song with a concept that (IU) is trying for the first time since her debut, became a hot topic since the release of the teaser video.

04 봄 안녕 봄 (Hi spring Bye)

Lyrics By IU

Composed By Naul

Arranged by Kang Hwa Seong

Although there are still times that your name unconsciously comes to my mind first,

and occasionally there are sleepless nights like these,

I won’t think of this as my lingering affection (towards you) anymore.

Just a name I recall on a tiring day

or a coincidence I want to face again

The feeling of getting off at a small stopover early in the morning, just in case

The feeling of stretching out one’s hand to the wind gently blowing past, just in case

The feeling of calling out your name when looking into the vacant gaze of a cat, in case it’s you

So you’ve turned into a butterfly

Still as beautiful as ever

So you’ve turned into a bird

Free at last

You have come again today without fail

Thank you

It’s a relief to be able to wait again tomorrow

Let’s meet again on a good day. //

The song that top Korean singer-songwriter Naul gifted IU is simple and yet the understated melody with the EP and nylon guitar tune, carefully brings out the emotions of the song. The melodious monologue-like chorus and Naul’s calm voice deepen the song a layer further. The gentle bridge that leaves an impression is straightforward, yet adds a refined touch to the song. The poetic string tunes like the arrival of spring, together with the warm electric guitar sounds, completes the classic yet emotional contemporary pop sound.

05 Celebrity

Lyrics By IU

Composed By Ryan S. Jhun / Jeppe London Bilsby / Lauritz Emil Christiansen / IU / Chloe Latimer / Celine Svanback

Arranged By Jeppe London Bilsby / Lauritz Emil Christiansen / Ryan S. Jhun

I have a friend with eye-catching outfits, slightly unique taste, various talents, a defence mechanism that started out as shyness, a personality that differentiates the likes and dislikes for everything and because of all this, was often treated as someone who is eccentric.

I love my friend even more for all these characteristics, but for the same reasons, the friend received even more looks of hatred all this while.

These lyrics started out as things I wanted to say to my ‘eccentric friend’, but as I worked on this song, I realised that this is also my story. After completing the lyrics, I think it wouldn’t be unnatural at all for anyone to become the main character, besides my friend or me. Because in life, we would definitely have experienced a sense of alienation for not having met expectations set by others. Including my friend, I want to tell those who were born unpolished yet unique. You’re not ‘byeolnan’ (eccentric) but someone who is like a ‘byeol’ (star).

‘Celebrity’ is the preview to IU’s 5th full-length album after 4 years. The pre-release track that introduces the album, ‘Celebrity’, is an electronic pop song mixed with tropical house, covering a spectrum of genres, with the involvement of Ryan S. JHyun who has produced many hit songs, Danish composer Chloe Latimer, as well as IU herself in the song production, bringing the song to a higher level of completion.

In particular, the album art has the word ‘Celebrity’ scrawled by IU using her left hand, which makes it even more special. The lighthearted and classy ‘Celebrity’ track has a hook in the style of a drop produced with synthesiser and autotune that has not been used in IU’s songs before and combined with IU’s voice, makes it more refreshing.

06 돌림노래 (Troll Feat. Dean)

Lyrics By IU / DEAN

Composed By Park Woo Sang / JUNNY / DEAN

Arranged By Park Woo Sang

Even though it’s pathetic,

If it’s still love after all this, then it’s love. //

The much-anticipated collaboration between IU and DEAN has come true. Park Woo Sang, JUNNY, DEAN, jane participated in composing the song. With a reggae and bossa nova-based genre, IU and DEAN exchange honest words with each other about a relationship like a ‘circular song’ (Korean title of this song, although the English title is ‘Troll’).

07 빈컵 (Empty Cup)

Lyrics By IU

Composed By WOOGIE / PENOMECO

Arranged by WOOGIE

Instead of the cup of coffee that is filled to the brink with the scent of the panicked faced man who was unable to grab on to the woman who got up from her seat first, only the cold remains of the coffee stain remains scarred on the floor. //

Producer WOOGIE, hip-hop musician PENOMECO, and IU. In ‘Empty Cup’, which became a hot issue since the release of the tracklist showing a fresh collaboration between artistes who cover a wide music spectrum, a toned-down IU with a lonely voice, low-fi guitar sound and R&B based band sound, maximise the chic emotions of the song.

08 아이와 나의 바다 (My sea)

Lyrics By IU

Composed By Jehwi / Kim Hee Won

Arranged by Jehwi

I am unable to love myself perfectly

After nights where my heart was down bad,

Only now have I found my ocean. //

The ‘Through the Night’ duo, composers Jehwi and Kim Heewon worked together again on a ballad track. Despite a calm beginning, the grand sound that makes its appearance matches IU’s vocals full of energy, grabbing the attention of listeners for 5 mins and 16 seconds. Also, the rich performance by the string ensemble with 20 members add to the beauty of the song and IU’s powerful high note in the second half with the choir formed by Jehwi’s friends bring the song to a dramatic climax.

09 어푸 (Ah puh)

Lyrics By IU / Lee Chan Hyuk

Composed By Lee Chan Hyuk / PEEJAY

Arranged by PEEJAY

Lets hang out near the ocean until we’re sick of each other.

A refreshing sound with an attack feel, like surfing the waves, the clicking rhythm almost like a camera shutter and a dynamic melody, which bring out the fun lyrics written together by IU and Lee Chan Hyuk. Also, the comment from Lee Chan Hyuk that ‘this would fit (the description of) a modern interpretation of IU’s refreshing songs in the early part of her career’ adds to the various highlights of this song.

10 에필로그 (Epilogue)

Lyrics By IU

Composed By Shim Eun Ji / SUMIN / Kim Soo Yeong / Im Geum Bi

Arranged by Shim Eun Ji / Kim Soo Yeong

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all the listeners who willingly shared in conversation with me without an annoyance throughout my talkative twenties.

Not the twenty-three-year-old IU, the twenty-five-year-old IU, nor even the IU last year (28), but the me of right now will now be moving on to the next chapter.

Goodbye ♥

-from Jieun //

Shim Eun Ji, the composer of the last track of IU’s first album of her twenties ‘Spring of a Twenty Year Old’, together with singer-songwriter Kim Soo Yeong, SUMIN and Im Geum Bi, wrote the last track of this album again which brings IU’s twenties to a close. Like a relieved greeting from IU, this is a ballad song that evokes a mysterious atmosphere with a low-fi sound from an old record player and retro feels.

Source: Melon

IU and LEE JI EUN,

This generation’s icon IU, who cannot be defined in a single word, and the bare-faced Lee Ji Eun.

Q1: Today’s photoshoot intended to capture the duplicity of your two sides, IU and Lee Jieun. You looked relaxed during the shoot, but once it was over, you confessed that today’s shoot was actually quite tough.

IU: Honestly, it’s always tough to work on Gucci projects. It’s probably because there are a lot of experimental outfits, scenes and messages. In particular, the goal for today was to visually represent my alter ego. When I saw the 2023 S/S collection in Milan, I thought it was really shocking and interesting. With those memories in mind, upon hearing that the motif of today’s photoshoot was based on the collection, I thought to myself ah, it’s not going to be easy. But it turned out to be really fun too. It’s my first time having such thick smoky makeup and I’m grateful for the chance to be part of this refreshing experience from the photoshoot composition to the props and the studio design.

Q2: The last cut was a scene of an IU with thick smoky makeup, standing in front of a wall filled with a picture of an almost makeup-free Lee Jieun. Honestly, I didn’t know the photo on the wall was taken today and thought it was a still cut taken from ‘Love Set’ in the film, ‘Persona’. I’m aware that you show many different faces of yourself, but I also realized that you show faces of different time periods too.

IU: My staff said something similar in the waiting room just now too. I have smoky makeup on right now, but just now, we had as little makeup on as possible and since it’s early in the morning, my face was swollen like I had baby fats (laughs) which seemed to go with the concept. Seeing the printed picture, I thought of the past too.

Q3: You’ve been in a partnership with Gucci for a while. I think judging from IU’s personality as an artist, it would not have been possible if you did not agree with the philosophy and values of the brand. In terms of artistic vision, how are Gucci and IU aligned?

IU: I think Gucci is a brand that places emphasis on diversity and finds aesthetic in things that are unrefined. If I were to pick a characteristic that is similar to myself, I think this would be it. When I write lyrics, I tend to infuse thoughts and emotions that have not reached a conclusion or that come to my mind during an incomplete process.

Q4: As you said earlier, you have always been honest about yourself at each moment, and that alone is brave. As an artist, aren’t you obsessed with the idea of displaying only your perfectly crafted side to the public?

IU: When I was young, I didn’t really know any of that. (laughs) I think I had no choice but to say, “This is what I think right now”, “I’m at this age now” due to my personality, that is having to say what’s on my mind. On the other hand, I have always known that I am not nearly as perfect (person) as a sculpture. And that isn’t something that I can simply achieve by imitating. As long as I chose this profession as my career, (I know) this was my own battle that I had to come out winning or losing, and there is also a side of me that wants to make no bones about showing myself. What started out like that has now established itself as one of the ways of expressing myself.

Q5: So the piecemeal activities you’ve done recently can be understood along those lines? You lent your voice to MIRAL School’s song sung by their teachers for the students. The composer of ‘Through the Night’, Kim Jehwi made the song based on what he felt while working at the school, and you participated in the song as a featuring artist.

IU: Musical talent aside, Jehwi is my precious friend too. Frankly speaking, when he first told me that he’d be teaching the students in school, I was worried about whether he could do well more than anything else. But being affable, he adapted well and eventually said, “Noona, I want to make a song as a gift for the school”, which made me so proud and want to cheer him on too. To be honest, I didn’t expect this to make such news, but I poured so much effort into recording the song that I somehow joked, “I think I work harder on this than I do for my album”. (I worked so hard on this) so that the students can gain strength, and go to school happily while listening to it.

Q6: The drama “You Have Worked Hard” (literal title) has created a buzz with the combination of IU, Park Bo Gum, and writer Im Sang Chun of ‘Fight for My Way’, and will soon begin its pre-production. What is your reason for choosing this work?

IU: I think everyone will think this way when the drama is released, “Ah, even I would have wanted to do it too.” I really enjoyed the previous works of writer Im Sang Chun, and this one seemed to carry a new story of its own so it was refreshing. It’s just words (writing), but they manage to make people feel such emotions, so much that as someone who likes to read and write, I was envious of the writer’s talent. The theme of the drama is good, but I especially liked that it’s a heavy story delivered in a way that’s not too heavy.

Q7: You character, Ae Soon is a ‘young girl of literary interest who isn’t well off but remains positive and ambitious, and whose voice trembles like a goat whenever she rebels’. It is noteworthy that “You Have Worked Hard” will be your first korean drama comeback in four years since “Hotel Del Luna”, and that the character is the total opposite of your previous role, Jang Man Wol.

IU: Man Wol in “Hotel Del Luna” is certainly an unusual character. However, Ae Soon has a unique point too. Ae Soon may seem like the type of person you can easily see around you, but should I say that if you look closely, you’ll find her individuality as a human being stands out? I think I’m attracted to people of that sort (gyeol: personality, belief, preference, etc).

Q8: Some actors look for traces of themselves in the role they are assigned to in order to immerse themselves into their character. Are you one of them? How similar is IU with Ae Soon?

IU: There are definitely characters with gyeol (personality, belief, preference, etc) that I can never comprehend, but if that is the case, I won’t be able to bring myself to choose the work (willingly). It’s a matter of confidence. This also proves that all the characters I have played so far have been those that I could understand at some point. Among them, Ae Soon resembles me more than any other character I have portrayed. The writer has incredible observation skills. They said they wanted to incorporate the characteristics that I have that are not too obvious into the character. It was to the point where I said, “Oh my, how did you know that I have this side to me?” after reading the script.

Q9: From “My Mister” to “Hotel Del Luna”, and from “Shades of the Heart” to “Broker” and then “Dream”. Whether it’s a drama or film, should I say that your next step is always super bold? To the extent that one may think playing a different work and a different character from your previous work is your first and main criteria for selecting a project.

IU: Just like how when you have long hair for a long time, don’t you want to dye your hair or get a haircut at some point? It may not be my criteria, but I think once I have lived as a character for more than a few months, I’d unconsciously want to try out something different too.

Q10: There are many people who want to try a bob or short haircut, but they end up sticking to their long hair for the rest of their lives just in case the former doesn’t suit them.

IU: But if there’s something I want to do, I’m the type of person who must (and will) do it first (before I worry about it). It’s much easier for me to bear regretting doing something than regretting not doing it.

Q11: I suppose you are not the type of person that separates your actress’s ego from your singer’s. How similar or different are your state of mind the day before the concert and the day before crank-in (starting to shoot a drama/film)?

IU: If a concert stage is like a (one-off) live broadcast where you only get a chance to put out a (perfect) performance that stays forever in the audience’s memory, then the filming set has a different premise in that you can exchange opinions with the director or your co-stars on the spot, select the best outcome from several take opportunities, and subsequently share it with the audience. However, once the concert begins, the overwhelming moment of finally becoming one with the audience after feeling all alone under a lot of tension for some time is very similar to the moment I realize that I am truly working and keeping in tune with the crew after seeing these many people (including myself) gradually moving forward as a team with a shared goal on a new and unfamiliar set. Both fields are attractive in that they are things that I can never do alone. Whether I'm singing or acting, I'm just someone who puts in the best of my share (of work) at every moment.

Q12: At the 14th anniversary concert <The Golden Hour: Under The Orange Sun> last year, you said, “I thought this concert might be the final destination of the things I dreamt of and wanted to challenge myself to since my teenage years, but at this moment, I’m hopeful that this could be a new starting point, a new beginning (for me).” Normally, settling down is always the easier option wherever you are. And yet, you are still constantly trying to head somewhere else. Which direction are you headed? What lies at your ultimate destination?

IU: It is no exaggeration to say that I lived my twenties obsessing over the idea of ‘direction’. Should I say it was the subject that kept me ‘hot-blooded (passionate)’ at that time? Those ardent worries were enjoyable, but honestly draining too. After turning 30, I don’t have any particular direction in mind. It’s my first time being like this too.

Q13: Are you wandering around (floating/drifting) right now?

IU: That expression is accurate. I’m wandering around (floating/drifting). This itself could be my present direction now that I’m in my 30s. Throughout last year, I kept thinking, “I want to maintain this mindset” and “I enjoy living like this.” On the other hand, apart from feeling at peace, it was also a year where interesting events exploded. I used to cling to the idea that ‘If I miss something, the world will always give me something else in return’ throughout my 20s. But once I let go of the things I was clutching onto for dear life, the ‘other thing’ the world gave me was surprisingly such events. As I emptied my mind, the world filled it with fun stuff instead. Later when I look back as I get older, I will surely put a bookmark at my 30s (chapter).

Q14: Looking back, you were always doing something for the past 14 years, like singing, holding showcases, communicating with fans, etc. So what is rest for you?

IU: To be honest, I can’t quite grasp the concept of rest. I don’t feel particularly recharged just because my body is resting. In a broad sense, if getting rest is considered a means to de-stress and recharge one’s body, then ironically for me, the things (stress) that have piled up inside me are relieved in the most refreshing way when I’m working. (I feel relieved) when I have satisfactorily accomplished my work to the point where I get a good sense of pleasure. I feel much more refreshed during those times than when I’m just lying down at home for days. Otherwise, there should be something engrossing enough for me to not think about work at all. But in my case, there isn't much stuff that I’m into to that extent. Some of the (fun) stuff that I can recall now are: when I’m in a deep sleep, when I’m catching up with Yoo Inna, when I’m making silly jokes and laughing with my friends or lover who deeply understand me, when I’m rewatching my favorite movie, and when I’m having something really delicious. As I live, there are quite many people who do not need so much of that sort of mental relaxation like me. That said, stamina is another story, so as I enter my 30s, I try hard to take care of my body to make sure that it can keep up when I need to work harder. When I get to rest, I spend time lying down as much as I can. (laughs).

Q15: During the concert, you also said, “I’ll reflect on what I experienced today and go on for another 14 years.” Have you ever imagined yourself 14 years from now?

IU: Based on last year’s calculation, if I were to picture myself as a 44-year-old… I think I’d still be working by then. Other than that, I honestly have no idea too… that is, if we (were to imagine it) based on the premise that ‘I am a person who can change’. For instance, the mindset that constitutes me 14 years from now will be very different from my current mindset.

Q16: Maybe change can happen because people are flexible. But if I am to be honest, I’m the type of person who believes that people do not change until they die.

IU: I do agree with your statement to a certain extent. But I used to someone who despised competition and (thus) kept myself from competing 14 years ago. Going through my diary back then, I wrote “I find this competitive society so exhausting. I’m worried (about myself) because I don’t have a desire to win, and I hate competition.” But looking back, I realized that I’ve been enjoying competitions throughout the last 14 years since my debut. To the point where I wondered, “maybe I’m actually crazy about competing (for victory/defeat)?” I thought perhaps I failed to notice that I was a competitive person or I just wanted to deny it on purpose.

Q17: Either way, I feel sorry for the young girl who had just debuted and scribbled “I hate competition” in her diary. Is there anything that IU, who(se mindset) has changed quite a bit, would like to say to the IU of that time?

IU: “You actually like yourself a lot.”

Q18: You once said, “Even if we’re sick of this world, I hope we will live on while loving each other.” In this harsh world, is love still the hope that you have faith in?

IU: It’s a bit embarrassing to say this but nevertheless, I believe that love overcomes hatred. In the end, love wins. Even when I lose my balance and I’m swayed, I repeat to myself, “But love will win in the end though” and either try to put together my logic, build up my thinking muscle or control my mind like that. The proposition that love will win is something that I’ve experienced enough through living my life. I will continue to believe it moving forward.

Q19: Singer-songwriters are blessed in that they can turn their personal thoughts and emotions into the end-product that is music. In particular, we sort of know how important lyrics are in your music. What lyrics have been running through your mind these days?

IU: This may sound ridiculous but I happen to be writing about something we just talked about earlier. I was surprised deep down when I heard the word ‘wandering’. To wander around (float/ drift) without a destination. I think this will be the theme of my next album.

Q20: Back to today’s pictorial concept of ‘duality’, I feel that you are leading your life with both egos — icon IU and ordinary person Lee Jieun — faithfully. How do you maintain a balance between these two?

IU: Changing between slightly uncomfortable yet pretty clothes that make me shine and slightly average yet comfortable clothes I can freely move around in, and being moderately satisfied and moderately wary at every moment seem to be the way to balance… whilst naturally accepting the obvious fact that there are times I shine and times I’m just ordinary.

Q21: “I can’t take out all the words from my diary, but…” (lyrics from Through the Night) — What is the one sentence that can describe you right now?

IU: (I can’t take out all the words from my diary, but) that child / she has decided to live as a spore (홀씨), instead of a flower.

[*T/L note: Although IU didn’t specifically mention dandelion (민들레), ‘홀씨’ is often used when talking about ‘민들레’ (dandelion). Referring to what she said earlier about ‘wandering around (floating/drifting)’,‘홀씨’ can be interpreted as ‘민들레 홀씨’ (dandelion puffs) too.]

Source: https://www.harpersbazaar.co.kr/article/75198

Read album and song introductions here.

Listen to all songs here.

01 드라마 (Drama)

Lyrics by IU

Composed by IU

Arranged by IU

I once held his hand

and became the most important character in the whole world.

Every flower, every petal,

blossomed just for me.

Olympic Boulevard, Ttukseom Resort

and pretty restaurants along Seochon alleys

The jewel-like lines from my script

that I stumbled over

Will I be able to love someone again?

Or hear compliments that I am pretty again?

One day, just one day, if I could get the chance to do so,

I will do all I can to shine brightly.

(recorder music)

At some point, the background music

suddenly changes into a minor key

And on the set with the lights out,

I, who is left all alone,

am just an average girl playing a minor role.

The flowers, the sky, the Han river. They are all lies.

My drama comes to an end like this again.

Has it even started?

Or has it already ended?

Source: Melon

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

02 정거장 (Next Stop)

Lyrics by IU

Composed by IU

Arranged by IU

Will I get to meet them at the next station?

The faces I have missed

Will I get to meet them at the next green light?

The sceneries I have yearned for

The sun sets at a fixed timing

and the streets become empty

Yet only one person remains at the same spot as yesterday

unable to leave

Pitter-patter, the rain pours nonchalantly in straight lines

and a heavy sigh follows at the same angle

Will I get to meet them at the next station?

The people I have yearned for

Will I get to meet them at the next green light?

The faces I have missed

The red glow of the setting sun spreads gradually over my head

and the dancing shadows become longer as it turns to dusk

Will I get to meet them at the next station?

The winds I have missed

Will I get to meet them at the next green light?

The memories I have yearned for

Or will I get to reach it in the next world?

This place that I have never left

Source: Melon

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

03 겨울잠 (Winter Sleep)

Lyrics by IU

Composed by IU

Arranged by Seo Dong Hwan

In a spring that came early, I picked a batch (of budding flowers)

and set them in front of your room door

After sleeping to your heart’s content, by the time you awake,

they would be beautifully in full bloom.

In a summer full of stars, I filled a cup

and set it by your bedside

It will all melt away soon,

but I guess you still want to rest alone some more

Why must the first spring and summer without you

be this beautiful?

I wanted to show it to you before it all passes

Hmm I really wanted you to see it

You are sleeping just like how you used to

when you would lean on me and doze off every now and then

What kind of dreams are you having?

You will tell me about them when you wake up, right?

Just like you would have any other morning hmm

In a busy autumn, I folded up (a letter)

and left it in your mailbox

I underlined my favorite part from a piece of writing

When you meet me, will you please read it?

In a winter full of white, within a breath I held in,

contained words I say to myself alone

Even though I had been holding it in so well,

sometimes I immaturely miss you so

The unexpectedly cold air at the end of the year

that freezes you deep into your bones

makes your small shoulders shrink in,

I really want to hug them

You are sleeping just like how you used to

when you would lean on me and doze off bit by bit

What kind of dreams are you having?

You will tell me about them when you wake up, right?

Just like you would have any other morning hmm

[T/L Notes: The lyrics were written in a figurative manner in that ‘I’ picks up a batch of spring, fills a cup of summer and folds a piece of autumn and contains words within a breath of winter. When translating the lyrics, we fronted the seasons to place emphasis on the passing of seasons, as IU did in the original Korean lyrics. For the part about ‘dozing off every now and then’, IU used the phrase ‘조각잠’ which means fragmented sleep, not sleeping like a sculpture, as translated on some other websites. Also, in the last second verse, the ‘unexpectedly cold air’ means that while you expect the air to be cold in winter, it feels even colder than usual.]

Source: Melon

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

04 너 (You)

Lyrics by IU

Composed by IU

Arranged by IU

From somewhere far away,

while looking at unrelated things,

with a bit of loneliness

I start thinking about you~

You~ whom I miss so much

Ah.. my heart aches

Is it doing so on purpose?

How about you? Are you lovely today as well?

You~ You~

Does where you are at

have the same sky as the one here?

If you are walking and find yourself suddenly stop in your tracks,

then take a moment to think of me too

Everything is like you. Why are there so many of you?

Floating, flowing, tangling, and then falling

You~ You~

Somewhere far away,

did you know there is someone endlessly longing for you?

On a pitch dark night with no stars,

I’m thinking of you~

and only you~

Source: Melon

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

05 러브레터 (Love Letter)

Lyrics by IU

Composed by IU

Arranged by Hong So Jin

Do you remember our first

hesitant greeting in the alley

I can’t forget

the nod of that day

Do you remember the silence

of dawn on the street

I can’t forget

the 5 o’clock of that day

Underneath the long eyelashes

that pointed downwards evenly,

Across the words

written with utmost love,

And at the awful whistle

you used to blow at times,

I am still there,

remaining in all those places of mine.

Underneath the underlines

drawn with a pen you cherished,

Across our names

that were scribbled next to each other,

And at the shoelaces

you used to tie with nonchalant concern,

I am still there,

remaining in those places of mine.

Even in your favourite spring song

and falling snowflake,

I am still there,

remaining in your heart, more than anywhere else

I am still there,

Please do not cry, dear.

Source: Melon

There are lots of books IU has recommended in recent years. Links have been provided for the ebooks that you can legally read for free online.

Fredrik Backman - A Man Called Ove

L. Frank Baum - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [Shoes, NOT Red Shoes*]

Lewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland [Twenty-three]

Lewis Carroll - Through the Looking Glass [Red Queen]

Paulo Coelho - Brida

Osamu Dazai - No Longer Human

Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov

Gong Ji Young - Very Light Feather

Kaori Ekuni - Falling Into the Evening

Hermann Hesse - Demian

Hwang Sun Won - Rain Shower [The Shower]

Hwang Jeong Eun - 파씨의 입문 Introduction to Paschi/Passy

Hwang Jeong Eun - Savage Alice

Im Sol Ah - 최선의 삶 The Best Life

Jonas Jonasson - The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

Byron Katie - Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life

Kim Hye Jin - 딸에 대하여 About my Daughter

Kim Sung Jong - 계엄령의 밤 The Night of Martial Law

Kim Young Ha - 오직 두 사람 Only Two People

Kwon Yeo Seon - 레몬 Lemon

Lee Hye Rin - 열정 같은 소리하고 있네 You Call It Passion

Lee Kyung Hye - One Day I Died

Lee Seok Won - 보통의 존재 Common Being

Milan Kundera - The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Haruki Murakami - Hear the Wind Sing

Guillaume Musso - Will You be There?

Friedrich Nietzsche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Ito Ogawa - Have Some Warmth~

Ito Ogawa - The Restaurant of Love Regained

Park Min Gyu - Castella

Park Min Gyu - 죽은 왕녀를 위한 파반느 Pavane for a Dead Princess

Mirjam Pressler - Bitter Chocolate

Françoise Sagan - Do You Like Brahms?

Leo Tolstoy - Ivan the Fool [Glasses]

José Mauro de Vasconcelos - My Sweet Orange Tree [Zeze]

Virginia Woolf - Jacob’s Room

Virginia Woolf - Mrs. Dalloway [Black Out]

(*Note: IU’s The Red Shoes did use the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale as a motif, but IU didn’t write that song, therefor it was not included above)

Hello uaenas..!

Is this the timing that everyone is sleeping? Wondering where and how everyone spent the end of 2022, whether you were feeling perhaps slightly unsettled on the last day of the year because of me, I’m here to send my new year greetings to uaenas and convey my grateful and apologetic feelings as well.

Those who read the news today would already know, but I’m currently dating.

Uaenas who have always been concerned for me and curious about how I’m doing might be really surprised, so I’m being really cautious, but yes… it just turned out this way!

Towards someone who has been my colleague for a long time, we are relying on each other while growing feelings towards one another.

For a long time, he’s someone who has been supporting me which I’m thankful for and always telling me that I’m ‘meotjida meotjida (cool/amazing)’. He’s also a dependable and cute person who has given me sincere encouragement.

He is a uaena who watches me the most closely, so I think emotionally, I’m having a comfortable and good time recently. But also, one of the reasons I’m surging with self-esteem and passion towards my work in particular recently is because of a good friend who has been praising me nearby for a long time.

Since everyone already knows about it,

we will meet nicely and quietly without causing worry to you all…!!🥹

I’m sorry for giving all of you a shock, but I’m really sorry and thankful towards uaenas who congratulated us and firstly asked how I’m doing.

I didn’t really type much, but perhaps because I put quite a lot of thought into each word, it’s already the new year. I started typing this in 2022

and it’s already 2023 now.

Happy new year everyone 💗

I’m really happy that in 2022 which has become last year, we got to meet again after a long time and see each other up close again. Just recalling those great heart thumping moments, I think I’ll definitely never be able to forget them. I’m sincerely thankful that all of you had fun with me again and have been the closest friends to me once again over the past year!!

I’m not going to be lazy and I’ll be dashing forward this year too!

I’ll do my best.

Happy new year, once again, uaenas

After a good night of sleep, it will be the new year.

Goodnight. I love you.

Title’s literal translation: “Dangerous Road”

Upon your shyly blushing red cheeks, The tiny falling drop of sweat Is like a raindrop swallowed in light As it falls through a crack in the sunset.

You’re beautiful, aren’t you? How beautiful. You take my breath away— How beautiful.

The sound of your mingling breaths are this moment’s poetry. They flow through a crack in the twilit window. You said once that everything that is dangerous Has a kind of unexplainable pull.

You’re beautiful, aren’t you? How beautiful. You take my breath away— How beautiful.

You’re beautiful, aren’t you? How beautiful. You take my breath away— How beautiful.

You’re beautiful, aren’t you? You take my breath away— How beautiful. How beautiful.

How beautiful. I have to quit Before it reaches. (You’re beautiful.) I have to end it Before it ends. (How beautiful.)

IU [Pieces]

The pieces in between my 20s that I purposely didn’t take out

1. Drama

It’s a song that I wrote when I was 20. I composed it because I wanted to cheer up a friend who was going through a breakup and was being very pessimistic about love for a few days. Although I didn’t release it yet, I have so much affection for this song that I sang it for my concert en-encore [T/L note: another encore after the encore] every year without fail. I occasionally tried to write songs with similar emotions, but it seemed like I was just trying to imitate (a version of myself from) a chapter that had already passed in my life, so I stopped doing that.

When I sang it during concerts, because I was in the moment, I could sing it easily and cheerfully, but while recording it, I realised that this was indeed totally different. Out of all the songs I recorded this time, I had the most difficulty with this song, trying to find the character [get into character]. In order to bring out the atmosphere during concerts as much as possible, there wasn’t any special arrangement done for this song.

I’m sincerely grateful towards my fans who didn’t forget the existence of the song ‘Drama’ and strongly requested for it to be released officially. ‘Drama’ is in between ‘Hold My Hand’ which made my blood boil (with ambition) because it was my first (self-composed song) and ‘Friday’ which I was already feeling pretty relaxed about, before I knew it. This song which I was not ambitious about nominating (for this album), because it’s a precious song that I hold close to my heart, perhaps is the reason and theme for this collection of (music) pieces.

2. Next Stop

I started writing this song when I was 25, so by the time I was done, I was 26. There are some songs whereby the lyrics and melody come to my mind together, like a piece of music born with the two as one. It had been awhile since I had a song like that and this was one of them.

It can’t be helped that (I am) biased towards such songs.

There wasn’t any format or particular chord work that I worked hard on, but the moment I wrote the first verse as easily as breathing, I was so in love with this song.

But even then, I forgot about it. Heh.

It was a year later when I encountered my character ‘Jian’ in ‘My Mister’ that I naturally took on that character and was able to finish the second verse. While there was no plan cast in stone, it was a song that I definitely wanted to release one day. Beyond being a storyteller, but as a top liner [T/L note: person who composes the main melody of a song], I think this song contains my most central emotions as a creator.

This is the only song that we mixed in the vocals from the guide version. It contains both my voice from 3 years ago, as well as my current voice. I sang it calmly back then, by now I sing it in a way that appeals (to emotions). Ironically, it might be because it’s all in the past now.

Between Jieun and Jian is a ‘station’.

The two are connected by the distance of a station.

[T/L note: literal translation of the Korean song title is ‘The Station’.]

3. Winter Sleep

It started out as a sketch when I was 27 and had more thoughts than usual about a life leaving this world and about being left on such a world and I finally completed the song when I was 29, after experiencing several more huge separations.

It contains the story of welcoming the first year alone after sending off a beloved family member, friend or pet. It was a track that the lyrics were not difficult to write due to the clear plot in the order of spring, summer, autumn and winter, but in comparison to that, (the whole song) took a much longer time to be completed. That’s because I wanted to use direct expressions, yet I didn’t want the emotions to turn out to be too superficial.

This song took the longest time to record.

I’m usually the type to try my best to be as concise as possible in my expression during recordings, but for this song, I didn’t feel the need to hold back my emotions. Instead, to maximise the feelings of longing, I tried to go for a rather bold(?) arrangement in the precursor to the interlude in the middle of the song and not in the second half of the song [T/L note: question mark used in the original text]. That’s also the reason why the song is based on piano, unlike the other tracks.

Even though a great loss came into my world, there were flowers blooming, stars coming up and poems being born out there without delay. In between these repetitive seasons is ‘winter sleep’.

As I sing this song, this time I really won’t break down anymore. They’ll know this isn’t a lie.

4. You

This is a song I wrote at the age of 24, when I was filming a drama in the mountains, so I couldn’t go home for days and I missed my friend who lived upstairs so much. [T/L note: IU was filming the drama ‘Moon Lovers’ and missed Yoo Inna who lives in the apartment above hers.]

I remember immersing myself in my character of the historical drama I was filming for ten minutes and imagined myself to be writing a postcard to someone far away, not knowing whether it would reach the person and with that, I affectionately wrote the lyrics line by line.

I thought hard about whether to include this track or not.

Many years ago, I had already told my fans that I did not intend to release this song, so in my mind that was the end of it. Then one day as I was surfing on YouTube, I happened to listen to this song again after a long time and saw in the comments that there were more fans than I had thought waiting for this song to be released. On top of that, perhaps because I had written the song sincerely, the lyrics in the song still touched my heart.

Feeling uncertain about whether I would include it in this album, I sang this song in the recording studio again after about five years and amazingly, starting from the first verse, it just came out right.

This is the only song that I let my fans listen to in the one and only year that I did not have any music-related activities in the 14 years of my singing career. [T/L note: It was an untitled april fools song that IU uploaded on her fancafe for uaenas.]

Between ‘Chat-shire’ and ‘Palette’ is ‘You’ wanting to slowly and quietly flow along.

It’s probably the song (title) with the least syllables out of all the songs I’ve worked on.

5. Love Letter

I sketched this song at 26, completed it when I was 28, and “even” gave it to another artist. It was the first time ever since I started composing that another singer sang my song. [T/L note: Previously IU only wrote lyrics for others’ songs, like Cherry B’s “Her” and Jung Seunghwan’s “The Snowman”, Seulong’s “The Moment” and Sam Kim’s “When You Fall”.]

Last year, I went on KBS ‘Sketchbook’ and sang this song, which gave me the opportunity to work with Jung Seunghwan, who is a singer I admire. When we were working together on this song, I briefly explained to Antenna and Jung Seunghwan about (my plans) to release this collection of my pieces and earned their consent to release the song. I wrote the lyrics based on the scenario of one half of an elderly couple leaving the world first and writing a final love letter for the other half who is left behind.

If Jung Seunghwan’s version is more calm and refined, I wanted my version of ‘Love Letter’ to be delivered in a more straightforward manner.

The arrangement of the song is fairytale-like and lovely, but I tried to make the vocals sound solid and the song was comparatively easy to record. I also tried to vary the ‘da-o’ part each time it was repeated throughout the song.

The last part of the lyrics, ‘I am still there, remaining in your heart, more than anywhere else’ became the seed of the last track ‘Epilogue’ in my 5th album ‘LILAC’. It’s also something that I want to tell my fans that I am grateful for, who have known me for a long time, know me (for who I am) and continue to want to know me better.

In between a novel and a letter, with this ‘Love Letter’ that I pressed my sincere emotions into and wish to send to those who love me, I close this collection of my (music) pieces.

Fan: Please give a spoiler of your full-length album!! IU: This isn’t a spoiler for my album but just how I’ll be like one hour and ten mins from now [inserts Me on new year meme]

Fan: Unnie, what’s the first song you’ll be listening to in new year?? I’m going to listen to The Red Shoes! So that even if I close my eyes and walk, I will choose the right path (*t/n: lyrics from The Red Shoes) IU: For me, my new song.. heheheheheheheheheh

Fan: Unnie.. The hearts… on Instagram? What… do they mean… IU: Those… those mean nothing at all……; IU: ☪️☪️💜☪️☪️

Fan: Unnie, please take good care,,, of your cartilages that you only get once in your lifetime!!! I’m going for a surgery because I wasn’t able to take good care of them ㅜㅜ You told us to take good care of our health and I failed to do so, i’m sorry 🥺🥺 IU: Oh no…ㅠㅠ how painful will it be… hope your surgery goes well… Let’s build our muscles well..!!

Fan: Do you sleep well these days??? Sleep well too tonight 😘 IU: These days I sleep so well, I sleep as soon as I close my eyes. But it doesn’t feel like I’m resting because I’m singing in my dreams too 😇

Fan: Unnie I love you so much so so so so so much ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜㅜ ♡   *   ♡   ᕬ  ᕬ   ♡ * ♡        +  ♡（⌯’-‘⌯) ·ﾟ♡   + ┏━━━♡ U U━♡━━┓              Love you🤍 ┗━━━━━━━━━━┛ IU: I love you so so so so much too. I spare no piece (of my heart) in loving you 💜💜💝

Fan: Please tell us a TMI… IU: It’s time for me to dye my brows

Fan: So they (heart emojis) really mean nothing?.. IU: They seriously mean nothing, I guess I made many people confused.. 😟

Fan: I plan to stay at home watching all Netflix shows, please give your recommendation! IU: What are you talking about, you should be watching on Wavve (!) *t/n: IU is the model of Korean streaming service Wavve.

Fan: Unnie, which artist would you definitely want to invite to IU’s Palette in 2021? IU: IU-ssi, please come on the show once

Fan: Unnie uNnniEeeeeee please just share a photo…🥺 IU: Merry Christmas (?) [inserts a photo of herself holding a snowflake cookie]

Fan: Unnie, will you be performing Blueming at the Golden Disc Awards?! 💙 IU: Should I do it??

Fan: Please release your album well next year… The hearts (emojis) mean nothing - Jian- IU: kekeke this was funny keke

Fan: Jieun-ssi, it’s so nice to see you being peaceful and relaxed these days IU: But to be honest I really have no time to spare these days ㅠㅠㅠ heu hehehehe

Fan: Unnie, have you been covering up the mole below your eye or is that a new one??? IU: It was tiny at first but it became obvious after being exposed to sunlight every day when I was filming Dream kekeke I’m still awkward with it too

Fan: Unnie, are you really O hyung (type)!! I think something’s wrong… because our unnie is an In-hyung (doll) IU: Why are you like this hyung (older bro)..

Fan: Unnie, you’re really like a dandelion…so tiny and precious…what I mean is that I love youㅠㅜㅜ IU: Shall we hold hands~ Forget ~ about the past~ Please tell me~ that you love me~ (*t/n: lyrics from ‘Dandelion’ by OOHYO)

Fan: Any hairstyle you want to try for this full-length album? IU: The moment I dye my hair, it’ll turn into short hair by force 🥰 *t/n: IU is probably saying that her damaged hair will break off if she dyes it again.

Fan: Noona, I saw your dance, it was really beautiful. IU: Dongsaeng, thank you, for liking it. *t/n: Noona (older sister), Dongsaeng (younger brother/sister)

Fan: Red bean-filled Taiyaki (patboong) vs Custard-filled Taiyaki (shooboong) IU: ? shooboong??? shoouuuuuboong???

Fan: (Your) YouTube channel will reach 5 million subscribers soon, we can anticipate a lot right?? IU: To be honest I still don’t have any (content) ideas for that… 😟

Fan: Unnie, your total fancafe visits is 4 days kekeke Please come on here more frequently next year! IU: No, it’s because I created a new fancafe ID!! This is unfair!!! ㅠㅠㅠ kekeke *t/n: IU’s previous fancafe ID was hacked so she had to create a new one.

Fan: Unnie, did you recover from gastritis quickly? Don’t be sick, my love ㅠㅠㅠㅠ IU: Once you get gastritis, you’ll easily get it again. Everyone please take good care of yourself while you’re still healthy 🥺🥺 I’ll take good care of myself too

IU: Hey Uaenas! Don’t just look at your phone when the clock strikes 12, look outside the window, greet your family members well, tell yourself to do well for the year and start off the new year energetically!! I hope everyone sleeps well today, thank you ❤️️

IU: Byeee 🌱 [inserts photo] (Photo: Can you see it? I mean how beautiful spring will be after a day)

IU x Kim Soohyun

Source: wkorea

Q1. We were able to see various sides of IU last year. Starting with the release of Netflix Original Series <Persona> in the first half of the year to tvN drama <Hotel Del Luna> in the second half of the year, and followed by the album <Love poem>, you had a pretty hectic schedule. How are you passing your time these days?

IU: I’m currently taking a break as I felt rewarded after dealing with a whirlwind of schedule without a break. I’ve been keeping my plans in check this year while making preparations for it calmly.

Q2. It was recently revealed that you will be starring alongside actor Park Seo Joon in <Dream>, the latest film by director Lee Byung Hun that tells about an impromptu national soccer team trying out for the Homeless World Cup and you’re a producer who will be making a documentary about them. Aside from that, not many details about the film were revealed.

IU: Maybe because this is my first debut on a commercial film, I had a lot of concerns. Thankfully, I’ve received lots of good scripts and offers along the way, whether it’s <My Mister>’s Jian-ie or <Hotel Del Luna>’s Man Wol, the roles ( I’ve portrayed) were mostly one of a kind and memorable. Among them, <Dream>’s Somin rather stands out to me as her character is very humanly without any special weapon. Somin is the kind of person I wish to have at least one around me. I’ve always wanted to try portraying this kind of character.

Q3. If we are to make assumptions about director Lee Byung Hun simply based on his movies, he seems to be a man of great wit and eloquence. What kind of conversation was exchanged when the two of you had a meeting?

IU: Well, director Lee is the type of person who is very shy around strangers just like me. We opened up about this to each other and talked about the things related to the movie briefly during our first meeting before parting ways. So there was no better meeting than this for someone like me who comes off as more unnatural and awkward the harder I try to get closer to someone hastily (laughs). Not just the director, but the other staff were all extremely shy as well. But what’s really cute was that when I first went to the meeting, they hung a huge picture of me and decorated it with purple balloons in the office. So it was hard to believe that the people who threw such an adorable event were beyond shy around strangers... they were totally my type (laughs).

Q4. How does it feel to watch IU on the big screen? It was pretty memorable that director Lee Kyungmi, Im Pil Sung, Jeon Go Woon and Kim Jong Gwan made the best of ‘IU’ through their own style and story for the notebook streamable Netflix series, <Persona>.

IU: I definitely want to work with these four directors again someday. I had a lot of fun being used as their main material. The series will be remembered as a special work of mine for a long time.

Q5. Having to experience various writers’ attention and insights focused on yourself at the same time is definitely a special case for an actress. There must have been four interpretations and utilization methods of ‘IU’, what side of you did they see or bring out of you?

IU: The most interesting thing was that all of the four directors looked at me with some projection of themselves. <Persona> is a collection of four short films in which an actress is expressed through four different perceptions. Due to the structure of the series, it can be seen as an actress-centered project, but I think it is a work that can rather showcase the individuality and color of each director. The process of understanding what the directors were trying to project through me was very interesting and fascinating. I think we definitely have something in common, and that it’s only possible because we could relate to each other a lot.

Q6. So was ‘IU’ observing the directors who were observing ‘IU’ too? When you first watched the completed version of <Persona>, was there any side of yours that you found unfamiliar?

IU: I was especially unfamiliar with myself during the scene where my character Jieun-ie threw away her racket and shouted “Fxxk You!” after continuously losing in the game and when she sat on the floor with her injured knees and cried while asking Doona not to marry her father in director Lee Kyung Mi’s <Love Set>. Maybe because I was exhausted from running around the tennis court all day in summer, so I kind of struggled with managing my body and face expressions. But I didn’t hate it at all. Also, when I watched the scene where I told my friend Hye-Bok that she’s cute in director Jeon Go Woon’s <Kiss Burn>, I thought to myself, “Oh, I’m quite dependable now huh?”.

Q7. Among the four episodes that were released in sequence, I found <Love Set> in which you had a tennis battle with Bae doona the most interesting. I liked how it began with a woman and a daughter confronting each other over a man and only to end with just great tension between women filling the air. Was there something IU saw in Bae Doona?

IU: I value natural processes in relationships. It’s actually not easy to be natural. Especially if I meet someone for work, we’ll have to skip all the trivial steps and go straight down to business, so there are times it (relationship) feels like a weak building in its early stages of construction. To get close quickly and approach someone comfortably are the virtues and abilities necessary when working but I’m so clumsy at that. But occasionally there is this kind of person who would think ‘it’s natural for anyone to be unnatural/ awkward at times like this’ and go all the way to embrace the other person’s stiffness too. Bae Doona sunbaenim is that kind of person.

Q8. Were you grateful that (Bae Doona) never rushed you and you could take your time?

IU: She’s so cool that I’ve fallen for her. Although it was just a short film, she’s a partner that I had to exchange many emotions and walk in step with. She never once rushed me and always waited for me. She didn’t even make it seem like she’s waiting for me, in case I took notice, she would feign ignorance and look far away coolly as she waits! Haha. There are many other reasons too, but from the very first time I meet someone, I can tell if the person is really cool.

Q9. How is the joy from completing your music and performing different from the joy from acting?

IU: I feel that the process I go through from working on a song from my studio to the recording room and the process of having multiple takes at the filming site are rather similar. Making decisions repeatedly to produce the best possible result, in the period of time provided, gives me strong willpower I guess? Of course, I often feel distressed by areas I am lacking in, but those are also the moments that I feel my heart beating the fastest and blood coursing through my veins. Concerts are really different though. There’s no time to make decisions. I just go with the flow. It’s not like I can discuss with the audience how I want that day’s concert to go. The audience takes the initiative in this. As for me, there’s nothing else I can do, but to present what I have prepared, without making any mistakes. I enjoy following my audience to the places that they take me to.

Q10. You’ve drawn an analogy and explanation between music and acting in a way I have never heard of before. I would like to take a peek at your diary or notepad with such thoughts...

IU: I haven’t written in my diary for the past four days or so. It seems I’m feeling slightly lethargic and bored recently. So I’m trying out new things and put a pause on writing in my diary, which I have been writing in daily without fail, since my trainee days when I was 15 years old. That’s a kind of deviation from the norm for me. Letting go one by one the rules I made for myself and kept like a habit. Anyway, I realised that my world hasn’t exactly collapsed (because of that).

Q11. Did you find out that the rules and methods others aren’t unaware of that only you are privy to, and seem to sustain your way of living, won’t cause your ‘house’ to crumble even if you remove one of those pillars?

IU: There are quite a number of things that I try hard to not forget. Writing in my diary was one of those things that I put effort in. Now I want to naturally forget things that slip my mind. I think it’ll be fine.

Q12. Be it from your notepad or diary, or what you say, there are bound to be unique phrases or expressions that you use often. I think the words you subconsciously tend to use reflect the values that are important to you. Do you have any of such phrases?

IU: Based on frequency, I think I use ‘amulaedo’ (somehow / by the looks of it) the most often... Does that make me someone who places importance on the result? (laughs) I use the words ‘interest’ and ‘charm/appeal’ a lot too. Come to think of it, what I’m most afraid of is none other than boredom. I’d rather be tired or sad instead. ‘Sense of responsibility’ is a phrase I use a lot too.

Q13. What do you do when you are feeling troubled? Is there any rule or pattern you use to overcome it?

IU: I do the dishes to confront what’s troubling me. Washing the dishes to make them squeaky clean suddenly becomes the most important thing and what was troubling me earlier becomes less of a threat. After washing the dishes, even though it’s not much, I feel a sense of accomplishment and my stress slightly disappears too.

Q14. What about when you’re feeling stressed from writing lyrics or working on something? Does just putting a pause on the lyric writing and then doing the dishes fix it (from a previous question about stress relief)?

IU: There is a method that lyricist Kim Eana told me about. She told me if the lyrics I’m writing start to feel like they don’t belong to me or if it starts to feel difficult, go look up the dictionary definition of that word. For example, among the many definitions of the word, ‘sa-rang (love)’, there are definitions like ‘the past tense for ‘seng-gak (an intention of the heart)’ (i.e. it is now gone)’ or ‘to passionately miss [something/someone]’. So by the nature of its definition, is ‘sa-rang (love)’ something that begins with the absence of something?’ These types of thoughts come to mind. This is something I found out through that approach: there isn’t an opposite word for ‘loneliness’. I guess it’s because there isn’t anything that can counter/defeat loneliness. I can say that from now on, one of the themes [in my work] I’ll be keeping is “finding the opposite of loneliness”.

Q15. Producing for your own music- what is that process like and what does it mean to you?

IU: It carries the meaning of ‘I am the master of IU’? Haha, of course it’s the most enjoyable, the most difficult, the most meaningful, and the most economical thing I do.

Q16. Is there a topic you’ve been really into lately?

IU: ‘Big Size’. Ever since I was younger, to me easy-listening music; and, whether for books or for movies, I had always preferred them to be about small and trivial things rather than something with a big narrative. But these days, I’m way more interested in bigger topics. I want to make “big music”. And because of that, I’m thinking about a singing style that’s deeper and with lower sounds. Even if it’s risky, I want to make my world that was always safe and small, a bit bigger.

Q17. When IU did remakes of Kim Changwan (member of the band, Saneulim) and Jo Dukbae’s songs and did a duet with Choi Baekho, you were able to prove your ability to interpret songs really well. Have you ever thought about trying out a genre or style that people would never imagine you doing? Like trying trot or something.

IU: I’m not the type to only specialize in and stick with one genre. Even with my recent songs, they’re each different in their own ways. From when I first started liking music when I was younger until now, I’ve never really thought much about the concept of music genres. Trot is cool. Recently I’ve been watching <Mister Trot (tv show)> and after reading the lyrics of trot songs I was previously familiar with, I realized that ‘wow I didn’t know the lyrics were this deep’, ‘wow so trot is music that has you singing in that way and with that type of facial expression despite the song carrying this much weight in its lyrics’. Once my inner energy gets stronger, I definitely want to try trot. With hip hop, the breadth of topics you can address and the greater amount of words you can use in a song has always been appealing to me.

Q18. After it was known that IU was going to be this month’s cover model for <W Magazine>, a well known broadcasting PD told me there is something I must ask you: when did you yourself first start getting an inkling that you are an extraordinary person? It’s a lie if you answer with ‘I don’t think I’m an extraordinary person’, so they told me to ask you more persistently.

IU: Hahaaa, if I were to uninhibitedly answer with honesty, I’m not exactly sure if this was the first time, but it might be that time when I was 6 or 7 years old and I won the big prize in a speech contest. It’s not like that now but when I was younger, whenever people had their eyes on me when i was in front of people, I got excited. I even loved the nervousness.

Q19. What comes to mind when you think about ‘teenage years and parents’?

IU: If I were to open it up, my teenage years are the color grey. I think ‘difficult’ is the right word for it. If I think about my parents, I would smile because I think they are such a cute and incompatible pair. Even though I do get a heavy feeling thinking about my mom, just thinking about my dad makes me laugh. If my dad and I were to both fall in water, my dad would try to swim out first. I’m grateful that when I think about him, I laugh rather than feel sentimental. If we both fell into water, it’s okay if he doesn’t save me so I hope he can continue to live life the way he does. He’s like the biggest present in my life.

Q20. If present IU were to give one advice to that era’s teenage IU, what would you say?

IU: She’s more unnie than me so I don’t dare give any advice to her. It’s only thanks to her that I live this good life I have now. If I were to say anything, I’d just ask her how she’d like me to live my life from here on out.

Q21. Did Lee Jieun (IU real name) know that IU was gonna grow into such a respectable artist? Was IU destined to become the IU of today?

IU: I think the questions I’ve been asked today have been more difficult than any I’ve received before. They’re hard but interesting and because I want to answer honestly, it’s making me think deeply. Hmm..I also didn’t know that I was going to be in this [career] for this long. I think my reality right now is way more amazing than anything I had ever wished for or wanted when I was younger. I realized that making music for people was something that’s a lot harder and amazing than I thought. And if I were to be more honest? Of course, for someone like me to become someone like IU is an unbelievable and great accomplishment. It’s something I’m extremely proud of and grateful for. Even so, I still don’t feel completely satisfied by my body of work so far. To answer the question of whether it was destiny, I would say ‘it’s only half’ because even though I have grown more than I had ever dreamed of, I think I have yet to become such a praiseworthy artist. However, who I am today is the result of a combination of my personality and unexplainable luck and since it’s hard for people to manipulate their personality or luck, I guess you can call it destiny, haha.

Q22. What kind of person are you jealous of?

IU: I’m jealous of people that are way more diligent and hardworking than I am. People who have no complaints despite living that life make me feel helpless. It makes me feel inferior and that I have accomplished nothing. And also people in the genius category. I’m jealous of people who are able to do things easily while enjoying it while I have to exert all the force in the world just to barely make it. And because of that, I’m jealous of people who live with completely different worries from me.

Q23. What is one of IU’s weaknesses?

IU: To be honest, I am quite lazy. I’m also timid. I’m not the type to enjoy things like challenges and if it’s not something I feel a sense of stability from, it’s hard for me to assimilate to or enjoy it. So that’s why I really respect people who are able to enjoy challenges and I’m jealous of them.

Q24. To the IU that you think is lazy, what do you think is the closest thing to happiness?

IU: Being able to feel relaxed as I eat a meal deliciously and then having a big bar of chocolate afterwards for dessert.

Q25. What comes to mind when you look in the mirror?

IU: I used to deny it but I’ve started to acknowledge it recently “Wow I look exactly like my younger brother”.

Q26. In your lyrics, you’ve once said “I want to become a ‘moist’ woman (Twenty-three lyrics)”. I’ve realized as I get older that it’s important to become a ‘moist’ person and that I should age with moisture (i.e. have substance?) . What is something that IU thinks makes someone not ‘dry’ but ‘moist’?

IU: Things that make your heart beat like crazy. For example, love or ambitions that sometimes come popping up in your life? Hahaha! But I guess those things have the effect of a steam iron and can humidify your life automatically.

Q27. Is there something that, even for someone like you, at the core of, still hasn’t changed despite all the big and small changes?

IU: If I were to say a positive thing, it’s my sense of responsibility. My sense of responsibility is my number one token of merit that has dragged the lazy me by the collar to reach this point where I am now.

Hello uaena! ^-^ Happy new year!!!! I’m back from my final schedule for 2019. Once I got back, I didn’t even wash my face and ran here to greet uaenas straight away!! Happy new year!! I really want to thank everyone for the past year. I gained a lot, but lost a lot too in 2019. As I gained a lot and lost a lot too, it was a year that there were many moments that I faltered because it was difficult for me to find my balance. I’m really thankful towards our uaenas for comforting me and helping me find my balance by seeming to say ‘this is the standard!’ whenever my internal equilibrium became chaotic! 2020 can’t be uneventful right? There will be difficult moments too. Even so, let’s make it through together like we did this year! I won’t disappear from your sight and will continue to work hard to cheer uaenas on..! I’m just here to say thank you. Now that 2019 has come to an end, I wanted to do it properly. Thank you! Have an exciting night everyone, like you should on 1st Jan!! ^-^ ♥