We’re back with another Actor Spotlight, and today we’re talking about none other than the insanely talented Lee Ji-Eun, aka IU. Besides being one of K-pop’s top names, IU has proven time and again that she can act as well as she can sing; and she can sing like an angel.
She debuted as a singer in 2007, at the age of fifteen, with the album ‘Lost and Found’. That won her the Korean Ministry of Culture’s ‘Power Rookie’ Award. While both this and her follow up release were successful, she really hit mainstream success in 2010 with ‘Real’.
If you weren’t around the fandom yet and haven’t jumped on the IU bandwagon, you should listen to ‘Good Day’. It was the top track from ‘Real’, it’s one of the best K-pop songs of the 2010’s, and you can have it in the background while you’re reading the rest of this feature. Not only is it a great song, but it also perfectly encapsulates IU’s image at the beginning of her career as Korea’s little sister. And much like her music style has changed and matured since then, so has she.
IU’s Acting beginnings
2011’s ‘Dream High’ had a cast full of K-pop idols, most just taking their first acting steps at the time. IU played the talented but overweight and shy Pil-Sook. The sweet and innocent girl but unexpectedly tenacious girl immediately became a fan favourite. Everyone loved her in this role, her character’s growth, her performance, the lot. Considering how IU personally struggled with bulimia, Pil-Sook’s storyline feels insensitive and problematic, although in a sad way very much realistic.
Her first starring role was as ‘Lee Soon-Shin’ in 2013 family serial drama ‘You are the best!‘. As it often happens with singers-turned-actors, there was much concern about her being cast as the lead, but the director was set on her. IU being her awesome self, proved the concern was unnecessary; she actually ended up getting nominated for four different acting awards for her performance.
Lee Soon-Shin might be sharing the same name as one of the biggest historical figures of Korea (the Admiral Yi Sun-Shin), but she’s, ehm, kind of a loser. This being a longer, serial drama (50 episodes), fans had a lot of time to appreciate her skilful portrayal of the character.
Later that same year, she co-starred with Jang Geuk-Suk in ‘Bel Ami’. It’s about a guy who’s so perfect and pretty he’s literally got women throwing themselves at him. But he’s got daddy issues so he’s also relatable I guess? It’s based on a Webtoon, so don’t be too shocked it was a little exaggerated. The drama is a fairly generic mix of rom-com/melodrama but was enjoyable nonetheless. I’d say IU’s character was maybe the best thing about this show. She was adorable and spunky and warm, and I loved her as Bo-Tong.
Growing maturity as an artist
With starring roles in two massive international hit dramas, the next couple of years were great for IU’s acting career. First, in ‘The Producers’ we saw her as the icy and snarky idol ‘Cindy’. That was a whole new look for her, and initially alienated viewers who were expecting sweet, lovely IU. By the time the show was over, we were over the shock and left in awe of her ability to pull off this kind of character as well.
And then we have her as industrious, unlucky, optimistic Hae-Soo in ‘Moon Lovers: Scarlet heart Ryeo’. She magically travels back in time to ancient Korea and ends up tangled in the palace intrigue. This 2016 drama cost a ton of money, filmed in multiple historical and cultural sites across Korea, and garnered so. much. hype before it even came out. I have a love-hate relationship with this specific drama (nothing makes any sense but you cannot stop watching), but I did think IU did a good job. Especially what with this being her first role in a sageuk.
Almost two years later, we saw her again in ‘My Mister‘, a critically acclaimed 2018 drama. Here we saw IU give a truly incredible performance as Lee Ji-an. She showcased a melancholy and emotional depth that was simply mesmerizing. Honestly, this drama is too good to miss in general.
Latest projects
Going from the sweet Pil-Sook to the jaded Ji-an, IU has done a lot of growing as an artist. This is IU post ‘Bbibbi‘, and the 2019 four-part anthology ‘Persona’ doesn’t angle for mainstream appeal; the Netflix original deals with mature themes, and although all parts are standalone, they would all fall into the art house genre. In each episode she’s a different person, and delivers consistently strong performances.
Finally, we see yet another face in ‘Hotel Del Luna‘, where she stars as the enigmatic, spoiled, sassy, cool AF, and hands-down best dressed immortal hotel manager Jang Man-Wol. Given the age of her character, there were a lot of layers there; She’s bitter and angry yet passionately caring, wise yet childish. Comparing IU’s performance in Man-Wol’s tragic past scenes to ‘Moon Lovers’ the difference is simply incredible. She’s easily one of the most iconic characters in K-drama ever and this only came out last year! What would JMW do should be a thing, that’s all I’m saying.
I love how she only keeps getting better with every show she does and that she carefully selects her projects. I am awed by how much she’s matured both as a singer and as an actress and I am definitely looking forward to see what she does next. Her first leading role in a movie will be next year, pandemic permitting, in ‘Dream‘.
