peachhy-aiyu - Tumblr blog

peachhy-aiyu · 4 years

Text

[TRANSLATION] 200323 <W> Korea Lucky Spring Interview with IU

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.

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

119 notes · View notes