IU (아이유) LEE JIEUN Facts

IU (아이유) LEE JIEUN Facts

Lee Jieun (IU), born in Seoul, South Korea, overcame a poor background and lived in a small place infested with cockroaches. She attended Dongduk Women's High School and started her singing career as a trainee for Loen Entertainment. Despite failing an audition at JYP, she released her first album in September 2008.

IU was a trainee for Good Entertainment alongside Uee, Yubin from Wonder Girls, Heo Ga-yoon from 4Minute, and Jun Hyoseong from Secret. She failed 20 auditions, including one at JYP. However, she eventually got into Leon Entertainment. JYP later expressed regret for letting IU go and stated he would fire whoever was responsible.

IU, the popular actress and singer, is best friends with Yoo In Na and they live in the same apartment complex. They even have a special nickname, "IU In Na". IU finds inspiration in Yoo In Na and they often go on trips together. Additionally, IU is close to APink's Eunji. She also mentioned being inspired by f(x)'s Sulli when writing the song "Peach".

IU is known for being kind to her fans and is friends with Suzy and Jiyeon of T-ara. Suzy's younger brother is also a fan of IU.

Stage Name: IU (아이유)

Birth Name: Lee Ji Eun (이지은)

Nickname: Nation’s Little Sister; Nation’s Sweetheart

Birthday: May 16, 1993

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Height: 162 cm (5 ft 3¾ in)

Weight: 47 kg (103 lbs)

Blood Type: O

MBTI Type: INFP

Instagram: @dlwlrma

Twitter: @lily199iu (Personal account), @_IUofficial (Official account)

Facebook: 아이유(IU)

vLive: IU

Youtube: 이지금 [IU Official]

Fan Cafe: IU

Donations

In 2015 and 2018, IU made separate donations of ₩100,000,000 ($90,000 USD) to the Green Umbrella Children's Fund. Additionally, in 2018, she provided ₩20,000,000 ($18,000 USD) in financial aid to five college students for their room and board expenses.

On IU's 13th anniversary, she donated over $700,000 to underprivileged individuals. She also convinced the brands she collaborates with to donate as well. New Balance donated 1,000 pairs of shoes, Banolim pizza donated 2,000 pizzas, BLACKYAK donated 2,000 coats and winter gear, Everzari donated 300 blanket and bedding sets, Kyungdong Pharmaceutical donated 2,000 first aid kits, and Jeju Samdasoo Water donated 30,000 water bottles.

IU donated $440,000 (500 million won) for people in need on her birthday, May 16.

Fansclub

IU's fan club name, Uaena, has a significant meaning. Each syllable represents something different: "U" stands for "You" in English, "ae" means "love" in Sino-Korean, and "na" translates to "me" in Korean.

IU fondly refers to her male fans as "geonbbang" (biscuits) because it is her favorite snack. Female fans are called "byeolsatang" (star candy) as IU used to have very few female fans, similar to the rarity of star candies in a pack of biscuits. Those who oppose IU are referred to as "milk."

Ideal Type

IU's ideal type used to be Taeyang from Big Bang. Some famous kpop idols who consider IU as their ideal type or are known to be her biggest fanboys include Jungkook from BTS, Yoseob from Highlight, actor Kim Soo Hyun, Suho and Kai from EXO.

IU dated songwriter and TV host Jang Ki Ha, who is 11 years older. They met at a radio show he was hosting in 2013 and started dating shortly after. They publicly announced their relationship in October 2015, admitting they had been secretly dating for two years. After four years together, they broke up in January 2017 due to busy schedules.

On December 31, 2022, Dispatch reported that IU and Jong Suk were in a relationship for about four months. Both EDAM Entertainment and HighZium Studio confirmed the reports later that day.

IU has many older male fans called "ahjusshi".