‘Boomsak’ IU “A mother like Ae-soon, I cried in empathy... My younger brother said, ‘The older sister method’” [DA:Interview②]

Singer and actress IU (Lee Ji-eun) shared her family‘s reactions.

In an interview for the Netflix series ‘Boomsak, Fooled By Me’ held at the Grand Ballroom of the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 2nd, IU said about her family’s reactions, “This is the first time my family has given me such a passionate response out of all the works I‘ve appeared in”.

‘Boomsak, Fooled By Me’, is a Netflix series that unfolds the adventurous lives of ‘The rebel girl’ Ae-soon‘The unstoppable iron’ Gwan-sik, both born in Jeju, into four seasons. The life of ‘Ae-soon’ and ‘Gwan-sik’, who go on an adventure together against the waves of life, is expressed through the four seasons.

IU took on the role of ‘Ae-soon’, a literature girl with many dreams who is not intimidated by anyone, no matter the situation, and acted alongside Park Bo-gum, who played ‘Gwan-sik’ in her youth. Moon So-ri took up the baton for ‘Ae-soon’ in her middle age. IU also played the role of ‘Geum-myeong’, the eldest daughter of ‘Ae-soon’ and ‘Gwan-sik’, passionately performing two roles.

IU said, “First of all, my father has a clear taste, so even if his daughter appears in a work, if he doesn’t agree with it or the style doesn‘t match, he won’t watch it all the way through. This time, it was amazing that even my father was so immersed in it,” she said. “When I appear, my mother mainly looks at whether my daughter made any mistakes or did well. She’s currently watching ‘Deceived Me’ for the fourth time. It seems that she can relate to my story. She said that she started crying from the second viewing.”

Regarding her realistic chemistry with her younger brother Eun-myeong (Kang Yoo-seok), she said, “I think that there are some parts that reflect the relationship I have with my real younger brother. I had a meeting with Kang Yoo-seok, who played the role of Eun-myeong, to make it fun on set. Yoo-seok also has an older sister. We acted based on each of our experiences.” She added, “My younger brother didn’t watch it all the way through, but I think he only saw that part in shorts. He sent me a short review called Method.”

How much do IU’s parents resemble Gwan-sik and Ae-soon? Also, did IU have something in common with the role of Geum-myeong, her daughter?

IU said, “My mother is also a girlish yet strong person like Ae-soon. She has been through a lot, but she tries to see the world beautifully. I can‘t say that I used my mother’s character, but I think it influenced me in some way. I grew up seeing my mother‘s loving yet strong attitude toward the world, just like Ae-soon, so I think it was unconsciously projected onto me.” She added, “My father is far from Gwan-sik, but that doesn’t mean he is ‘Mr. Hak’ (Bu-sang-gil). Rather, I think he is closer to Eunmyeong. He is unique. Some people think of themselves as Gwan-sik while watching the drama, but my father admits, ‘I am not that great of a husband and father.’ I thought, ‘To be honest, where is that?’ and ‘That appearance is also lovable.’” She laughed. When asked, “Did your father cry while watching Geum-myeong‘s wedding scene?”, she replied, “No. He doesn’t cry much. I resemble him in that aspect. My father is probably ST.”

Regarding Geum-myeong, she said, “I think I was also tic-tic like Geum-myeong when I was young. I couldn‘t be cute, but after my mid-20s, I started making an effort, and now I tell him I love him and have skinship often. We meet often and talk about this and that like friends.” She also confessed, “When I look at Geum-myeong from my perspective, I think, ’Oh, I‘ll regret saying that later.’ However, as the character acting as Geum-myeong, I also think, ‘How can I keep saying that when my heart isn’t like that?‘ Right after that scene with Geum-myeong, Geum-myeong’s regret from a more mature perspective is definitely shown through the narration. He said, “I tried to think three-dimensionally.”

‘BokSsakDasuda’, consisting of 16 episodes, was released four times a week, and the final fourth act was presented on the 28th of last month. ‘BokSsakDasuda’, which ranked first in the ‘Today’s Korea TOP 10’ series category as soon as the first act was released, rose to first place in the Global TOP 10 Series (non-English) category in its third week of release, and has been in the upper ranks of the Global TOP 10 Series (non-English) category since the release of the first act. After the release of the fourth act, it recorded 6 million viewers (the number of hours watched divided by the total running time of the series) and rose to third place in the Global TOP 10 Series (non-English) category. It made a beautiful ending by making it to the TOP 10 list in a total of 39 countries including not only South Korea but also Bolivia, Chile, Morocco, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.