IU “I was also surprised by the rumors of Byun Woo-seok and I leaving together. Did we get kicked out?” [DA: Interview ⑤]

Singer and actress IU (Lee Ji-eun) shared her honest feelings about the rumors of them leaving together.

In an interview for the Netflix series ‘I Was Fooled’ held at the Grand Ballroom of the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 2nd, IU confessed, “I was also very surprised” regarding the rumors of them leaving together that were reported on the 28th of last month.

On the 28th of last month, TV Daily reported, “IU and Byun Woo-seok recently notified the production team of the MBC drama ‘21st Century Grand Prince‘s Wife’ of their intention to leave.” The media cited the failure to coordinate opinions regarding the scheduling of the show as the reason for their departure. Meanwhile, an entertainment insider said, “MBC is negotiating with Disney Plus (+), while the actors wanted to be provided with Netflix, so I heard there was a difference of opinion.”

However, immediately after the report, both IU and Byun Woo Suk denied the rumors of their departure. Both IU’s agency EDAM Entertainment and Byun Woo Suk‘s agency Baro Entertainment told Donga.com that they were not leaving the show. The article that was initially reported has since been deleted.

When the news was mentioned, IU said, “I was so surprised to see the article. I saw the director the day before and discussed it with him, and the rumors of my departure came up,” and then added cautiously, “In the entertainment industry, there are times when there’s smoke even when there‘s no smoke, but the content was so certain that I wondered if I was being kicked out,” and laughed. He said, “I think it was a misunderstanding. I will do well together with actor Byun Woo Suk. I met the director yesterday too. I know that actor Byun Woo-seok is feeling the same way,” and confessed, “It would be a lie to say there’s no pressure, but Ae-soon and Geum-myeong are completely different characters, so my heart is pounding. I’m still 70-80% Ae-soon, so I’m going to keep it that way until today. After today passes, I’ll become the ‘21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ Seong Hee-joo.”

‘21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife (tentative title)’ is set in the 21st century constitutional monarchy of the Republic of Korea. It is a romantic drama about a woman who is annoyed because she is a conglomerate who has everything but is actually a ‘commoner’, and a man who is the son of the king but cannot have anything and is sad. It was selected as the winner of the MBC drama script contest, and MBC and Kakao Entertainment will be producing it. It is aiming to air in the second half of 2025.

IU will play the role of ‘Seong Hee-joo’, the second son of a wealthy family ranked first in the financial world who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and has both great looks, intelligence, and a fierce competitive spirit. She is a character who becomes entangled with Prince Ian when her commoner status, which she thought was nothing special, becomes an obstacle in her life. Byun Woo-seok will play ‘Prince Ian’, the constitutional monarchy of the Republic of Korea in the 21st century. Born as the second son of a king, he is destined to have nothing but his status as royalty, and his character, who has always kept himself a secret, begins to change when he meets Sung Hee-joo.

Meanwhile, ‘Fooled in a Box’ is a Netflix series that unfolds the adventurous lives of ‘rebellious and lovable’Ae-soon’, born in Jeju Island, and ‘unstoppable iron’Gwan-sik, over four seasons. The lives of ‘Ae-soon’ and ‘Gwan-sik’, who go through the adventure of life together against the waves of life, are expressed through four seasons. IU plays ‘Ae-soon’, a literature girl with many dreams who is not intimidated by anyone, no matter the situation, and she worked with Park Bo-gum, who played ‘Gwan-sik’ in her youth. Moon So-ri took over the role of ‘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.

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.