The two main characters of the Netflix drama ‘Fooled Me Too’ that made global viewers laugh and cry for a month, Moon So-ri and IU, were Ae-soon and Geum-myeong in real life too. The two, who said that they thought the most while filming, ‘What kind of mother was my mother?’ ‘What kind of daughter am I?’, said that there is still something warm left in their hearts. They created a ‘deep’ review of ‘Teardrop’ by drawing a ‘sympathetic’ love story about family, and at the same time, they created an opportunity to once again think about the meaning of life, “Yes, life is beautiful”. Moon So-ri and IU both said, “I didn‘t know that the universal stories of ordinary people could be this overwhelming” and “I feel like I’ve lived well just by being able to participate in such a precious ”life‘s work“.”

“There was a time when I lived fiercely like a ”buzzing“ summer, and now I feel like I’m looking back on that time and reaping the rewards. In that sense, the season of my life is like fall.”

IU played two roles, from the clear and blue eighteen-year-old Ae-soon to the 50-something “adult” Geum-myeong who suppresses her emotions. She went through extraordinary hardships playing two people with such different personalities that it even brought about a kind of identity crisis.

IU once played both Ae-soon and Geum-myeong in one day, as the setting unfolds the lives of Ae-soon and Gwan-sik, who were born in Jeju, through the four seasons, and goes back and forth between the past, present, and future.

“The biggest homework was to portray the character growth that changes with age. I discussed a lot with the director and writer about ‘how can we approach it in a three-dimensional way without simply categorizing the ages. I looked back on the time I had spent and tried to incorporate the changes in my feelings at that time, and I mostly found the answers in the script.”

Like Ae-soon and Geum-myeong, IU was a child with many dreams and greed since she was young. More than anything, she was a child who “never, never” hated losing. That‘s why Ae-soon’s appearance overlaps with IU‘s face.

“Sometimes I’m surprised that my everyday speech is reflected in the script (laughs). We have similar personalities: not wanting to lose, wanting to try everything, and expressing those emotions as they are when we get angry. Although she is not a character who is always positive and lovable like Ae-soon, she has her own toughness and a desire to see the world beautifully.”

IU shed a lot of tears in this drama. This is because she expressed the depth of her difficult life with tears.

“What‘s surprising is that I realized for the first time that I can cry this much. I cried in almost every scene. One day, I cried so much that I thought maybe my body was dehydrated and I wasn’t crying much. I kept drinking water while filming.”

After finishing filming the drama last year, IU immediately wrote the song ‘Shh’ for her mini-album. Inspired by the drama, she wrote lyrics about ‘wonderful women’, such as her mother, friends, and seniors, who influenced her life. It‘s like a ‘tribute’ to them.

“While filming the drama, I became certain that I wanted to talk about the women who make up my life. I was so grateful to see that people who watched the drama remembered this song.”

IU received “comfort as a human being” with the same feelings as the viewers. Just as people experience various types of breakups as they live, she learned how valuable life is after a breakup and why she should live vigorously.

“Looking back, I’ve had a ‘sudden summer’ and now it’s fall. Now, I feel like I’m looking back on that time and reaping the fruits of my labor. I think my strengths are consistency and sincerity. Sometimes, people slap me in the face, saying, “If you can’t be consistent, what are you doing?” and telling me to come to my senses. I want to prepare well in the future and have a warm winter.”


Reporter Lee Jeong-yeon annjoy@donga.com

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