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IU

Singer, songwriter and actress

Born 1993

IU is the professional name of Lee Ji-eun, a South Korean singer, songwriter and actress born in Seoul. Childhood singing led to auditions, LOEN training and her debut in 2008. Her early recordings include Lost and Found, Growing Up and Good Day. By Last Fantasy, collaborators sought her recording input; she approached its varied tracks through different vocal interpretations. She developed her own writing and production voice through Chat-Shire and Palette. The A Flower Bookmark releases revisited older Korean songs. LILAC received Melon’s 2021 Album of the Year honor. Later releases include The Winning and A Flower Bookmark 3. Unknown Planet arrived in September 2026 with two self-written lead tracks. A September fan message described a full album planned for 2027 without a fixed release date. Broker placed her in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ensemble, followed by Dream. She played both mother and daughter in Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines. In 2026, she played Seong Hui-ju in Perfect Crown. She described My Mister as a turning point and rehearsing with Moon So-ri to coordinate their Tangerines portrayals. She has connected acting’s repeated experimentation with working in a recording studio. September 2026 reporting records a debut-anniversary donation made with her fan community’s name. Dream High introduced her to television drama. Hotel Del Luna later featured her as Jang Man-wol.

Verified identityCore facts checked against named sources.

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Connected people

ConnectionHirokazu Kore-edaDirector of Broker.

ConnectionPark Bo-gumCo-star in When Life Gives You Tangerines.

ConnectionKim Won-sukDirector of My Mister and When Life Gives You Tangerines.

Provenance before publication

Source Ledger

Identity, career, awards, current coverage and image rights are listed here so the profile can be checked without guesswork.

MBC Global Media

Perfect Crown

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Date not supplied OfficialOriginal

Apple Music / EDAM Entertainment

IU artist catalogue

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Date not supplied OfficialOriginal

Melon

2021 Melon Music Awards winners

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Date not supplied OfficialOriginal

CJ ENM

2025 MAMA

Reference

Nov 30, 2025 OfficialOriginal

Netflix Tudum

When Life Gives You Tangerines: cast and episodes

Reference

May 5, 2025 OfficialOriginal

IMDb

Broker — indexed title and cast metadata

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Date not supplied Open dataOriginal

IMDb

IU: Love wins all

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Date not supplied PrimaryOriginal

Wikipedia

Bel Ami, South Korean TV series

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Date not supplied Open dataOriginal

Yonhap News Agency

IU to drop self-penned digital single

Reference

Sep 10, 2026 PrimaryOriginal

Yonhap News Agency

IU and Lee Jong-suk part ways

Reference

Jul 10, 2026 PrimaryOriginal

Image rights ledger

IU at the July 2025 customs ambassador appointment ceremony

Media: TV10

Source-level licence checked; display crop/resizing.

Source file CC BY 3.0

IU holding a microphone in December 2017

Media: Louis

Source-level licence checked; display crop/resizing.

Source file CC BY 4.0