IU denied the rumors of her departure from MBC's '21st Century Dae-gun's Wife' once again.
On the morning of the 2nd, an interview with IU, the leading actress of Netflix's 'When Life Gives You Tangerines,' was held at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Grand Ballroom in Jung-gu, Seoul.
The Netflix original series 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' unfolds the adventurous life of a 'cheeky rebel' Aesoon (played by IU) and a 'foolish iron' Gwansik (played by Park Bo-gum) through the four seasons. Writer Im Sang-chun, known for heartfelt stories that have won viewers' love with works like 'When the Camellia Blooms' and 'Fight for My Way,' teamed up with director Kim Won-seok, who has offered empathy, comfort, and encouragement through projects such as 'My Mister,' 'Signal,' and 'Misaeng.' The production cost was approximately 600 billion won. IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, Park Hae-joon, Yeom Hye-ran, Oh Jung-se, Kim Sun-ho, Lee Joon-young, and Kang Mal-geum gave stellar performances.
The dramatic scheduling stood out compared to Netflix's past practice of releasing all episodes simultaneously. Starting with the first act (Episodes 1-4) filled with spring on the 7th of last month, a total of 16 episodes will be presented over four weeks, with four episodes released each week. It climbed to the top spot in the global TOP 10 series (non-English) category in the third week of its release and recorded 6,000,000 views (the value obtained by dividing the viewing time by the total running time of the work) after the release of the fourth act, achieving third place in the global TOP 10 series (non-English).
IU took on dual roles as the young Aesoon in her teens through her marriage to Gwansik in her twenties and then as middle-aged Aesoon's daughter, Geum-myeong. Above all, in the first act, the adorable chemistry between IU and Park Bo-gum led to explosive responses, while Park Bo-gum's presence sharply diminished after the second act, sparking discussions about the 'missing screen time.'
This year, IU is actively working not only as a singer but also as an actress, filming MBC's '21st Century Dae-gun's Wife' (working title), where she pairs with Byun Woo-seok, in addition to 'When Life Gives You Tangerines.'
As 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' is globally released, IU entered filming for her next project, '21st Century Dae-gun's Wife,' and has recently been caught up in baseless departure rumors. It was reported that MBC preferred a Disney+ arrangement, but a disagreement arose as the actors demanded a Netflix release, leading to the departure.
IU stated, "I was also very surprised to hear the departure rumors. Just yesterday, I met with the director to discuss the project, and suddenly the rumors popped up, and I thought, 'Huh? What's going on?' While living in the entertainment industry, I realized that 'smoke rises even from a fireless chimney.' The wording in the articles was so convincing that I wondered, 'Am I being dropped? Did this happen to me?'"
She added, "I really think the departure rumors were a misunderstanding, and I believe Byun Woo-seok is also not leaving. We met on set and talked about working well together. We should continue to do well together. (laughs) I met with the director yesterday, and I know Woo-seok is doing well too," smiling.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix
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