IU Reveals The Reason Why Her Boyfriend Is So Important To Her

K-Pop idols are not just the happy-go-lucky people that you see today, some of them like IU, also overcame great hardships and struggles to be where they are today.

It’s common to hear about how idols and celebrities shouldn’t ever complain about their lives, because they’re so lucky to be famous and rich. However, this wasn’t always the case for some K-Pop idols. They came from poverty, sickness, debt and other extreme hardships that have shaped them to be the people they are today. While it’s easy to forget that K-Pop idols are just as normal as everyone else, it’s important to remind ourselves.

IU is a great example of an artist who has overcome so much to get to where she is today. Not only did she come from poverty, she overcame an eating disorder and crippling self-doubt.

There’s no doubt IU is an inspirational figure in K-Pop and an especially strong woman. But even with all that strength, she revealed that having a boyfriend has helped her so much in overcoming these struggles. It seems that her boyfriend, Jang Ki Ha, has been very supportive of her and helping her become happier every day.

iustruggles
IU smiling brightly for her fans, who give her energy!

IU explained that while she has low self-esteem, dating helps her believe in herself. She revealed, “I usually have really low self-esteem, but when I’m dating, I feel much more confident. It’s because the person I like chose me over everyone else. When I’m in love, I think everything about that person is great. So it makes me think of myself as great, and it increases my self-esteem.”

IU’s childhood was not easy at all. She grew up extremely poor, living with her grandmother as her parents could not afford to take care of two children. Her grandmother also couldn’t afford to have IU living in the best conditions, so she had to go without heat during the cold winters.

Before she auditioned for JYP Entertainment and then eventually debuted under Loen Entertainment, she was scammed by a fake company. This fake company convinced her she was accepted as a trainee and cheated her into paying them money.

iustruggles4
This is how IU should be shading those companies that scammed her. Put ’em on blast!

Overall, she failed over 20 auditions before becoming the amazing singer that she is today. But, that’s not where her struggles end. Even during her pre-debut days and at the start of her career as a singer, she had severe body issues. She ended up with an eating disorder because of this.

She revealed that she would eat so much that she would throw up from the sheer amount. IU told fans on an episode of Healing Camp, “My heart felt empty at the time and I tried to fill the void by eating. Instead of feeling better, I became more anxious and felt that I was not good enough. I would eat until I threw up. I had to receive treatment for it.”

Even during some of the greatest moments of her career, IU worried about what others would think of her. She revealed, “When I was receiving great praise for the 3 high note combination for my song ‘Good Day’, I was so worried people would criticize me instead of feeling good about how well I did.”

iustruggles2
IU smiley brightly with one of her closest friends Sulli.

IU is also very close friends with idols such as miss A’s Suzy, Sulli and actress Han Ga In! There’s no doubt these close friends of her also give her love and positive energy, as she’s often seen looking super happy with them.

Let’s hope that IU has become much more confident now, with her adoring fans from all over the world supporting her and in love with her! ❤️

You can watch one video where she opens up about these struggles below: