Who is IU’s Younger Sibling and Family?
It cannot be denied that for most people, the family contains the people that you love the most. They remain as the dearest people who will always be there whenever you have a problem, as they will cheer you up and support you until you gain the courage to face the world. That’s not just true for regular people, but celebrities are also assisted by their families in their struggle to prosperity, including IU, the current most successful female soloist in South Korea. In this article, Byeol Korea will talk all about IU’s family and younger brother, whom the general public and fans alike curious about. So, keep reading!
Find Out About IU’s Family Members
IU spoke about her family for the first time during her appearance on KBS’ Win Win. The singer shared that she used to live with her grandmother, younger brother, and cousin for a year. Living without her parents at such a young age undoubtedly made IU lonely. However, she often consoled herself that she still had her grandmother.
When IU became popular, her family never depended their financial state on her. Reportedly, IU’s mother, Kim Mi-sam, even went to China to work in a wholesale business that sold accessories. IU revealed the reason why her mother was actively working, despite having a successful daughter, “She works because she does not want to lose to me”. In addition, IU’s mother refused to appear unless she earns and has a lot of money, hence her decision to never tell people around her that her daughter is IU.
Not only is she a hard-working businesswoman, but IU’s mother is also generous. During IU’s 10th anniversary concert, Dlwrma, in November, 2018, IU’s mother prepared pink cushions for each seat of her daughter’s concert audiences.
Initially, many fans thought that someone had accidentally put their cushion on the seat. Later they found out that IU’s mother has specially arranged the cushions because she was worried about IU fans’ waists after sitting for too long. In total, 12,000 cushions were prepared. After the concert ended, the fans were able to bring the cushions home.
Unlike her mother, who doesn’t want to appear in public, IU’s father, Lee Jin-guk, is not as secretive as his wife. Through her Instagram account, IU shared a selfie with her father during their visit to a strawberry field.
The selfie gained a massive response as it was the first time IU revealed her father. Though wearing sunglasses, many netizens agree that IU’s father is as cool as his daughter.
Facts About IU’s Younger Brother, Lee Jong-hoon
After her skyrocketing popularity with the hit song Good Day, IU became a hot topic in South Korea, and earned the nickname the Nation’s Little Sister. Not only herself, but IU’s family and younger brother also triggered netizens’ curiosity. During her appearance on Happy Together 3, IU stated that her brother’s real name, Lee Jong-hoon, and his university have been known to the public, which spread in social media, “His seniors in the university have high regard for him since they got evidence that we are siblings. They also said that he looks like IU and the fact that he is a transferee proved as the evidence that he is my brother”. The singer added that her brother even went as far as to lie about his father’s name, “Lee Jinguk is my father’s name, but my brother had to lie and said that his father’s name is Lee Guk-jin”.
The MCs of the show further asked whether her brother feels uncomfortable that his sister is a famous singer, to which IU replied, “He was embarrassed of me at first. I am his older sister, but I come out on TV and try to act cute, so he was embarrassed and refused to tell people about me”.
Through her social media, IU once talked about a conversation with her brother via Kakao Talk. Most of the time, IU would text him countless times, saying ‘hey’, before he replied to her messages. The netizens think that IU and her younger brother’s conversations were just like any other siblings, short, brief, and straight to the point.
During the fan-talk in her fancafe, one of IU’s fans asked about her brother. It turned out that IU’s brother was a fan of the former Girls’ Generation member, Jessica Jung. Despite never telling her about his adoration toward the idol-turned-businesswoman, IU knew that her brother liked Jessica because of his phone wallpaper. Besides talking about Jessica Jung, IU jokingly said that she’d bet all her wealth that her brother remembers Jessica’s birthday and not hers.
Even though not much is known about IU’s brother, many netizens agree that he’s as attractive as IU due to their superior genes. Well, do you agree, dear readers?
IU is a Proud Sister
During her appearance on JTBC’s Lee Hyo-ri’s Bed and Breakfast, IU told Lee Hyo-ri’s husband Lee Sang-soon that she was going to the United States of America to go to her younger brother’s graduation. It turned out that Lee Jong-hoon attended San Diego University.
IU revealed that her brother felt lots of pressure to study in South Korea because he was afraid he would make unnecessary controversy as IU’s brother, which will taint his sister’s reputation and image as a celebrity. Therefore, he decided to study abroad because fewer people would recognize him and find out about his status as IU’s younger brother.
IU’s Brother’s Social Media
Unfortunately, we can’t find any social media accounts owned by IU’s brother, as he guards his privacy closely. Unless IU posted or shared information about her family and brother herself, we believe that we should not dig further as it is considered a breach of privacy and an illegal thing to do.
