[INTERVIEW] Songstress IU - Part 3

IU [Loen Entertainment]

So are you sort of putting a distance between yourself and them?IU: Yes. I wouldn't get hurt even if someones came up to me and said things in my face. I get hurt when someone I likes tell me, 'I'm disappointed in you' but I really don't pay attention to people that I'm not that interested in. And I think that's why I'm okay even when I see malicious comments about me on the Internet. I don't have a heart that's big enough to make the haters like me. If someone hates me, all I need to do is not like them either. It's not easy to have such a mindset at your age. Is there a reason you know how to protect yourself like that?IU: I think I'm just born this way. [laughs] There are people who pay attention to each and every person around them, if there's a misunderstanding they'll rush to solve them, and don't make enemies. But I'm not really like that. That's why I have anti-fans as well but if I leave things the way they are, I won't get hurt and they won't get hurt. I felt that you seemed overly composed as well when you talked about your childhood on MBC's "Come Play" a while ago.IU: People told me that I seemed very dogged because of that. Also because I was so calm when talking about something that I should have been crying over on SBS' "Strong Heart" as well. But I really wasn't fazed or was going through a hard time back then. I sort of had a confidence for some reason. I felt what I'm going through will be only for a moment and that I'd become a singer and sing my whole life so I wasn't swayed by the situation I was in back then. Plus it's something I had already overcome so I had no trauma over it which was why I was probably able to smile while talking about it. I probably wouldn't have talked about it on television if I hadn't overcome it. Wasn't it hard to have to make a lot of decisions on your own after debuting at such a young age?IU: Not really. I rather preferred it. I debuted when I was 15 but that's the age that you want to be an adult and make all the decisions. So I was happy that I could decide things the way I wanted them to be. And even if I regretted a decision, I didn't let it get noticed because I made the decision, not because someone made me. I'm also quite stubborn as well, since I was a baby. [laughs] Because my parents raised me in a way that I'd be able to do things on my own. But the range and impact your decisions will have will grow the more popular you become and that'll mean you'll have more responsibility laid in your hands.IU: I think I just need to tell myself that I don't need to be scared of anything and that nothing is difficult. I may be dogged and strong-willed but on the other hand, I also sometimes get hurt and cry over nothing. So I don't really get scared when I tell myself that even people who look strong and cold on the outside, at the end are all the same as me. I've started thinking this way from a certain point on. That I'm dogged and strong and will never become intimidated! [laughs] So you're constantly hypnotizing yourself.IU: Before I made my debut, a lot of people told me that I have to have strong faith in myself to become a celebrity. That I'll be able to sing in front of the camera only by thinking of myself as great and cool. But I have always lacked that. A lot of the time, I still go on stage without certainty in myself. I dont' think I've learned how to enjoy myself on stage. I think I'll gain confidence with experience because I have more confidence now than I did when I debuted. You'll probably reveal more of yourself starting from when you're in your twenties. Have you thought about what you'd be like in the future?IU: A detailed plan... is something I totally do not have. [laughs] I don't desire to have my album become No. 1 nor become the best singer of our country. I just really want to be good and have fun with what I do. And because I don't have a clear goal, I'm not scared nor have high expectations. I'm okay with going back to my old self as Lee Ji-eun if something should happen someday. Someone once told me that I seem like a kid who has packed her stuff and is ready to leave where she is whenever the owner comes and tells her to.※ Any copying, republication or redistribution of 10Asia's content is expressly prohibited without prior consent of 10Asia. Copyright infringement is subject to criminal and civil penalties.10 아시아 Reporter : Lee Ga-on 10 아시아 Editor in Chief : Kang Myeong-Seok two@10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@10 아시아 Editor : Lee Ji-Hye seven@<ⓒ즐거움의 공장 "10 아시아" (10.asiae.co.kr) 무단전재 배포금지>