One of the most popular South Korean female popstars, IU (Lee Ji-eun), aka the ‘people’s little sister’, is on the verge of losing the sweet, innocent reputation that has shaped her successful career after accidentally tweeting the above photo of herself in bed with a topless male celebrity, Eunhyuk, (a member of K-pop band, Super Junior).
Despite the photo being deleted immediately, it spread rapidly across the Korean internet, attracting thousands of comments on each related article. Her agency explained that the photo was taken on a sofa when he was visiting her when she was sick; many Koreans find it hard to believe: parodies and memes are rife and many are nicknaming her ‘Bye, U.’
Internet communities created in the aftermath of the scandal
Some of her wounded fans have made internet communities with opposing points of view, ‘We demand the truth, IU’ and ‘We believe in IU’. In particular, due to the similarity of the name ‘We demand the truth, IU’ with the infamous internet community ‘We demand the truth, Tablo,’ [that first sparked the alleged education forgery scandal of the Stanford-educated rapper] the forum aggravates controversies over issues like the invasion of privacy and immature fan culture of the industry. The Naver comments are immediate reactions to the incident, followed by more recent reactions from Twitter.
From Sports Donga :
[Exclusive] IU tweets a scandalous photo
A scandalous photo of IU has been posted on her Twitter account.
On the morning of the 10th, a photo was uploaded to a yfrog username that is linked to her Twitter account. In the photo, a woman presumed as IU in her pyjamas is right next to a shirtless guy presumed to be Eunhyuk. The woman has a mole on her face in exactly the same place as IU.
The photo was posted on IU’s twitter account, yet has since been deleted.
Some speculate her account may have been hacked or the picture is photoshopped.
IU recently said ‘There’s this guy I was dating but I stopped seeing him because he played the push and pull game too hard’ on SBS ‘GoShow.’ IU also said on the show, ‘My fans tell me that I may date as long as I keep the relationship a secret,’ leaving the specifics to their imagination.
Comments from Naver:
nmnm****:
The reporter’s done quite an impressive job in the middle of the night. ke ke ke
newh****:
Lee Yong-dae: Thanks a lot, Ji-eun ke ke [Star badminton athlete Lee Yong-dae also had his intimate photos leaked right before IU’s scandalous photo incident.] ke ke ke ke ke
amna****:
The reporter: Honey, we’re going to be able to pay for some meat to feed our children..
mick****:
Now I understand how she is so close to Ji-yeon. [Ji-yeon is a member of an idol band, T-ara. Their career was severely affected by a recent bullying scandal.]
gree****:
Like Alex Ferguson said, ‘Twitter is a waste of time.’
coma****:
She’s fucked up big time… How’s she gonna repair the damage on her reputation? What about her innocent girl image?
hhk3****:
She has to deal with the repercussions for her actions; it’s not like some netizen disseminated the photo without her consent.
real****:
‘…In the photo, a woman presumed as IU in her pyjamas is right next to a shirtless guy presumed to be Eunhyuk. The woman has a mole on her face in exactly the same place as IU…’ ke ke ke ke ke ke ke
roon****:
JYP: We have no regret for not choosing IU. [IU once auditioned for JYP and didn’t make it.]
naru****:
If she really wanted to post a picture with both of them in it, she should’ve chosen a photo of them holding hands or something. ㅠㅠ Why did she pick that self-portrait photo of her in her pj’s on the bed? It’d be embarrassing even for a non-celebrity.
wiza****:
It only takes a moment to demolish her reputation.. ke ke
gnsd****:
You’re following the path that Ji-yeon took. Good-bye ^^
xotj****:
Is it her pyjamas that exacerbates the rumour?
nona****:
It’s too much that the photo was taken on a bed, on top of the guy being topless. ;;;; It would’ve been much more manageable if they were holding hands or whatever, and yet…;;;; Her agency should feel dreadful, trying to keep the scandal under control. ;;
pude****:
That photo can’t be dismissed as a fraud.
tkfk****:
eh-hyu I liked her… It’s not like she’s done something wrong, yet I’m not happy about this. I hate you!
seou****:
The reporter has a hell of a work ethic! Good job!!
pyeo****:
I wonder how she’s gonna make an excuse for that picture. Her ‘people’s little sister’ reputation is so over ;;;;; I feel sorry for her. How would her parents feel? ;;
brai****:
Oh her tweets seem as wilful as T-ara! How nice ke ke ke
dnps****:
Lee Yong-dae is probably Korean mask-dancing with his rocket in his hand.
Comments from Twitter:
규소 @kusogyuso:
Eunhyuk spotted at his mother’s bakery, looking tired. Hmmm his mother opened a bakery…
4m 뿌끄부끄 @LOVELOVELYBOY:
K Starnews is reporting on IU.. ke They’re writing a novel HA. Whatever.
4m 김동현(김해시) @anjdala5:
IU rocks!
10m 종이유(톨스토이) @ssoss95:
I miss IU…..
13m 고양싸 @yangssa__:
I’ve seen a lot of people talking about IU and Eunhyuk; some of them are nasty. On related articles, I don’t see any decent comments but airbrushed photos of her eyes, making it sexually suggestive.. It’s over-the-top, collective sexual harassment toward a female celebrity. ㅠㅠ
14m 혜비 @LHBin_yang:
I don’t care whether she dates him or not; I just don’t like some people posting their speculation. Those sick parodies and stockings are only serving them for entertainment. ke ke ke I know IU offered herself as bait, yet I find you guys much more annoying;; ke ke
19m 파리 @hoan0056:
It’s hard to be her fan these days, having to put up with hearing all sorts of rubbish.. But I hope she’ll shake it off and start singing again. Maybe because I haven’t been her biggest fan, I’m not that shocked like those who felt betrayed by her. I find them mean; it they were truly her fans, why would they break her CDs and start trashing her?
19m 기다릴게박정수♥영파 @SJ_Bluerr:
Is it that dreadful to see IU being verbally attacked whilst Eunhyuk oppa is defended? It’s not like we’re discriminating them; it’s because IU is the only one who has made a mistake, not Eunhyuk. You brainless people are clueless.
소셜베이 @socialbay:
Who benefits the most at the expanse of IU’s scandal? http://bit.ly/W4wGZd
즈마 @LJ_ozma:
My friend who’s a huge fan of IU has changed his SNS profile ke ke ke ke ke http://twitpic.com/bd3e4e
