IU and Jiyeon’s friendship is a rare kind that stands against the test of time.
Jiyeon and IU have known each other since 2010 from participating in SBS’s Heroes program and quickly bonded because of their similar personality, interests and year of birth, 1993.
In 2012, T-ara got into a series of scandals with their former member Hwayoung. At the time, Jiyeon and her teammates were ostracized by the audience, and their career was on a rapid decline. IU was seen interacting less with her idol friend publicly but silently supported Jiyeon. Nonetheless, netizens found ways to criticize IU for not standing by her friend in time of need.
In the face of criticism, IU did not make any excuse but instead stood silently by Jiyeon. In 2014, she first publicly supported Jiyeon when the singer was promoting her solo song “Never Ever (1 min 1 sec)” through an encouraging video.
Reuniting on the stage of Gayo Daejeon 2015, IU took the initiative to go to Jiyeon’s place to talk and walk towards the stage wings. In the same year, the two followed each other on their personal Instagram accounts after IU created her handle.
In 2017, IU was reported to release the song “Dear My Friend” for Jiyeon admittedly a long time ago to cheer up a close friend.
In the same year, IU was caught up in dating rumors with Eunhyuk (Super Junior). Jiyeon expressed her sadness when she could not be present to comfort IU when the rumors circulated.
Jiyeon is also an indispensable name in IU’s concerts. The T-ara member was seen many times sitting in the VIP seats, no matter how busy she was, to support her close friend.
Jiyeon once confided to IU, “I even cried when I heard your song. But this seems to make me a bit embarrassed so I can’t talk about it. I shed tears during your concert. All the songs, I even cried when I saw you dance.”
In 2018, T-ara was vindicated after many years of living in public criticism and boycott. However, the group has been long past their golden days and were not together anymore. Therefore, apart from her teammates, Jiyeon is still lucky to have IU.
In 2020, IU and Jiyeon once again reunited on the show “On and Off” where they confided about friendship of more than a decade, growing up together, going through many difficulties. IU told Jiyeon on the show, “In the past, when I was having a hard time, I felt that I was holding up pretty well. But the moment I saw your face, I cried right away. I still find it strange to this day.”
Jiyeon also revealed more about her friend’s personality, saying, “She looks weak on the outside but is very strong on the inside. IU is not just someone you turn to when you’re having a hard time. She’s a friend who knows you’ve been through hard times and comes to you first. She’s someone I can open up to and talk to about anything.”
On December 10th, 2022, Jiyeon officially got married to baseball player Hwang Jae Gyun. On the happy day of her best friend, IU sang at her wedding and was touched when she witnessed a happy moment after many turns in her career.
Source: Yan News
