IU, the reason she appeared after 'Pokssak' and '21st-Century Crown Prince Consort' is 'the title is unique'

IU will showcase a multi-dimensional charm as Castle Beauty CEO Seong Hee-ju in MBC's new Fri-Sat drama '21st Century Grand Lady'.

The drama, set in a 21st-century constitutional monarchy Republic of Korea, depicts a class-breaking romance in which a woman who is a chaebol but of commoner status and a man who is the king's son but can have nothing forge their destiny. April 10 at 9:40 PM is the first broadcast.

IU said that although she feels worry and nervousness about the work, the viewers' expectations come as excitement, and she hopes it will be a work that audiences can enjoy until the end.

As for why she chose '21st Century Grand Lady' as her next project, she said the unique title and each character's individuality, especially Seong Hee-ju's unpredictable actions and their driving force, felt attractive.

Seong Hee-ju is a character who has beauty, ability, and wealth but has faced the limitation of being a 'commoner,' which IU summarized as "greed, temper, and cuteness." She previewed that in the early stages, uncontrollable greed and eccentricity stand out, but as her lack is filled, her cute and cool sides also emerge.

She cited 'proactiveness' as Seong Hee-ju's special trait, explaining that her willingness to put down her pride and fight with a go-all-out attitude to build a relationship with Grand Prince Ian (Byun Woo-seok) is an attractive point. She added that the moment her feelings toward Grand Prince Ian change is a passage where the character's dimensionality is well revealed.

Also, to express the inner self of a character who had to appear strong, she tried not to miss the loneliness and fragility that inevitably surface behind malicious expressions, and said she worked to distinguish Hee-ju during moments of achievement and Hee-ju at other times by the vitality in her voice and facial expressions.

As viewing points, she pointed to the fast-paced development in the first half and the dense emotional lines between characters, and the serious, heartrending love story in the latter half.