This famous singer used to live in a house full of cockroaches!
This rich famous female singer has a fortune equal to all 4 Blackpink members combined, used to live in a house full of cockroaches before becoming famous.
Before becoming famous as she is today, this singer had to endure a life of poverty. Having experienced extreme hardship due to her mother’s debts to the underworld, singer IU gradually rose to success and became the owner of valuable real estate.
IU is one of the top artists in South Korea. She is known as a solo artist with highly regarded songwriting and singing abilities. Her albums always top the music charts in Korea. Few people know that in order to achieve her current great achievements and accumulate such enormous wealth, IU had to break free from a difficult family life. The recent episode of the TMI News television program revealed these facts, causing quite a stir.
TMI News program revealed that the difficult childhood of singer IU began after her mother signed a loan contract with a relative. That person took the loan and disappeared, leaving IU’s mother burdened with the debt. The family suddenly fell into financial difficulties, and their house was marked as “red-tagged.”
Due to the debt situation, IU’s parents had to work far away, and the young IU had to live with her grandmother and younger brother. “Her family fell apart. IU had to live with her grandmother and younger brother in a one-bedroom apartment. Every day, IU had to walk up a large hill to go to school because they couldn’t afford the bus fare. Their house was infested with cockroaches,” the program recounted. To make a living, IU’s grandmother sold miscellaneous items in a nearby market. The money she earned was used for their living expenses.
In order to escape poverty, in her late teens, IU started auditioning at several entertainment companies. However, she was rejected time after time. Thinking that she had a chance to succeed, she invested all her savings in a entertainment company, only to be deceived and left with nothing. However, IU never gave up on her dream. Finally, she found a true home with Loen Entertainment, which is now known as Kakao M. In 2009, she made her debut with “Lost Child” and later achieved great success with the song “Good Day” in 2015. Since then, IU’s star has been shining brightly. She became the queen of music charts, consistently topping various rankings whenever she released a new song. Three years after her debut, she paid off her own debts and bought her father’s dream car. In 2011, IU’s reported income was about 10 billion Korean won (8.7 million USD).
Some sources say that IU and her mother had a strained relationship at one point. She said, “My father hugged me and cried after arguing with my mother. I didn’t like my mother because she made my father cry. So, I argued with my mother, and our relationship became somewhat distant.” Later on, they reconciled and became close again. IU also revealed that her mother insisted on using her own money to repay the debts without taking any help from her daughter. In 2011, while participating in the KBS program “Win Win,” IU revealed that her mother insisted on using her own money to repay the debts and didn’t accept any assistance from her daughter. The singer also said, “My mother worked hard to achieve her dream of managing an orphanage. She adamantly refused any help from me. My mother didn’t give me a chance to repay her.”
In 2018, IU organized an event to commemorate her 10-year debut anniversary. Her mother personally spent her own money to buy 12,000 seat cushions and placed them at the venue for the fans to comfortably enjoy the concert.
After achieving success in the music industry, IU began investing in real estate. As a result, her net worth soared in proportion. In 2018, IU purchased her first building in Gwacheon for approximately 4.6 billion Korean won (around 4 million USD). The building’s current value is estimated to be around 6 million USD, and it is used as a workspace for her junior musicians. In August 2018, IU acquired another property, but this time it was for her family. She bought a house and land in Yangpyeong, where she and her family can go for relaxation, with a total cost of 3 billion Korean won (approximately 2.61 million USD). IU herself also owns an apartment in Cheongdam-dong, which is valued at 13 billion Korean won (around 11.3 million USD). What is shocking is that she paid in cash without needing to borrow money.
As of 2023, IU’s estimated net worth ranges from 50 million USD to 55 million USD, including earnings from music and acting.
With this wealth, the SCMP newspaper praises IU as the richest K-pop singer as of February 2023.