The producing director (PD) of “Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook,” Kim Hae Ryong, has expressed his gratitude to IU for agreeing to star in a special episode to celebrate her 12th anniversary!

IU commemorated the 12th anniversary of her debut in 2008 on September 18 by holding a mini-concert on the KBS music variety show “Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook.” The singer, for 100 minutes, performed many of her most beloved songs, including her very first televised performances of her more recent hits.

As per Nielsen Korea, IU’s special episode of “Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook” scored an average nationwide rating of 2.2 percent, which tripled the show’s viewership ratings from its previous episode the week prior (which averaged 0.7 percent nationwide).

The producing director revealed the popularity of the special, saying that as soon as they decided to air an IU special, IU felt a lot of pressure about being the only guest. He continued saying that she worried that people might think that she’s arrogant or seld-important for having her show on her 12th anniversary. “But I believe that our intention of putting on feel-good performances to thank and comfort the public was well-received by viewers, and the special received a lot of interest.”

Kim Hae Ryong thanked IU for choosing to celebrate her 12th anniversary through the show. The PD pointed out that IU could have earned a lot of money if she had opted to hold a paid concert instead.

“Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook,” in contrast to paid virtual concerts, is virtually free of charge for the general public, said the producer. Kim Hae Ryong expressed how grateful he is to IU for generously putting on a free concert and essentially making a donation of her talents.”

With regards to their experience filming the special, Kim Hae Ryong remarked that there were a lot of comments saying that because they filmed for 14 hours straight, both IU and the entire crew must have been exhausted. But they filmed almost everything in just one take. “Of course, we did do a camera rehearsal and a dry rehearsal, but we were able to wrap up most of the filming on our first take.”

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