Can you tell us more about what led to IU being a guest on SUCHWITA?

Jeong Jae Hoon (Lead Professional, Original Contents 3 Studio): We struck a deal when SUGA was on IU’s Palette🎨: If the episode reached 10 million views, IU said she would come on SUCHWITA too. But with SUGA about to begin his service, the two of them said, “Even though it hasn’t reached 10 million views yet, it would be great to make the fans’ dreams come true.” It’s a gift for both ARMY and UAENA, after all. IU somehow made time for it despite being so busy filming the show You Have Done Well, and SUGA was having a hectic time because of his upcoming enlistment, but they both were intent on giving it a go for their fans.

What was the mood like when these two 30-year-olds were filming?

Jeong Jae Hoon: To be perfectly honest, we were hoping they would show off their dynamic of having amusing squabbles with each other, and they certainly met our expectations. (laughs) They’d already interacted together a number of times—they collaborated on “People Pt. 2” (feat. IU) and shot live clips for a documentary—so the respect they have for one another and their music really came across well, even with the squabbling. With that kind of rapport, all they needed was a general outline, and they were good to go. (laughs) They did a great job discussing things only the two of them knew about, like that RM was considered first for “eight” (Prod. & Feat. SUGA of BTS), which was news to the production team. They delved into stories about IU’s teens, twenties, and thirties, and SUGA shared stories about those times from his own life. I smile thinking about it, even now. They laughed and laughed, but when they got deep, they got really deep.

Was there any specific angle you looked for during IU’s episode?

Jeong Jae Hoon: Since SUGA’s a musician himself, he has the most fun when the conversation turns to music. You could tell how excited he was. (laughs) IU has made a huge impact on K-pop—she’s a force to be reckoned with—but people haven’t looked back on her musical journey much, so the plan was to focus on IU’s musicianship, for which she’s known first and foremost. We used a lot of IU’s music when we put the episode together, too. Our team researches so thoroughly whenever we have a guest on that it completely changes what the algorithm throws up on YouTube. (laughs) We spent a lot of time looking for the perfect clip to play when she said she “changes into comfortable clothes” like the ones she “wore to work” after she does her encore. We watched every video on her label’s channel and her personal one and did our best to slot in the perfect clips for the show.