For the first time, fans of South Korean singer Ji-eun Lee, known worldwide as IU, were able to see last week their favorite artist perform on United States soil, spurring a cross country trek for longtime devotees. The moment IU announced her first-ever United States tour, Zunn Islam, 27, was ready to pack his bags from his home in Toronto and follow the artist on several of her concert stops. After being a supporter for over 15 years, and even traveling to across the globe to watch the singer/actress, he was finally able to see her at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on July 15.
Islam is one of millions across the world who are devout IU fans, affectionately known as Uaena, and communicate with each other via social media platforms like ‘X’ and Discord to plan their expeditions to support the singer. Together they coordinate ideas, such as creating banners with words of encouragement to hold up during a specific song. “It’s something we traditionally do for every IU stop.
All the fan clubs in the area gather and make banners for a specific fan song as a surprise to our artist for all the hard work she has done. It’s something every stop, every country’s respective fan clubs do,” Islam told amNewYork Metro. Islam states that the fans use money from their own pockets as well as gathered during a fund-raising period to print the banners.
This effort takes months of back-and-forth discussion. Like her hit song, “Love wins all,” Islam says the love the fans .