IU's Merch Cutback Plan Lasted About 30 Seconds Before Fans Shut It Down

IU walked into a YouTube interview with a plan to spend less of her fans' money. The fans were not interested.

On the 25th, the YouTube channel Jindol posted an episode titled IU Guest Seat: The Ultimate Fan-Turned-Star, in which IU opened by saying she had something on her mind. "There's an album coming out, concerts to hold, fan club renewals to pay for," she said. "That's already a lot of money going out in every direction. So I thought, let's cut back on the goods."

Hidy, a self-described Uaena (IU's official fan club name) who was also a guest on the show and said IU is the first person, rather than fictional character, she's ever stanned, looked genuinely alarmed. "You're cutting back here? Choosing what to buy, that's our call to make."

She then explained exactly how merch functions as survival fuel: "I use it for motivation. When I really don't want to work, I think: I need to buy that. I need to go to that concert. I guess I'd better get back to work."

The photocard comment that killed the vibe

IU then brought up one of the more quietly uncomfortable practices in K-pop fandom: buying multiple copies of the same album just to collect different photocards. Her suggestion, delivered with full sincerity, was that fans could just... print selfies she posts on social media themselves.

The room chilled noticeably. IU clocked it and walked it back immediately. "That's not how I think about it at all anymore. I get it now, I understand why people want to collect them." The audience laughed; the tension dissolved.

She did add one genuinely unresolved dilemma: "I never quite know whether fans prefer it when I post selfies on social media, or when I hold them back for photocards. That part is always hard for me to figure out."

Fans online delivered their verdict

The clip spread quickly, and the reactions online were affectionate but firm. One comment read: "Sis said 'let's cut back'... does that include the season's greetings? Because that's literally how I close out my year." Another: "She loves Uaenas so much she'd slash her own merch line for them... but no, princess. Put out the goods."

For context, IU's year has already been complicated. Her sixth full-length album and an associated concert run, both originally scheduled for September, were postponed after a worsening of patulous Eustachian tube syndrome, a condition affecting ear pressure and hearing. The comeback timeline is still unconfirmed, which makes the merch question a live one: less goods in a year with fewer release windows is a meaningful cut, not a symbolic gesture.

Her fans know that. They said no anyway.