IU cancels Goyang Stadium concert and postpones 6th studio album due to worsening ear condition

IU (Lee Ji-eun, 33) cancelled her September Goyang Stadium concert and postponed her 6th studio album to early 2027 on July 20. The reason: a worsening chronic ear condition called Eustachian tube dysfunction.

She told her fandom, Uaena, directly via a fan communication platform. The Goyang show was supposed to kick off a full nationwide tour—her first in a long time. Every date after that has been scrapped too. Her 6th regular album, which would have marked her first full-length comeback in years, now arrives in early 2027.

Eustachian tube dysfunction happens when the tube connecting the ear and nose fails to close normally, staying permanently open instead. People with it hear their own breathing and voice amplified inside the ear. IU first mentioned it publicly at her 14th debut anniversary concert in 2022, describing a "hellish day unable to control my ears well."

Things got worse. "The chronic Eustachian tube dysfunction symptoms have recently been continuing day and night for several days," she wrote. She managed to finish the album in the studio by working around the condition, but medical experts said performing concerts—with all their physical demands and sweating—would be too risky right now.

EDAM Entertainment said the decision came after careful discussion and was meant to "present the stage in optimal condition." They noted the condition doesn't significantly interfere with her daily life.

IU apologized to fans: "I am truly sorry for ruining what would have been a happy second half of 2026 for all of us." She also said sorry for breaking a promise to hold a concert with 8th-generation fan club members. She'd wrapped the MBC drama 21st Century Great Queen, which aired through May, before shifting focus to the album.

"I will do my best to receive treatment and focus on recovering my condition in the second half, so that at least the start of 2027 we can be together," she said.