A Flower Bookmark (Korean: 꽃갈피; RR: Kkotgalpi) is the first coverextended play by South Korean singer-songwriter IU. It is also her fourth Korean-language extended play. The EP was released on May 16, 2014, the singer's birthday, by LOEN Entertainment under its imprint LOEN Tree. Unlike her previous works, A Flower Bookmark features cover versions of nostalgic K-pop songs popularized from 1980s to 1990s.[1]
The EP was successful both commercially and critically. It spawned two hit singles; the lead single "My Old Story" and "The Meaning of You". The former topped Billboard K-pop Hot 100,[2][A] while the latter was ranked at the top of Gallup Korea's Song of the Year in 2014.[3][B] In particular, the latter has gone to sell more than two million digital copies since release, even outselling the album's lead track. The EP also earned IU the Melon Music Award for Artist of the Year, and a nomination for Album of the Year.[4][5] It was ranked at number three on Billboard's list of Best K-pop Albums of 2014.[6]
A Flower Bookmark consists of cover versions of nostalgic K-pop songs popularized from 1980s to 1990s, including "My Old Story" (Jo Deok-bae, 1985), "Flower" (Kim Kwang-seok, 1991), "Pierrot Smiles at Us" (Kim Wan-sun, 1990), "When Love Passes By" (Lee Moon-sae, 1987), "The Meaning of You" (Sanulrim, 1984), "Dreams in Summer Night" (Kim Hyun-sik, 1988), and "Boom Ladi Dadi" (Clon, 1996).[7]
On May 15, a video teaser for A Flower Bookmark was uploaded on LOEN Entertainment's official YouTube channel.[8] The teaser features Kim Wan-sun, the original singer of "Pierrot Smiles at Us" (Korean: 삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지; RR: Ppieroneun Uril Bogo Utji).[9] The official music video for the title track "My Old Story" (Korean: 나의 옛날 이야기; RR: Naui Yetnal Iyagi), starring actor Choi Woo-shik, was released via YouTube on the same day.[10] The whole album was released on the following day. After the album's release, "My Old Story" reached a perfect all-kill status.[11] A limited LP edition, featuring a bonus track "Eoheoya Dunggidunggi", was available for sale.[12]
The album received critical acclaim upon release. The Korea Herald complimented the album for providing "a pleasant, calming respite from the mainstream music of today's times", and praised IU for her reinterpretations: "For every track, IU keeps a careful balance between preserving the song's original sentiments and altering the original with her own color and arrangements."[14]Billboard highlighted the track, "Pierrot Smiles at Us" (Korean: 삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지), as the "most ambitious tune she tackled" and one that proved her diversity as a singer and called the album a "soothing mix of classic K-pop melodies". Furthermore, A Flower Bookmark was listed at number three on Billboard's Best K-Pop Albums of 2014.[15]
As of October 2015, the album has sold 53,900 copies in South Korea[C] and 900 in Japan.[17] As of November 2024, the album has sold over 91,935 physical copies with its tracks recording a total of over six million digital downloads.
^The song remained IU's sixth and last number-one hit on the chart, which has been discontinued since its issue date of July 16, 2014.
^IU herself was entitled "Artist of the Year" in the same survey.[3]
^Sales for both CD and LP editions are combined.[16]
^The song had been used as one of the wholesome songs (Korean: 건전가요; RR: Geonjeongayo) in South Korea. In the past, all of the K-pop albums had to include at least one "wholesome song", as an ode to the nation's (and by extension the dictatorship's) greatness. This practice continued until 1987.[19]
