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The slice-of-life and romance drama When Life Gives You Tangerines is a 2025 series featuring a star-studded cast, including IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, and Park Hae-joon. It premiered on March 7 and ran until March 28, 2025. The show was helmed by director Kim Won-seok and penned by Lim Sang-choon.
Set against the backdrop of Jeju Island in 1951, When Life Gives You Tangerines, presented the love story of Gwan-sik and Ae-sun. They went through multiple struggles and hardships to overcome the financial problems, accompanied by raising their children.
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When Life Gives You Tangerines received favorable and positive reviews from the viewers, making it a domestic and international hit. The drama was praised for its performances, direction, dialogue delivery, cinematography, and screenplay.
The watchers mentioned that they could feel nostalgic and the warm culture of South Korea.
Strong female lead, and 4 other reasons to tune into slice-of-life series When Life Gives You Tangerines
1) Strong female lead
When Life Gives You Tangerines was focused on the life of a rebellious and free-spirited girl Ae-sun from the Jeju Island. She aspired to become a poet during the times when going to school for a girl was impossible and challenging.
Simultaneously, she worked hard to impress her mother. However, life had different plans for Ae-sun. She could not fulfill her dream.
Subsequently, Ae-sun's daughter, Yang Geum-myeong, chased her mother's objectives and goals. She graduated from the prestigious and reputable Seoul National University.
Hence, the drama showcased how empowered and resilient women were even in the 1950s, 1970s, and every period of history.
They inspired women worldwide to take a stand for their individual rights, dreams, passions, inspirations, and to have the courage to walk the unpaved path.
2) The Three megastars: IU, Park Bo-gum, and Kim Seon-ho
IU, Park Bo-gum, and Kim Seon-ho played significant roles in the smash hit series When Life Gives You Tangerines. IU portrayed the double roles of Oh Ae-sun and her daughter, Yang Geum-myeong. Meanwhile, Moon So-ri played the middle-aged Ae-sun.
Kim Seon-ho played the role of an artist and the husband of Yang Geum-myeong, named Park Chung-seop. Meanwhile, Park Bo-gum chronicled the character of Yang Gwan-sik, the husband of Ae-sun.
3) Soulful OSTs, appealing cinematography, and screenplay
The drama was packed with the necessary and significant cinematic elements, including soulful original soundtracks, appealing cinematography, direction, storytelling, and screenplay.
The songs, including Midnight Walk, Name, To the Land of Hope, My Love by My Side, Spring in a Heartbeat, and others, impressed the listeners.
4) Director Kim Won-seok and screenwriter Lim Sang-choon
When Life Gives You Tangerines has been helmed by director Kim Won-seok. He has been famous for directing many hit dramas, such as Signal, Monster, Misaeng, Arthdal Chronicles, and My Mister, which pulled the heartstrings of viewers throughout the years.
Meanwhile, screenwriter Lim Sang-choon was been known for adding flavor of life, comical elements, romance, and other necessary details to a particular project. She has been famous for shows, including When the Camelia Blooms, Fight For My Way, and others.
5) The storyline included relatable aspects of life
The storyline of When Life Gives You Tangerines includes many aspects of life, such as love, friendship, struggle, family, social ladder, unemployment, and more.
It showed how the male and female protagonist continued to raise their children despite absolute poverty.
The series is available to watch on the American streaming platform Netflix.
