What happened to Kang Myung-Joo? Fans call When Life Gives You Tangerines role as a “beautiful homage”

Kang Myung-joo, who starred in the recent Netflix K-drama series When Life Gives You Tangerines, passed away on February 27, 2025, at the age of 54, after losing her battle with cancer. Given that the show premiered in March 2025, many netizens pointed out that she was unable to witness the final product of her work.

Additionally, as the show continues to receive positive reviews both globally and locally, fans expressed sadness that Kang Myung-joo couldn't see the appreciation for When Life Gives You Tangerines.

As people mourned her passing, many also noted that the show and her role in it served as a beautiful homage to the actress's death.

They particularly highlighted one scene from the show where the camera moves in circles in the center of a living room. Kang Myung-joo, who played Park Yeong-bum, the first love of Geum-myeong, was seated on a sofa. Every time the camera panned towards her, she was shown to be growing older.

While the intention of the scene was to show the passage of time, many viewers reflected on the scene and commented that this was a beautiful gift for the actress's family, who couldn't otherwise see the actress grow old. Here are a few fan reactions regarding the same:

"I see the transition scene as a beautiful homage for the late actress kang myung-joo."

"I think this is a beautiful gift for her bereaved family as well. They get to see her grow old, even just through this," said a fan on X

"We're glad that one of your legacy is being part of wlgyt. You did great Ma'am," added another fan

"This was beautiful to watch, especially now that I know that she no longer is in this world. May she rest in peace," commented a netizen

More fans and netizens grieved the actress's death and commended her performance in the K-drama series, When Life Gives You Tangerines.

"It's unfortunate she wasn't able to see the drama grow into a successful one with her incredible participation. rest in peace, kang myungjoo," stated a fan

"rest in peace. thank you for giving us exceptional acting that made us hurt and feel the sting in out hearts while watching yeongbeom and geummyeong," added a X user

"You have left us an amazing performance of a lifetime. Thank you, Actress #KangMyungJoo," said a netizen

"One thing along with this is they aged her up in few scenes for this drama her family gonna cherish that part forever," commented another X user

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All you need to know about the latest Netflix K-drama series, When Life Gives You Tangerines

When Life Gives You Tangerines is a South Korean TV series that premiered on Netflix on March 7. The show was written by Lim Sang-choon and directed by Kim Won-seok. The cast of the slice-of-life series includes IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, Park Hae-joon, and more.

The show concluded on March 28 after the release of all its 16 episodes. When Life Gives You Tangerines revolves around two friends who grew up together on the seaside of Jeju in South Korea. While Ae-sun is rebellious, outspoken, and optimistic, Gwan-sik is diligent and quiet, and the two's friendship soon grows into love.

When her hometown becomes too small for Ae-sun's dreams of becoming a poet, she decides to run away from home towards Busan to start a new life of her own. Along with Ae-sun, Gwan-sik also elopes to help her with her dreams, and the show unfolds more about how the two build a life and family together.

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All sixteen episodes of When Life Gives You Tangerines are now available for streaming on Netflix.