When Life Gives You Tangerines

one of the best kdramas of 2025

a love that spans throughout generations and a story of a family that endures all seasons 🍊

any drama about family will make me cry, I remember crying my heart out while watching this series. even one of the scenes had me crying with sounds (hagulgol in tagalog lol). it’s really a heavy heartfelt drama. IU did an amazing job portraying her characters. i finished this for only five days since it was honestly good and highly recommend this kdrama (for both watchers and non watchers of korean drama). it’s been awhile since i watched something that resonated with me (as a first born son). this kdrama also reminded me that it is everyone’s first time in this life, so be kind.

the kdrama also made us of events that were aligned to the year it was set in, somehow it became a backdrop to it (e.g. IMF etc)

Read More

I hate how much I love it!

I hate what this did to me. I hate the director, screenwriter and every single actor. They broke me. I hate the 16+ hours of pain that I willingly and eagerly felt for this series. I hate that none will ever come close to this level of storytelling. I hate that I won’t ever watch it again. Like my other favorites Egoist and 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us, it will live in memory and not rewatched to nitpick after. This is the first series that I've ever happily rated 10. It was perfect.

I loved the cycle of life relived through generations. I loved the enduring love, the late love, the forgiving love and parental love. Every parent loves their children but some may not know how to teach them to fly. I loved the failings of both. It showed their imperfect love. I loved the hedge formed around them and the admiration. I loved their resilience.

I will not lift one performance above another. They all did exceptional work. Even the ones we were supposed to hate. This series deserved all the accolades it received. Beautiful cinematography. This was a very satisfying watch. It brought the emotions out, raw and flowing. Watch with boxes of tissue and bottles of water. You’re going to need it.

Read More

When life gives you tangerines you get see a whole Pie of life

This is not just one slice of life but a whole pie with cream and what not of life. As it offers us a bunch of glimpses in to several generations of life, struggles, love and more struggles.

Ordinary people, in some extraordinary circumstances showing us that it can be the little choices that define us. And that being loved matters more than being controlled.

The main couple is as sweet as sweet gets. Pure, loving the type that will litterally do anything to protect each other not only physically but mentally too.

"You have six people in your in your house hold, why do you only buy five fish?"

Showing us how to stand op against family oppression, tradition and prejudges. They may have been poor but they gave their children love and tools to stand up for them selfs teaching them not to settle and know their worth. Without skimping on the hardships poverty brings.

I loved the village, and the it truley takes a village feel to this, I loved the family, the aunts, the kids, the pain... the sweetness. The window in to the different decades and society and day to day life as it was, without diving in to politics. Showing common people. I also enjoyed them showing us even more pain and the time skips with the date and time shown like they used to on old photographs.

I did not like the last 30 minutes or so of the drama, it had a bit to much of a preachy tone and did a bad job with making me believe IUS character was over 50. It also has one moment that feels a bit off and over the top in this otherwise pretty down to earth drama. Making me lower the score from a 9,5 to a 9. Then all the yelling crying, and more yelling knocked off another 0,5 stars giving this an 8,5.

A good drama indeed, and apparently there is a lot you can do with tangerines, if it is life or some one else who gives you them is however a different question as the tangerines seem to be the first to go when poverty hits.

Read More

ITS DRAMA OF THE YEAR(2025) FR

……………………………….……………………………….……………………………….………………………………
i loved how its so good i got hooked on like from the first ep. and each volumes were so good and message was so well done. i literally bawled almost every episode like a baby even though I’m like literally in my thirties. but thats the thing. its so relatable yet so magical story and it shows. i really hope every one who needs it find this masterpiece and get some lesson and motivation they need for them……………………………….……………………………….……………………………….

Read More

One for the ages: Unforgettable slice of life drama

Not sure how I could possibly articulate how I felt about this drama, but I truly felt like WLGYT will go down in history as a must-watch drama. Not often does a drama like this come along - one that makes your heart feel like it's ripping apart in pain, but also being mended together at the same time. I cried, I laughed, I hurt, I empathized, and at the end of it all, I sat back and reflected on how much their journey resonated with parts of my own life.

I cried almost every single episode, which I wasn't expecting. The drama is relentless in tugging at your heartstrings. For this reason alone, I don't know that I could rewatch this often. It required my full attention and focus in order for me to fully appreciate all that it had to offer.

IU and PBG were phenomenal in this. I felt like this was possibly one of IU's best performances yet. The acting all around was top notch, and I think played a huge factor in making this drama what it was.

Storyline - 10/10. The only thing I wished for more of, was exploring more about the favoritism on Geum-myeong and how that impacted the relationship with Eun-myeong. I know there was a lot of detail that they portrayed that didn't have to be said, but I think it would have been nice to focus on that just a touch more. The episode where they visited him in jail I felt was an incredible scene. Otherwise, no notes. They explored so many different dynamics between families, communities, siblings, relationships and across so many different years and eras. It was so beautifully done.

I think what made this drama special, was that if you could relate to all the dynamics, or you didn't relate, it still elicited either some form of gratefulness / understanding, or a sense of longing / wishfulness. I for example felt so much gratitude for all the mother-daughter dynamics as that is something I have felt my whole life with my mom. However, my relationship with my father was more complex, and so all father-daughter/son scenes tugged on a different heart string.

Slice of life drama's aren't for everyone, especially an incredibly emotional one like this one. That said, I think for those who enjoy these kinds of drama's will find that it is an exceptional drama.

Read More

Masterpiece like an old handwritten letter

One of the best kdrama that I watch and felt with all my being. It’s about resilience, survival, and the kind of love that doesn’t need to be shouted from the rooftops. Loved everything, from writing, acting, that is beyond words, how they developed the characters, an wonderful real life put on screen for inspiration of true partnership, hardworking, love, family, courage story about breaking generational trauma and the cinematography is like a poetry. At the beginning it was not my cup of tea, but somehow I felt to continue watching and yes, I am so grateful to watch this precious, beautiful love life masterpiece. It's a blessing to have a love, a partnership like this in these times. Truly profound and deep, to have this determination to choose, each decision made to move forward, to live on many times and to be happy and grateful at the end. After a week since I finished the story staid with me, has change some things inside me. Even if I cried at every episode I felt so much support to move forward even if life is hard and to trust God and Life and to act on my dreams. I don't have my own family, yet, but hope I will meet my own Gwan Sik to grow and to create together. So beautiful. So real. So painful. So full of joy.

I give it an 8 for rewatch as I think I don't want to be a witness second time. Maybe just if life puts me down, this is a good story to help me, to inspire to fight for my life, for my dreams, to be there for love. in that case it will be a 10.

Read More

No Words Can Describe

This is the first time I valued life seriously because of this. I am currently in a hard time situation with myself and my family and it is not good, I am depressed. The thing is, I have no GwanShik who will be on my side with all the ups and downs, and I also don't have a GwanShik father who will comfort me by patting my back, provide for us without getting angry, and be there for us personally. This drama touched my heart and went so deeply that I had to cry on every episode to let out all my loneliness, anger, and happiness. 2 days ago was the first time I had suicide thoughts and when I checked my phone I had a lot of signs from God that I shouldn't; I finished this drama to just let the time pass by, I cried a lot. This made me look back and appreciate people and hardships in life. I realized I need to be Ae Sun, she is strong, diligent and intelligent. Ae Sun is the person I really want to be. If I am gonna advice my own self, I will just say "be Ae Sun". She went through a lot and so am I. She may become a poet at the peak of her age but at least she did everything whether she liked it or not. Her and Gwanshik had a lot of dreams for themselves and their family but life isn't easy and perfect however they went through it because of their love and because of each other's bright. Ae Sun may not married a man who is rich that we all wanted but she married Gwan Shik because he was patient with her, he wanted to be happy with her, he wanted to share everything he knows and he owns, he fights for her until the end, even their hair turned gray, Gwashik still treated her like they were kids and most of all every way he do to speaks out for her. Those will never be heavier than being rich. I may want to die because of money but if I have a person like GwanShik, I will strive to live a long with my Mother's teachings and memories.

Her poems is so pretty. I cry everytime I read them, I hope I can read them in reality.

Read More

There’s something deeply human in the tendency to see life as a problem to solve, a raw material to reshape. But perhaps the true masterpiece—the work of a life well-lived—is learning to receive what’s given with wonder, not resistance.

I say this as someone who isn’t a parent. I wonder, though—do those who have held their child for the first time, who’ve learned to love in ways I can only begin to imagine, see this differently? Does the instinct to protect, nurture, and shape something so precious change how one receives life’s unexpected gifts?

To me, this series was a reminder that not every twist is a tragedy in disguise. Some are tangerines.

The actors—what they delivered was nothing short of immaculate. Their performances didn’t just serve the story; they became the story. I’ll carry this series with me for a long time, and I can’t help but wonder if they will too.

Read More