when life gives you tangerines...in eyes
this drama is more than just a drama. it’s an EXPERIENCE. it's set against the breathtaking backdrop of jeju island (your classic sea side drama): a poignant tale of love, resilience, and generational struggles, capturing the quiet battles that shape a life.at its heart is oh aesun (iu), a fierce, determined woman fighting to break free from the limitations of her time. iu delivers a raw, deeply affecting performance, making ae sun’s struggles feel personal. opposite her, gwangsik (park bogum) is a steady, unwavering presence. his quiet devotion speaks louder than words, making their love story deeply moving and heartbreakingly tender. (he's adorable)
what sets this drama apart is its passage of time. we don’t just see young dreamers, we follow them across decades, witnessing their evolving love and the struggles of their children, yang eunmyeong and yang geummyeong. their lives mirror and contrast their parents’ journeys, emphasizing the cyclical nature of love and fate.
beyond romance, the drama beautifully weaves in korea’s socio-political history, particularly the struggles of women like ae sun’s mother (a haenyeo), whose quiet strength leaves a lasting impact.
☆ visually, it’s STUNNING. the cinematography turns jeju into a living, breathing character, and every scene feels like a painting. the soundtrack is phenomenal, folk-inspired melodies elevating the story’s emotional depth. and the dialogues? spectacularly written! heartbreaking, raw, and deeply poetic.
some dramas entertain while others stay with you. when life gives you tangerines does both. sweet yet tinged with bitterness, just like a perfectly ripe tangerine.
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More Than Just a Drama—A Heartfelt Lesson on Love and Family
I have watched many K-dramas before, but I never felt the need to write a review—until now. I’ve always watched for entertainment, but this drama moved me so deeply that I had to share my thoughts.If you love your parents or have ever hurt them—intentionally or unintentionally—this drama is a must-watch. It will change the way you see them and make you realize the struggles they’ve endured just to give their children a comfortable life, without expecting anything in return.
Beyond family, the love story between the two leads is incredibly touching. It beautifully portrays that love isn't just about saying "I love you" every day—it’s about showing it through actions. In fact, I think this is the first drama I’ve watched where the leads never even say those three words to each other because their efforts and devotion speak for themselves. Their love is pure, selfless, and deeply moving.
I guarantee that if you relate to this drama from the first episode, you will find yourself in tears throughout all 16 episodes. As an elder daughter, I connected with it on a personal level—it made me realize how much my parents have sacrificed and that I haven’t done enough for them yet. It has inspired me to work harder so I can give them the comfortable life they deserve.
Lastly, kudos to the writers, director, actors, and every person involved in bringing this masterpiece to life. They have done a phenomenal job, and this drama will always hold a place in my top five.
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Like A Tangerine: Sweet With A Touch Of Tartness
This drama gently breaks your heart, then wraps it in warmth. It’s poetic without trying too hard — just simple, real, and deeply human.The story captures life’s quiet moments: grief that lingers, love that heals, and how even the smallest things — like the smell of citrus — can carry the weight of memory.
It’s not loud or flashy, but it hits you where it matters. An emotional journey that lingers long after the final scene.
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1
1"It takes a village to keep a person alive"
When Life Gives You Tangerines was a lovely bittersweet story of three generations of women, each desiring to do better than the previous generation. While the male characters were important, it was Ae Sun, her mother and her daughter that were the core of the story.Much of the drama took place on Jeju Island centered around the haenyeo and fishermen. Most of the people struggled to live day to day, relying on each other when things became dire. The sea is a harsh mistress and not only sustained life but took it as well. Yet there was laughter amongst the tears. And most importantly, there was the great love story between Ae Sun and Gwan Sik.
The different generations demonstrated the sacrifices that parents make for their children as well as their mistakes. Children learned that regret was a bitter pill to swallow once a parent was gone. The village relied on each other giving with compassion often accompanied by biting humor. Sometimes love was enough to sustain a relationship and sometimes it wasn’t. Life wasn’t easy about handing out answers regardless of the season people were in.
“It takes a village to keep a person alive.” The people of Jeju Island were generous, reconciliation often came after many tears, and the people showed great resiliency in the face of a collapsing economy. “Go together with others. If you do, 100 miles will feel like 10.” When Life Gives You Tangerines also reminded us that growing up is a lifelong process.
3 April 2025
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A Poetic Love Story That Grows with Time
When Life Gives You Tangerines is a beautifully rendered meditation on love, resilience, and the slow passage of time. What captivated me most is how it feels profoundly intimate—every glance, every subtle gesture builds decades of emotion. IU and Park Bo-gum deliver quietly powerful performances that breathe warmth into their characters, while the production design and cinematography evoke Jeju's cultural soul with stunning clarity and nostalgia. It’s not a fast-paced drama, but that languid rhythm lets you savor the relationships, the generational shifts, and the unwavering bond between Ae-sun and Gwan-sik. If you appreciate deeply human storytelling that lingers long after the final episode, this one stays with you.Was this review helpful to you?
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so good and then so bad
Aw, this one pains me really. I had this at a rating of 9.5 until about the 5th, 6th episode. I was glued to the screen, I laughed and cried and laughed again. I loved everything about this drama, the actors, the fantastic soundtrack, the sets with so much love to detail, the touching stories in the beginning, all peaking with the death of the little son which had me in tears.And then there was a harsh break in this drama. As soon as the older actors took over everything went wrong for me. One thing that bothered me until the very last episode was that the aging of the characters was totally wrong. So the two main characters look pretty much exactly the same in 1983 and in 1999. That's ridiculous. Also the male lead's mother at some later point looks as old as her own son and daughter-in-law. At the same time, they used the same actress to play mother and daughter and she is simply never aging at all. She is born when? in 1968? And she still looks like a 14-year-old in 1999. Also at her wedding there is this very (and I mean VERY ) old couple, who were ancient in the end of the 1960s, when they helped her parents out with food and stuff, and they still show up to her wedding in 1998 looking exactly the same and are still alive? How old are they supposed to be? 120? This really bugged me so much and destroyed lots of the vibes in this drama.
But even more was that harsh break for me when the previously very touching, serious and thoughtful storytelling with tangible tragic and happy events turned into a steady slapstick party most of the episodes from ep. 7 to ep 16.
I started ff-ing the last four episodes because I was so tired of this steady totally over the top screaming and slapsticking, taking out all seriousness and true to life storytelling of this drama.
And the daughter, who looked like the mother because it simply was the same actress? I just didn't like her character at all. Her steady screaming and crying and pitting herself for everything while the whole world is running after her and trying to make everything fluffy for her? Nah, sorry, I don't like such people and she never really had reason to be and act like that.
The five stars are soelely for the first 5 episodes, which were absolutely brilliant and I loved every minute of them. The lacking other five stars are for that mess they made of the rest of this drama.
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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.
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Most Heartfelt Drama in Years
I haven't written a review in a long time. I've watched hundreds of dramas the last 20 years...but this one has left and indelible imprint on my heart. The weaving and storytelling was beautifully done, capturing almost every episode something that impacted me deeply. It is one of those rare dramas that is heartbreaking in its loveliness. Each character is multi-dimensional. Even the "villain" has a redemptive arc that felt real and believable. You reallly fall in love with Oh Ae-sun, Yang Gwang-sik and their children. The weaving of history was brilliant. After watching this, I want to be appreciative of the people around me, honor the elderly that sit around me and hear their stories. It makes me thankful that we now live in an age where our stories are being told and told so brilliantly. It's a drama that has something relatable to anyone if they want it to be. There's so much to love about this.Was this review helpful to you?
When Life Gives You Tangerines Review - ZyKuu
"A young couple from an island experience the fruits of life side by side" - The story was very realistic as we witness the main couple experience life across many decades. I found the plot to be very lengthy and the only issue with me was the pacing, but all together it was a beautiful story of life that was told. This show does a amazing job at portraying the inconsistencies of life. Oh Ae-sun (Young) / Yang Geum-myeong is an incredibly talented actress. She was able to perform both roles excellently.Yang Gwan-sik (Young) was an amazing actor himself, he demonstrated what it truly meant to be a father and husband. Hopefully many people look up to his character and draw inspiration from him. Oh Ae-sun (Old) and Yang Gwan-sik (Old) were also terrific in portraying their roles. Both Park Chung-seop & Park Yeong-beom did well in their reduced roles during the screen time they had as well. The OST was decent, it fit in with the theme of the show but nothing in particular stood out for me. I would say that this show is more catered towards an older audience as I feel it would be more relatable to those who have been battle tested through life already. All in all, this show was very impactful and does a tremendous job at telling the story of life!
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if could give it more than 10 i would!
I went in not having a clue what this kdrama was about. God damn it wrecked my heart. made me think of life and my parents and their sacrifices, but also my own husband and how much he does for me. the cast was fabulous, their acting was so heartfelt i just cried a lot lol, but i also laughed and could relate to so much of this drama, i never thought it could happen! this is an amazing drama definitely worth the watch and if you ever need a good cry this would definitely be the drama for it but not in a depressive way but just bitter sweetWas this review helpful to you?
When Drama Gives You Depression
Unlike most people, I couldn't enjoy this drama at all. I felt miserable throughout barring a couple of episodes. I laughed maybe once or twice. It took me 4 months to complete because it was my personal hell. Perhaps a bit too real for me. I was desperately hoping things work out for them but some misfortune or the other kept coming into their lives. They struggled so much and I just felt sick to my stomach watching helplessly.The actors were all great since I could feel their emotions and connect with them. Perhaps connected too deeply that it triggered a lot of negative emotions in me. I was reminded of some of my personal struggles as well as my mother's. Because of how sad it got, I had to watch at double the speed and it still didn't prevent me from crying buckets. One beautiful thing that I did love was Park Bo Gum's character's love for IU's character and standing up for her and being there for her always.
This is not a direct critique at the show. It is just not something I could enjoy. I'm glad I made it to the end despite how awful it made me feel. Not something I would recommend personally but I probably won't need to seeing it's popularity.
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