When Life Gives You Tangerines

Intelligent, moving, REAL

This was a remarkable drama. It was the 327th K drama that I have completed, and the third which I have scored at 12/10. I score dramas at more than 10/10 when they impact me in some way that is more meaningful or more powerful than simply being a more or less flawless viewing experience. This drama scored 12 for touching me deeply

It really was a very intelligent drama which is a rarity. The characters behaved like real people, and said some very smart things and some very stupid things. There were no saints, and very few sinners.

For making me think about "yesterday", for moving me to tears as its characters “gathered together to get through this thing called life", and in so doing reminding me of personal spring days and winter days, I am truly grateful that this drama was made. The literal Korean/Jejumal title of this drama apparently means "you did well" and to everyone involved in bringing it to life, I say "well done, thank you for NOT giving me a lemon."

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What gift to the world in spring of 2025! Thank you Thank youuu!

What a precious gift to give to the world in the spring of 2025! WLGYT✨🌸!
This is arguably one of the best dramas of all time and I recommend EVERYONE to watch it. Wow what a raw, relatable, heartfelt piece of art!!! I am a better person after watching this masterpiece! Thank you to the genius screenwriters, director, cast, and crew for this gift in 2025 and for showing our generation what true love should look like and what "women's empowerment" truly means. At a time like this, when all media does is promote "be in your feminine energy" and sexualizes everyone and everything, even little girls, we truly needed this gem! Hope the world learns from WLGYT and makes more meaningful quality content :,)
And don't even get me started on the perfect casting. The actors did a marvelous job. Bogum and IU..... such acting gods <33 One scene that will forever haunt me is the ocean scene where Bogum and IU found their son.. it's the definition of "Oscar-winning tears". Bravo🧡 This drama will always have a place in my heart🧡

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In The Time of Tangerines

Volumes 1-3 Review:

When Life Gives You Tangerines is a poignant tale of love, loss, resilience, and fleeting joy, much like the sea that both nurtures and torments its people. At its heart is AeSun (IU), a young woman who seems to be caught in a cruel push-and-pull with fate. Life strips her of so much, yet it never fully lets her go, forcing her to endure. IU embodies AeSun’s quiet strength and unspoken grief with such raw vulnerability that every moment feels painfully real.

Opposite her, GwangSik (Park BoGum) is the steady presence in her storm, a man whose quiet devotion speaks louder than words. BoGum’s performance is subtle yet deeply moving, his gaze alone carrying the weight of unsaid emotions. Their chemistry is heartbreaking in its tenderness, making every stolen moment between them feel like a fleeting miracle.

Turning our attention away from our A++ couple, we now focus on their children, Yang Eun Myeong and Yang Geum Myeong.

Yang Eun Myeong is very much his father’s son. Just as his father was drawn to the fierce and passionate AeSun, Eun Myeong, too, seems destined to be with a fiery woman. The Yang men, it appears, have an unshakable connection to strong-willed partners, as if fate continually binds them to women who challenge, inspire, support and complete them.

His love story brings a sense of poetic symmetry to the narrative, a full-circle moment that ties the past and present together in an almost fated way. Falling for the daughter of the man who nearly married his mother adds an intriguing layer of irony and destiny to his journey. In a way, it feels as though the past is offering a new chance, rewriting an old story through the next generation. Park Yeong Ran’s words to her daughter prove to be prophetic, reinforcing the idea that history has a way of repeating itself—this time, with a different ending.


Yang Geum Myeong embodies strength, resilience, and determination—qualities she inherited from both her parents. Unlike her mother, AeSun, who was shaped by struggle and limitation, Geum Myeong was able to “flip the table,” seizing opportunities that AeSun could not. In many ways, her journey mirrors her mother’s, but with the agency to make different choices, making her story feel like an alternate path AeSun never got to take.

Her love story further reflects this parallel. Falling for a man who shared qualities with her father suggests she sought a love built on strength and loyalty, much like the one she grew up witnessing. However, despite the deep emotions involved, the relationship ultimately didn’t work out. This heartbreak added another layer to her growth, proving that even with resilience, life doesn’t always unfold as expected.

THE FINALE: Volume 4 Review

The finale of When Life Gives You Tangerines beautifully highlighted the importance of family, shedding light on the ever-evolving yet unbreakable bond between parents and children. No matter how much time passes, parents will always see their children through the lens of love and care they held from the very beginning. And for children, no matter how grown they become, in their parents’ eyes, they will always carry traces of who they once were.

When Life Gives You Tangerines is a story of family, love, loss, and the unpredictable nature of life itself. An intricately woven narrative that embraces its audience, wrapping them in waves of joy, sorrow, laughter, and heartache. It is the kind of drama where you start off laughing, only to find yourself in tears by the end. Despite its fictional nature, the characters’ stories felt as real as the bittersweet moments of life itself, resonating deeply with every viewer.

Personal Review:

Watching WLGYT was a reminder that life always comes full circle. The past has a way of echoing into the present, whether through the choices we make, the relationships we build, or the lessons we carry forward. It’s in these moments of reflection that we see how interconnected our experiences truly are.

The cinematography of When Life Gives You Tangerines is nothing short of breathtaking, seamlessly transporting viewers through time with its rich visual storytelling. Each frame is carefully composed, capturing the essence of every era with meticulous attention to detail—from the warm, nostalgic glow of the past to the crisp, modern tones of the present. The use of natural lighting, soft color palettes, and sweeping landscapes adds a dreamlike quality, making the passage of time feel both fluid and immersive. Paired with a deeply evocative soundtrack, the show masterfully blends visuals and music to create an atmosphere that pulls the audience into each moment. Whether it’s the wistful melody of a bygone love or the vibrant hum of a bustling marketplace, the audiovisual harmony of WLGYT ensures that every scene lingers in the heart long after it fades from the screen.

Hats off to the incredible actors who breathed life into each character, allowing us to experience their joys and struggles as if they were our own. And to the writer—thank you for crafting such a masterpiece, one that lingers in the heart long after the final scene.

The title When Life Gives You Tangerines is a thoughtful twist on the familiar saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” but with a deeper, more nuanced meaning. Unlike lemons, tangerines are naturally sweet, yet they still carry a hint of tartness—just like life itself. The story beautifully captures this balance, showing how joy and hardship often intertwine, and how even the sweetest moments can hold traces of sorrow. Through this, the writer reminds us that life isn’t just about enduring the bitter but learning to savor the bittersweet, embracing both the joys and the struggles that shape our journey.

“Life goes on for the living.” – Yang Geum Myeong. A simple yet profound truth that When Life Gives You Tangerines embodies so well. No matter the losses, the heartbreak, or the paths not taken, life continues, urging us to move forward, cherish what remains, and embrace the journey ahead.

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Magnificent family epic set against the stirring backdrop of the last 6 decades of SK history

(Updated)
Exceptional. I'm completely thrilled …and after 16 episodes it is hard to say goodbye.

"When Life Gives You Tangerines" is…
...an outstanding enrichment in the KDrama orbit.
...a magnificent family epic set against the stirring backdrop of the last six decades of South Korean history.
...an impressive monument to the almost hopeless, desperate struggle of Korean women for a dignified, joyful, and somewhat self-confident life aside from their gender role - exemplified by fictional Oh Ae-sun from Jeju Island.
...a touching love story that - despite the adverse winds of nasty social, economical and family structures – somehow succeeds to keep love alive.
...a grand masterpiece, brilliantly cast in all instances.
(In my eyes anyway.)

What a wonderful story.
What a fantastically lyric look at life (especially the past six decades on Jeju Island).
What outstanding relationship and gender role models (female and male model alike).
What a remarkable love story.
What a sensitive family herstory/history with all its ups and downs.
What a heartfelt tribute to the past 2-3 SK generations and their tenacious perseverance in defying life's challenges.

"When Life Gives You Tangerines" offers visually powerful, and amidst bitter winds of fate, yet also heartwarming and at the same time realistic, lifelike high-end KDrama. Aesthetically finely composed from A to Z. Complex narrative. Great fitting music. With a generous budget, that obviously was not only used for the illustrious cast.







---------------------------------------- SIDE NOTE -------------------------------------------
The story spans three generations on Jeju island. One might think that the very traditional gender role of women in South Korea should have changed during the last 60 years. However, the extent of this change, socially speaking, is shockingly minimal. Especially concerning the widespread disregard and exploitation of women (even among women themselves), who are condemned to function unconditionally as diligent daughters, even more diligent daughters-in-law, (ideally sons) birthing wives, and self-sacrificing mothers. Above all, the eldest daughter traditionally has the hardest fate.

Among South Korean women, seemingly the women on Jeju Island are the most likely to experience female role models who live with respect as human beings and self-confidence as individuals - as Jejudo´s see diving Haenyeos have always earned a comparatively respectable income through their tireless diving for abalone and other valuable seafood. They substantially contribute to the family's prosperity and can thus experience themselves outside their traditional female gender role among colleagues and even as reliable heads of the family. This may contribute to some slight aura of emancipated self-confidence among women, so they might eventually also muster the courage to rebel. Thus, some women on Jeju island may live a somewhat appreciated, valued variation of the female gender role and function as significant, socially influential role models in their social environment. But even in such a potentially rather 'positive' environment, the trap of patriarchy snaps shut and binds women in tight hierarchical structures. Nevertheless, at least Jeju Island offers a cradle for women (as our FL) who might even come up with the idea of daring to break free... And also for exceptional men (as our ML) who grow up in a social environment where they can experience women as valued human beings, too, who are appreciated for more than just their self-sacrifice for home and hearth.

Post-war South Korea was one of the poorest countries of that time. "When Life Gives You Tangerines" with its international title refers to the fact that life may sometimes seem cold and bitter. But like the tangerine from Jeju, the sweetness can be extracted from it and even a warm tea can be conjured up. Strictly speaking, people at that time had no choice but to make the best of it.

The Netflix KDrama takes us through the last 6 decades of South Korean history, with legends eventually providing orientation about historically significant moments. The first four episodes focus on the lives of the protagonists in their youth on Jejudo – at a time when the young republic was initially ruled by the military dictatorship led by Park Chung-hee, who then officially elected himself president in 1963 and subsequently installed a one-man dictatorship until 1979. In the following episodes, we will continue to accompany the two through the dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan, who i.e. with the Olympic Games wanted to present a great South Korea to the rest of the world – no matter what the cost. We will stumble with them into the beginnings of true democracy, which, however, was thwarted by the harsh years of the Asian financial crisis and another wave of poverty. Through the eyes of Ae-sun and her daughter Geum-myeong (who is also portrayed by wonderful IU in a double-role) we will also experience the era of tubo-capitalism and digitalization, which ultimately brought prosperity to Jeju Island, too...

Amid these swaying decades, Ae-sun and her reliable partner Gwang-sik are creating a unique, authentic, remarkably heartwarming and encouraging constant.

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hh

I cried in every episodes, just when I think that those bad days are over, another worries arrive. But this drama really portrayed how hard it might be for some people to spend their daily life. IU's acting was really good, she's basically good at everything she does. That's what I love about her, she experiments and never fears of doing anything new. Park Bogum, He's my sweetheart, been loving him since Reply 1988.

I loved this drama's main concept. Even the harsh journey feels bearable if you're with the one who'll stick to you by your side. Every pain would seem less painful if you're with your dear ones.

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Angst Ridden & Painful to Watch

I honestly do not get why anyone is enthralled with this show.

The female lead is self-centered, abusive to the male lead who is stalwart, supportive, and steady. Their daughter is a repeat of the mother, and the entire show is angst ridden with hardship upon hardship and painful situation after painful situation.

I truly do not understand why anyone wants to immerse themselves in such unending drudgery, angst, abuse, and pain, much less call it a masterpiece and give it high ratings, even 10s. 🤯

I started watching for Park Bo Gum, and will tough it out to the end to say I’ve seen it, but I do not believe this deserves any rating above one or two, and dang sure does not deserve Baeksang nominations.

You might as well just shoot yourself instead of start watching this, unless you just revel in depressing content.

Rewatch value, zero. I had to give it 1 for the review to post.

PS:

KDramas are generally known for fabulous OST‘s, but in this show the music doesn’t even register. I’m a professional singer, so believe me I pay attention when there’s a good song, yet not one has made a dent from the show. If a zero were possible for music I would give it one, but it won’t let me post this review unless I give it some number for a rating.

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The beautiful, dreamlike story brought me to tears

When Life Gives You Tangerines is a beautifully crafted, deeply emotional story that takes viewers through love, loss, and the quiet yet profound moments that define a life. This is a rather poetic drama, unfolding like a slow-burning novel. There is no fairytale romance, exaggerations or grand twists; instead, the narrative finds beauty in the mundane: the laughter between people, the quiet ache of unspoken love and the weight of responsibilities that come with adulthood, especially when one takes on parenthood. It portrays the struggles of ordinary people with heartbreaking accuracy.

What I found remarkable about this show is how it embraces the passage of time. We don’t just see Ae Sun and Gwan Sik as young dreamers; we follow them across decades, through different phases of life, witnessing their evolving relationship shaped by circumstances beyond their control. It’s a bittersweet meditation on destiny: what we choose and what is chosen for us. Without being heavy-handed, it gives us glimpses into a time when survival often took precedence over personal desires, making Ae Sun and Gwan Sik’s love story all the more poignant.

The level of acting in this drama is phenomenal. Every member of the cast pulled their weight in gold, from the child actors to the seasoned veterans. When IU finally made her entrance with that familiar bratty yet effortlessly sassy charm, I yelped. It’s been so long since I last saw her in a drama, and she lit up the screen the moment she appeared.

Gwan Sik feels like Choi Taek in an alternate timeline, and I love it. I won’t spend too much time talking about IU and Park Bo Gum because, frankly, it’s predictable. They always deliver. Everyone knows that. There’s nothing new to say except that they continue to breathe life into every character they play, and somehow, each new role becomes their best one yet. No amount of praise can ever fully capture what they bring. I'm just thankful that they’re healthy, kind humans who are still doing this for us to experience and I hope that never changes.

The two kiddos, how do child actors manage to understand the emotional weight behind such roles at that age? They amazed me. And Yeom Hye Ran, even with her limited screen time, left a lasting impression. Her portrayal of the haenyeo mother was so grounded and powerful that it’s impossible to think of this drama without her. She embodied a generation of women with quiet strength and left a deep emotional mark. I’ve seen her in many dramas, but this is her best performance yet.

Park Hae Joon’s portrayal of Yang Gwan Sik resonated with me the most. I lost my father, and he was a man just like him. I choked up when Gwan Sik came home carrying peas for the family because my dad used to do the same. Back then, it seemed like nothing, but now… a fictional father does it, and I’m in tears. That’s the beauty of this drama. There’s something here for everyone, regardless of age, gender, or background. It truly reflects the everyday life struggles of most folks out there, and it hits where it matters most.

The cinematography is stunning. Jeju Island doesn't just serve as a backdrop; it feels like a character in its own right. Every frame is like a painting, rich with nostalgia, warmth, and emotion. This level of visual storytelling has quietly become a hallmark in recent K-dramas, and it’s something I’ve come to really appreciate. It shows how much care and craft goes into the genre beyond just the writing and acting. I was especially impressed by the way the show transitions between timelines. That kind of narrative structure is tricky to get right, and more often than not, shows don't do this part too well. But here, it’s done so creatively and seamlessly that it elevates the storytelling. It adds depth without ever feeling confusing or forced. And the soundtrack was perfect, too. The folk-inspired melodies blend so well with the setting and story. Even as someone who isn't Korean, I felt deeply connected to the emotion they carried. It’s one of those rare combinations where the visuals and music work in complete harmony, making every moment feel lived in and real.

Gwan Sik is what some might call a "fool", a man living in a time when men were overwhelmingly favoured and entitled, yet he never once leaned into that privilege. He didn’t care for the roles that society handed to him. All he wanted was for his girl to have everything she dreamed of, simply so she could be happy. He could’ve followed the crowd, conformed to the norm of transactional love, of marriages built on obligations rather than feelings. Instead, he chose the harder path. He chose to suffer for love. And maybe, just maybe, we all need a fool like Gwan Sik in our lives, a man who wants to be a husband and a father and not just have a wife and a child. There were so many moments I caught myself smiling and even laughing amidst their tragedy, not because I took joy in their pain, but because of how raw, relatable, and innocent their love was. It’s the story of a woman too smart and too ahead of her time and a man who is so beautifully stupid in love with her. And that first kiss? Probably the most awkward I’ve ever seen in a drama, and yet, somehow, the best one.

I strongly believe that both children and parents should at least give this show a watch even if it's not your usual genre. It tells a powerful story about how each new generation tries to be better, to become everything the previous one was not. But more often than not, they end up falling short, whether by choice, by circumstance, or simply by the weight of life. Parents carry the guilt of what they couldn’t give, while children carry the grief of what they never received. We live inside our own struggles, rarely seeing the other side until we try to live theirs eventually. That’s the never-ending conundrum: one that continues to echo through time, always imperfect, always incomplete, but sometimes made a little better through understanding and the wisdom that only time can offer.

Some dramas entertain, but some dramas linger in your heart long after the credits roll. When Life Gives You Tangerines is a drama that will stay with you for a long time. It is going to leave you feeling both fulfilled and slightly heartbroken, a rare balance that only the most beautifully told stories achieve. It makes you pause and reflect and be grateful for the little things you normally take for granted. Great purpose, great delivery, and this is what art should be like. Not everyone will resonate with it, but for those willing to immerse themselves in its world, this drama offers an unforgettable experience– one that lingers like the taste of a perfectly ripe tangerine, sweet yet tinged with the slightest hint of bitterness.

“THIS IS A SILENT OUTCRY. A HANDKERCHIEF OF ETERNAL NOSTALGIA…WAVING TOWARDS THE BLUE SEAS!!!”

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A familiar story for all of us

I have just wiped my tears, so understand if my emotions are too raw as I write this review.

I can't objectively judge this show on set parameters. Because it has transcended them all. It's not a new idea, not a brilliant script that's written once in a millennia, or a great fiction which you can't wrap your mind around. All it is, is a simple story of our great grand-mothers, grandmothers, mothers, and all those women who've worked very hard, against all odds, to survive this world, which is hellbent against them. And the man who stood by them, through all of their hardships.

I strongly commend anyone and everyone to watch this show, not to learn something new or for entertainment, but to gain a better understanding of our elders. Sure not everyone is alike, in their actions or in their fate. But throughout this series you will find yourself emotionally tangled to each and every aspect from the plot to the characters, because they carry a great sense of familiarity for all of us. We've definitely seen, heard, experienced something relatable once in our lives.

For me, it all hits too close to home. The reason why I wept, laughed, giggled, frowned all along with the show. It truly is a thing to be grateful for, that such a moving drama was created. A true blessing for future generations, to understand how things used to be.

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