When Life Gives You Tangerines – And Gives You a Lump in Your Throat Too
I went into this drama thinking it would be light. Maybe poetic, maybe bittersweet. I didn’t expect it to leave me staring at the wall after every episode, feeling everything and nothing at once.
It’s not just a love story. It’s a life story.
About choices. About timing. About how much one person can quietly carry just to keep another safe, even if it means giving up their own dreams.
IU as Ae-sun? I still can’t get over how effortlessly she embodied this wild, bright girl who just wanted to be seen beyond her circumstances. And Park Bo-gum as Gwan-sik… my god. That man doesn’t need dialogues. His eyes alone told entire chapters. His loyalty, his patience, the way he stayed when she asked him to leave... crushed me in the softest way possible.
The storytelling is slow. But the kind that makes you lean in. Like flipping through an old diary, reading between the lines, watching seasons change. There’s grief, but not the dramatic kind. It's the quiet kind. The kind that lives in your chest and catches you off guard when you're folding laundry or cutting fruit.
And Jeju. Oh, Jeju. The island isn’t just a backdrop—it breathes with the story. The sea, the tangerine orchards, the women divers… every piece of it felt alive. Like it remembered everything the characters tried to forget.
If you're looking for a light K-drama with fluff and giggles—this isn't it.
But if you're in a place where you're okay feeling deeply—where you want to be reminded that love isn’t always loud, that sacrifice doesn’t always come with applause, and that some people carry love across decades like it’s a quiet promise—this one’s for you.
🧡
I didn’t cry at this show. I cried with it.
9.5/10 – because my heart still aches a little in the best way.
It’s not just a love story. It’s a life story.
About choices. About timing. About how much one person can quietly carry just to keep another safe, even if it means giving up their own dreams.
IU as Ae-sun? I still can’t get over how effortlessly she embodied this wild, bright girl who just wanted to be seen beyond her circumstances. And Park Bo-gum as Gwan-sik… my god. That man doesn’t need dialogues. His eyes alone told entire chapters. His loyalty, his patience, the way he stayed when she asked him to leave... crushed me in the softest way possible.
The storytelling is slow. But the kind that makes you lean in. Like flipping through an old diary, reading between the lines, watching seasons change. There’s grief, but not the dramatic kind. It's the quiet kind. The kind that lives in your chest and catches you off guard when you're folding laundry or cutting fruit.
And Jeju. Oh, Jeju. The island isn’t just a backdrop—it breathes with the story. The sea, the tangerine orchards, the women divers… every piece of it felt alive. Like it remembered everything the characters tried to forget.
If you're looking for a light K-drama with fluff and giggles—this isn't it.
But if you're in a place where you're okay feeling deeply—where you want to be reminded that love isn’t always loud, that sacrifice doesn’t always come with applause, and that some people carry love across decades like it’s a quiet promise—this one’s for you.
🧡
I didn’t cry at this show. I cried with it.
9.5/10 – because my heart still aches a little in the best way.
Was this review helpful to you?
