Navigating the world of ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’

When Life Gives You Tangerines aired from March 7 to March 28, 2025, delivering a total of 16 episodes divided into four volumes, each consisting of four episodes. This drama is firmly rooted in the genres of slice-of-life, romance, and historical drama, and is set on the serene yet stifling shores of Jeju Island in South Korea during the early 1960s.

 The series was directed by none other than Kim Won-seok and penned by screenwriter Lim Sang-choon. The series evocatively captured the quiet, everyday struggles of ordinary people navigating extraordinary times. With a reported production cost of ₩60 billion (approximately 42.13 million US dollars), the scale and sincerity of the project are apparent not just in its breathtaking cinematography, shot primarily in Jeju and Andong in 2023, but also in the authenticity of its storytelling.

At the heart of When Life Gives You Tangerines lies a theme of quiet resilience. Drawing on a soft twist to the familiar proverb “When life gives you lemons, make a lemonade,” the drama reimagines the metaphor through the lens of Jeju’s native fruit — tangerines. Unlike lemons, which are commonly associated with bitterness, tangerines suggest a more nostalgic and nuanced flavor of adversity. Their symbolic use in the series hints that life’s trials might not only be bearable but could offer moments of unexpected warmth, comfort, and even joy. 

Through its characters and setting, the drama explored how beauty and love can quietly persist — even in a world that insists on silence, tradition, and sacrifice. Jeju, in this narrative, becomes more than a backdrop; as it becomes a character itself, shaped by waves, winds, and deeply rooted customs that define the possibilities and limits of every dream that dares to grow.

At the emotional core of When Life Gives You Tangerines is Oh Ae-sun (played by IU and Moon So-ri), a blazing spirit stifled by a culture intent on dimming her light. As the daughter of a haenyeo — one of Jeju’s legendary female free divers — Ae-sun inherits a legacy of endurance, but she rejects the romanticism of the sea. To her, it’s a force that stole her mother’s ease and dignity. She dreams instead of poetry and higher education, rebelling against a life that expects her to marry well, serve obediently, and never complain. Her struggle is not only personal — it is generational. She fights for the right to want more.

Her opposite is Yang Gwan-sik (played by Park Bo-gum and Park Hae-joon), Ae-sun’s loyal childhood friend turned husband. While Ae-sun burns with fire, Gwan-sik steadies her with quiet love. His affection is expressed in the smallest, tenderest acts: saving her a seat, reminding her to eat, shielding her from pain. 

Their daughter, Yang Geum-myeong (also portrayed by IU), grows up shaped by this love and legacy. Bright and ambitious, she becomes a successful tech entrepreneur, embodying the upward mobility her parents could only dream of. Meanwhile, their son Yang Eun-myeong (Kang You-seok) provides comic relief with his mischief — stealing car emblems and causing classroom chaos — yet his journey too is one of navigating expectations and forming his own path.

Beloved actors like Kim Seon-ho, Moon Woo-jin, Kim Soo-ahn, and Seo Hye-won make brief yet memorable appearances, adding richness without distracting from the central narrative.