For my 127th series, I watched When Life Gives You Tangerines. I’ve always liked IU and Park Bo-gum’s choice of projects so it was a no-brainer when I heard they were leading this series. The last IU drama I watched was Hotel Del Luna while for Bogummy it’s the movie Wonderland with Bae Suzy. I waited for half of When Life Give You Tangerines to be up before I started it. I don’t like waiting too long for episodes.
When Life Gives You Tangerines is set in Jeju Island. IU plays Ae-sun, an exceptionally smart girl who’s been dubbed as the “Literary Girl” since she’s good at poetry. Park Bo-gum is Gwang-sik, Ae-sun’s childhood friend. The two grow up together and spend almost all their time together. Gwang-sik has always liked Ae-sun. From a very young age has always been looking out for her and caring for her much to his mom and grandma’s displeasure.
Despite numerous obstacles, Ae-sun and Gwang-sik eventually end up together. They get married and have kids. When Life Gives You Tangerines is the story of Ae-sun and Gwang-sik. The plot follows them from childhood to old age. We go through the challenges they face, the happy times and the sad times… the grand takeaway being if you end up with the right person, no load will be too heavy and you will never be alone in your struggles.
I can’t really go into detail about the plot without spoiling it but let’s just say it’s more of a life story wherein you follow a person from childhood to wherever life takes them. It’s kind of like watching a memoir with all its poignant moments. You will see a lot of familiar faces as it’s a really star-studded cast. Everyone here is so good. I’m pretty sure the upcoming Baeksang Awards will have this drama in almost every category. Even the Jeju Island environment is so realistic that it’s hard to believe it was done in a studio with CGI. The writing is inspired, casting is on-point, and the pace at which everything develops is very well-modulated.
The title seems to give a nod to the saying When Life Gives You Lemons, except that they change Lemons to Tangerines since the Hallabong (a type of tangerine) is a popular fruit originating from Jeju Island where most of the drama is set. There are a lot of real life situations which portray life giving you lemons (er… tangerines) — getting scammed, getting bullied by in-laws, losing a child, and so forth. It’s definitely a roller coaster ride, one that’s worth getting on. If you cry easily, you’ll weep buckets of tears (though personally I found the dog episode in Hotel Del Luna a lot sadder huhuhu). I’d describe this as a bittersweet drama about love, loss, and life. There are a lot of lessons to be learned. Highly recommended.
When Life Gives You Tangerines is streaming exclusively on Netflix.
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