When Life Gives You Tangerines (; ) is a 2025 South Korean romance slice-of-life television series written by Lim Sang-choon, directed by Kim Won-seok, and starring IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, and Park Hae-joon. It was released on Netflix every Friday, from March 7, 2025, to March 28, 2025.
The series received widespread praise for its performances, screenplay, and direction. Among its numerous accolades, the series received a total of eight nominations at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards, winning four, including Best Drama. It was also named by Time magazine as the best Korean drama of 2025. The series has been favorably compared to the acclaimed series Reply 1988 (2015–2016), also starring Park Bo-gum, for eliciting nostalgia and warmth rooted in the Korean experience.
Synopsis The drama follows the adventurous life and many trials of Ae-sun (IU), a poor girl wanting to become a poet who was born in Jeju in 1951, and Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum), a young man who cherishes and loves her. The drama is narrated by their daughter, Yang Geum-myeong.
Cast and characters
Main
IU as Oh Ae-sun, the main female character and Gwan-sik's love interest, girlfriend and later wife, and as Yang Geum-myeong, the eldest child and only daughter of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik. Moon So-ri as middle age Ae-sun Yoon Seo-yeon as teen Ae-sun Kim Tae-yeon as child Ae-sun Shin Chae-rin as child Yang Geum-myeong (4–7 years old) Ahn Tae-rin as child Yang Geum-myeong (7–10 years old) Lee A-ra as child Yang Geum-myeong (10–12 years old) Park Bo-gum as Yang Gwan-sik, the main male character and Ae-sun's love interest, boyfriend and later husband. Park Hae-joon as middle age Gwan-sik Lee Cheon-mu as child Gwan-sik Moon Woo-jin as teen Gwan-sik
Supporting Kim Yong-rim as Park Mak-cheon Gwan-sik's grandmother who is a shaman Na Moon-hee as Kim Chun-ok, Ae-sun's paternal grandmother Yeom Hye-ran as Jeon Gwang-rye, Ae-sun's mother who is a haenyeo, and as chief editor Chloe H. Lee in a brief cameo appearance in episode 16 Oh Min-ae as Kwon Gye-ok, Gwan-sik's mother Cha Mi-kyung as Park Chung-su, a haenyeo Lee Soo-mi as Choi Yang-im, a haenyeo Baek Ji-won as Hong Kyung-ja, a haenyeo Jung Hae-kyun as Oh Han-moo, Ae-sun's paternal uncle Choi Dae-hoon as Bu Sang-gil, a rich fishing captain Kang You-seok as Yang Eun-myeong, Ae-sun and Gwan-sik's son Oh Yeon-jae as Hyeon Yi-sook, Han-moo's wife and Ae-sun's aunt Yoo Byung-hoon as Yang Sam-bo, Gwan-sik's father Shin Sae-byeok as Yang Dong-myeong, Ae-sun and Gwan-sik's son Jang Hye-jin as Yeong-ran, Bu Sang-gil's wife Chae Seo-an as younger Yeong-ran Lee Soo-kyung as Bu Hyeon-suk, Sang-gil and Yeong-ran's daughter Moon Yu-gang as Bu Seong-yi, Bu Sang-gil's eldest son Seo Hye-won as Yang Gyeong-ok, Gwan-sik's sister Jung Yi-seo as Song Bu-seon, Chung-seop's girlfriend Lee Jun-young as Park Yeong-bum, Geum-myeong's first love Kang Myung-joo as Yoo Bu-young, Park Yeong-bum's mother Lee Gyu-hoe as Park Geum-myeong, Park Yeong-bum's father Lee Ji-hyun as Bun-hui, Chung-seop's mother Park Byung-ho as Harbang, Ae-sun and Gwan-sik's elderly landlord, co-owner of Dodong-ri Manmul Center Song Kwang-ja as Halmang, Ae-sun and Gwan-sik's elderly landlady, co-owner of Dodong-ri Manmul Center Hwang Jae-yeol as Ae-sun's school teacher Kim So-yeon as Min-seon, Geum-myeong's friend in the film club Kim Gye-rim as Ju-kyung, Geum-myeong's friend in the film club Pyo Young-seo as Oh Ye-rim, Geum-myeong's friend in the film club
Guest appearances Oh Jung-se as Yeom Byeong-cheol, Ae-sun's stepfather Uhm Ji-won as Na Min-ok, Byeong-cheol's second wife Lee Mi-do as Mi-sook, owner of a fortune teller shop Kim Seon-ho as Park Chung-seop, Geum-myeong's husband Kim Hae-gon as Kim Hae-bong, CEO of the Cannes Theater Kang Mal-geum as Geumja, Nampojang motel co-owner Kim Young-woong as Geumja's husband, Nampojang motel co-owner Kim Gook-hee as Jeon Ae-kyung, Geum-myeong's professor at Seoul National University Kim Su-an as Oh Jenny, Geum-myeong's tutee Kim Jae-young as Jenny's chauffeur Kim Geum-soon as Mi-hyang Nam Mi-jung as Mi-hyang's housekeeper Jeon Bae-soo as Song Yeong-sam, Geum-myeong's boarding house owner Kim Sung-ryung as Jeong Mi-in, an actress Lee Bong-ryun as a nurse Hyun Bong-sik as Mi-in's manager Kim Kang-hoon as Yang Je-il, Eun-myeong's and Hyeon-suk's eldest son / Ae-sun and Gwan-sik's grandson
Episodes Presented in a non-linear narrative, the story follows the lives of Ae-sun, Gwan-sik, and their children split between Dodong-ri in Jeju Island and Seoul between the 1950s and the 2000s. Events shown previously are sometimes shown again in later episodes with greater context to show the connection between different events and characters. Narration within episodes is often given by an older Geum-myeong, poetically reminiscing about her feelings on events of the past.
Production Development The series was developed under the working title . The series was produced by Pan Entertainment and was helmed by director Kim Won-seok, and the script was penned by Lim Sang-choon, marking her return after writing the 2019 KBS drama When the Camellia Blooms. In December 2022, production designer Ryu Seong-hie acknowledged her involvement in the project. The production cost is reported to be around billion.
The official Korean title was revealed on January 27, 2023. The title is a Jeju language verb for "thank you for your hard work". In Jeju language, (), which forms a part of (), means "trying hard", "taking the trouble" or "having a hard time". Coincidentally, is a linguistic false friend to the standard Korean word for "be deceived", "be cheated" or "be fooled", so could be misinterpreted as the standard Korean translation for "heavily fooled".
The official English title, When Life Gives You Tangerines, was announced on January 30, 2023, and is a word play on the proverb "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"; the fruit that grows in Jeju Island is mandarin orange, however. The Chinese title, (), similarly plays on the Chinese proverb (); here, the Chinese character for either "mandarin orange" or "tangerine" () replaces similarly sounded character for "sweetness" () in the original proverb. A representative for Netflix's Globalisation Team stated that "When giving a title in English, the goal is to localize the creator's intention and cultural nuance in the original title to suit the culture of English-speaking countries".
Filming Aside from filming in Jeju, the production also filmed in Andong in 2023.
In 2023, the series faced controversy over nuisance filming. A visitor to the Gochang Academy Farm Green Barley Field Festival reported being restricted from entering a rapeseed flower field due to ongoing filming. When the visitor attempted to photograph the flowers from a distance, a staff member reportedly shouted at them to stop taking pictures. Allegations of bullying by staff members toward extras surfaced in May 2025. In response, Netflix stated that it was investigating the allegations.
Casting
On January 27, 2023, IU and Park Bo-gum were confirmed in the roles of the main characters Ae-sun and Gwan-sik respectively. IU and Park Bo-gum, both born in 1993, have been friends since starring in a television commercial together in their teens, with Park Bo-gum making a cameo in IU's drama The Producers (2015) in their twenties.
This is the second collaboration between director Kim Won-seok and IU after the 2018 tvN drama series My Mister. On January 30, 2023, Moon So-ri and Park Hae-joon were officially confirmed to play the older versions of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, respectively. This marks the fourth appearance of Park Hae-joon in a Kim Won-seok-directed drama following Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014), My Mister (2018), Arthdal Chronicles (2019). Choi Dae-hoon's casting was confirmed in October 2023, with filming for the series reportedly commencing in March 2023.
The first script reading took place in March 2023, together with the confirmation of the casting of Na Moon-hee, Kim Yong-rim, and Lee Jun-young. Lee Soo-kyung's casting was confirmed in May 2023, with Baek Ji-won's being confirmed the following month. In July 2023, Oh Jeong-se was confirmed to join the cast, with Kim Seon-ho making a guest appearance. Jung Yi-seo's casting was confirmed in August 2023, with Lee Soo-mi and Yeom Hye-ran joining the series the following month.
Release
In April 2023, it was announced that PAN Entertainment signed a production contract with Netflix, and the series was planned to be released in 190 countries in 2024 through the platform. On January 30, 2024, media outlets shared the script reading photos of the drama and confirmed its exclusive release on Netflix worldwide. In January 2025, Netflix confirmed that the series will be released in four volumes comprising four episodes with each volume starting March 7, 2025. Netflix hosted a press conference at the Conrad Seoul Hotel in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul on March 5, 2025. Director Kim Won-seok, along with IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, and Park Hae-joon, were present at the event.
Marketing IU and Park Bo-gum appeared in KBS1's Gayo Stage to promote the series. They performed a duet of "Mountain Boy's Love Story" while wearing the traditional high school uniforms of their characters. The idea to appear in the show came from Park Bo-gum, stating that it was a way to appeal to a wider generation of audience.
Netflix Korea generated additional revenue through intellectual property collaborations aimed at drama enthusiasts. A partnership with Yuhan-Kimberly resulted in the launch of a limited edition Kleenex Moisturizing Essence Lotion, with packaging featuring the drama; this product sold out during the pre-order phase. Collaboration with design studio Oimu produced stationery items, including notebooks, letter paper, and rapeseed bookmarks, which quickly sold out at the Inventario stationery fair. Official merchandise including keychains and plushies of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, was also released. The platform also partnered with a life insurance company to feature quotes in the series as the company's advertising material.
Netflix held the event "Well Done! Well Done! Geumeundong Village Feast" on March 30, 2025, at the Myeonghwa Live Hall. The event was attended by IU, Park Bo-gum, Park Hae-joon, Oh Min-ae, Jang Hye-jin, Kang You-seok, and Lee Soo-kyung. It featured an awards ceremony and a reading session, where the actors read the winning works selected by writer Lim Sang-choon from submissions to the When Life Gives You Tangerines 100-day event, held both online and offline. They also joined a panel discussion with the actors moderated by Movement CEO Jin Myeong-hyeon.
In February, Netflix organized an early screening of the series for nine grandmothers from Seonheul-ri, who then created paintings inspired by the story. The Social Museum is hosting an art exhibition titled "Pokssak Sogatsuda, Doldo, Eomeongdo, Halmangdo" from May 2 to June 29, 2025, at the Seonheulri Painting Workshop and Nonghyup Warehouse in Jeju. The exhibition showcases paintings by the nine grandmothers and their art teacher, Choi So-yeon. IU attended the exhibition in June.
Original soundtrack When Life Gives You Tangerines OST from the Netflix Series - Act 1
When Life Gives You Tangerines OST from the Netflix Series - Act 2
When Life Gives You Tangerines OST from the Netflix Series - Act 3
When Life Gives You Tangerines OST from the Netflix Series - Combined
Reception Critical response The series was a domestic and international hit. It received plaudits for its performances, screenplay, and direction, and has been favorably compared to the acclaimed period drama Reply 1988 (2015–16), for eliciting nostalgia and warmth rooted in the Korean experience.