This is a list of characters of the South Korean television series When Life Gives You Tangerines starring IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, and Park Hae-joon. Netflix released the 16-episode series in four volumes, each with four episodes starting on March 7, 2025, through March 28, 2025. Bae Jong-byung, senior director of Netflix Korea's series division, explained: "We chose a release strategy that aligns with the creators' vision to maximize viewer enjoyment. From the beginning, the director and writer envisioned Tangerines as a story unfolding in four volumes, and we wanted viewers to experience it that way."
Cast overview
Character Actor Appearances Volume I Volume II Volume III Volume IV Main characters Oh Ae-sun IU colspan="4" Moon So-ri colspan="4" Kim Tae-yeon colspan="3" So-yeon colspan="3" Yang Gwan-sik Park Bo-gum colspan="4" Park Hae-joon colspan="4" Lee Cheon-mu colspan="3" Moon Woo-jin colspan="3" Yang Geum-myeong IU colspan="4" Recurring charactersPark Mak-cheon Kim Yong-rim colspan="3" Kim Chun-ok Na Moon-hee colspan="3" Jeon Gwang-rye Yeom Hye-ran colspan="3" Kwon Gye-ok Oh Min-ae colspan="4" Bu Sang-gil Choi Dae-hoon colspan="4" Yeong-ran Jang Hye-jin colspan="3" Chae Seo-an colspan="2" colspan="2" Park Chung-su Cha Mi-kyung colspan="3" Choi Yang-im Lee Soo-mi colspan="4" Hong Kyung-ja Baek Ji-won colspan="4" Oh Han-moo Jung Hae-kyun colspan="3" Park Yeong-bum Lee Jun-young colspan="3" Yang Eun-myeong Kang You-seok colspan="4" Bu Hyeon-suk Lee Soo-kyung colspan="3" Yoo Bu-young Kang Myung-joo colspan="2" Song Bu-seon Jung Yi-seo colspan="2" colspan="2" Yang Gyeong-ok Seo Hye-won colspan="4" Guest characters Yeom Byeong-cheol Oh Jung-se colspan="3" Na Min-ok Uhm Ji-won colspan="3" Park Chung-seop Kim Seon-ho colspan="2" colspan="2" Mi-sook Lee Mi-do colspan="3" Geum-ja Kang Mal-geum colspan="3" Geum-ja's husband Kim Young-woong colspan="3" Professor Jeon Ae-kyung Kim Gook-hee colspan="2" Oh Jenny Kim Su-an colspan="2" Kim Mi-hyang colspan="2" Oh Jenny's housekeeper Nam Mi-jung colspan="2" Oh Jenny's driver Kim Jae-young colspan="2" Kim Hae-bong Kim Hae-gon colspan="2" colspan="2" Song Young-Sam Jeon Bae-soo colspan="2" Nurse Lee Bong-ryun colspan="2" Jung Mi-in Kim Sung-ryung colspan="2" colspan="2" Jung Mi-in's manager Hyun Bong-sik colspan="3" Lee Hye-ran (Chloe H. Lee) Yeom Hye-ran colspan="3"
Family tree
Main characters Oh Ae-sun
Oh Ae-sun (born in 1951) is the main protagonist of When Life Gives You Tangerines. Ae-sun was a small, timid literary girl who, despite needing to be resourceful in many ways, had a voice that trembled like a goat's whenever she rebelled. She was a child who had little but was not embittered. She is a resilient character like a wildflower tenaciously lifting its head toward the sun, even under the harsh shade of a wall that let in no sunlight. Even when circumstances prevented her from attending school, she dreamed of becoming a poet, unreservedly weeping when sad and laughing loudly enough to echo across the entire sea. She was assertive and capable.
Ae-sun's character is described as yo-mang-jin, a Jeju dialect term meaning "smart and clever." She is a lovable girl with infinite dreams and abilities, striving to get through life despite being frustrated by poverty and her gender. She possesses a girlish yet strong personality and maintains a beautifully positive outlook on life. Ae-sun's late mother, Gwang-rye, was a haenyeo—a female free diver who harvests seafood. Gwang-rye worked herself to death to ensure Ae-sun would never become a haenyeo and would be free to chase her dreams of becoming a poet.
Despite her intelligence and ambitions, Ae-sun was unable to graduate from high school or attend college on the mainland. She married her first love, childhood friend Yang Gwan-sik, and gave up her own dreams to become a mother at a young age, having her first child at 18.Cine21 interview:
Although Ae-sun escaped becoming a haenyeo, she did not become a writer or attend university. Instead, she became a housewife to a fisherman and repeated her mother cycle of sacrifice—working, cooking, and cleaning every day—in the hope that her daughter, Geum-myeong, would have opportunities she never enjoyed. She was deeply concerned about her ability to be a good mother, fearing she might fail to provide the love and care her child needed. This anxiety fueled her dedication to raising Geum-myeong with exceptional care, projecting her own hopes and insecurities onto her, making maternal love and commitment the core of her life. Ae-sun became furious and fought back when her in-laws tried to force Geum-myeong to become a haenyeo. Having lived a quiet life after marriage, this was her first act of rebellion, which resulted in her being slapped by her mother-in-law.
Ae-sun began publishing poetry in her 60s, with her poems appearing in magazines. In her 70s, she released a collection of poems titled You Have Done Well (). After her husband's death, she volunteered teaching residents of a Jeju nursing home how to read, write, and express themselves through poetry. The residents called her "teacher," which brought her a sense of fulfillment. She lived in her renovated family home—originally her mother's—which had been sold to fund Geum-myeong's education but was later repurchased by Geum-myeong.
The character of Oh Ae-sun is portrayed by IU. Moon So-ri plays the middle-aged Ae-sun, Seo-yeon as teen Ae-sun and Kim Tae-yeon as child Ae-sun. IU and Kim Tae-yeon received praise for their performances in the drama, leading to IU's nomination for Best Actress – Television and Kim Tae-yeon's nomination for Best New Actress — Television at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards. IU also considered for the Grand Prize. She also won for Best Actress in 2025 Blue Dragon Series Awards. IU ranked second place in Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year annual poll, after co-star Park Bo-gum (Gwan-sik).
Yang Gwan-sik
Yang Gwan-sik (born 1950) is the main male character and Ae-sun's love interest, boyfriend, and later husband. He is described as "a character as silent and unyielding as cast iron and as unshakable as an old tree."
He understands the power of true dedication. However, in matters of love, he is as fragile as a ripe peach. Ae-sun's smile can make his heart falter, and her tears deeply affect him. Nevertheless, his loyalty remains unyielding. From the very beginning, he loves and cherishes Ae-sun alone, never wavering in his commitment. Using the circumstances of their era as a pretext, he guides Ae-sun through pivotal moments in her life—sometimes steering, pulling the emergency brake, or even stepping on the accelerator.
Gwan-sik has been by Ae-sun's side since their youth, always bringing fish from his own family's table to feed a neglected Ae-sun. He worked aboard a squid fishing boat under Captain Bu Sang-gil, where he endured verbal and physical abuse before quitting his job under Ae-sun's encouragement. Bu Sang-gil was the man Ae-sun had initially planned to marry and was known for his violent nature and frequent use of the word "hak."
Gwan-sik named his children Geum-myeong, Eun-myeong, and Dong-myeong. In English, geum translates to gold, eun to silver, and dong to bronze. Having given up a promising career as an athlete, his children became his greatest achievements. He later named his boat—bought for him by Ae-sun's grandmother—Geum Eun Dong as a tribute to his kids. Together, they lost a child but raised two to adulthood. They are grandparents and beloved members of the community, having done it all side by side. The character of Yang Gwan-sik is portrayed by Park Bo-gum. Park Hae-joon plays the middle-aged Gwan-sik, Lee Cheon-mu the child Gwan-sik, and Moon Woo-jin as teen Gwan-sik.
Park Bo-gum's portrayal received widespread praise by audience and critics domestically and internationally, earning him his second nomination for Best Actor – Television at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards. He is also nominated for Best Actor in 2025 Blue Dragon Series Awards and won the Popularity Award. In addition, the role earned him two Grand Prizes (Daesang): Best Actor of the Year – OTT at the 10th Asia Artist Awards and Performer of the Year at the Fundex Awards. Park was named the 2025 Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year, his second time being selected. He is the first actor to top the poll for a streaming project.
Yang Geum-myeong
Yang Geum-myeong (born 1968) is the eldest and only daughter of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, born when her parents were 18 and 19 years old, respectively. Her name, Geum-myeong, literally means "gold," symbolizing her status as her parents' "gold medal." She serves as the primary narrator of the series When Life Gives You Tangerines, with each episode structured around her reflections in her 50s. While Geum-myeong resembles her mother in appearance, her personality is distinct; she is often portrayed as speaking harshly to her affectionate parents. Her emotional struggles stem from the loss of her sibling, Dong-myeong, which left her with significant suppressed guilt. Throughout her youth, she found solace in academic achievement, viewed as a way to bring pride and joy to her family.
After enrolling at Seoul National University, Geum-myeong faced significant challenges, including the pressures of urban life and economic disparities with her romantic partner Park Young-beom. Her family made great sacrifices for her education; her parents even sold their house to send her on a student exchange programme to University of Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan. Upon returning to Korea, she lived in a rented room in Bongcheon-dong. An acquaintance, Park Chung-seop, recommended her for a part-time work at the Cannes Theatre. After graduation, she eventually secured employment at Daewoo and planned to marry her first love, Park Young-beom, the relationship ended due to opposition from his mother.
Geum-myeong lost her job during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. While job hunting, she attended a farewell screening at the closing Cannes Theatre, where she reconnected with an old friend, Park Chung-seop. The two married a year later and had a daughter, Sae-bom, in 2001. Geum-myeong later became a successful early tech entrepreneur. She launched an online lecture platform designed to make education accessible to individuals who, like her mother, were unable to attend college due to social or geographical barriers. Following her professional success, she purchased and renovated her grandmother's former home, which her parents had previously sold to fund her tuition.
The character was portrayed by IU as Yang Geum-myeong, Lee A-ra as child Geum-myeong (10–12 years old), Ahn Tae-rin as child Geum-myeong (7–10 years old), and Shin Chae-rin as child Geum-myeong (4–7 years old).
Supporting characters: People from Jeju Park Mak-cheon
Park Mak-cheon is Gwan-sik's grandmother and a shaman. Due to her strong belief in superstitions, she dislikes Ae-sun, claiming that Ae-sun is possessed by the spirit of her deceased mother and is destined to die young. This leads to frequent conflicts between them. When Gwan-sik helps Ae-sun with her cabbage business at the market, Mak-cheon would come to overturn the cabbage cart and cause chaos.
Even after Gwan-sik and Ae-sun married, Mak-cheon threw red beans at Ae-sun daily to ward off bad luck. She also attempted to hold a ritual for Geum-myeong to become a haenyeo, which enraged Ae-sun, causing her to overturn the ritual table and move out.