User reviews

If I could rate it more than 10 stars then I would! 4 episodes in and I can already tell this is/would be a masterpiece! Indeed, it's one of those dramas that only comes every 10 years and would remain iconic in this lifetime. I wish I could erase it from my memories and watch it again like it's the first time. Such a roller-coaster ride! It had me laughing then crying my heart out the next few minutes, then frustrated, then empowered. It's not just romance. It's a story about people-about life, dreams, hardships, persistence, and winning amidst these seemingly mundane life. Looking forward for the next 12 episodes!

This drama will go down in history as an iconic masterpiece of kdrama cinema. From the opening scene, this drama draws you in and takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Just 4 episodes so far and already it is obvious that this drama is the future benchmark that all Korean dramas will be compared to.

The story, the cinematography, the acting, are all of the highest standard.

Park Bo-gum takes his latest role to a new level and shows such enormous talent in his portrayal of Gwansik. Women worldwide will lose their hearts and minds for him.

IU delivers, showing she can sing and act and do both at the highest possible level.

Every cast member in this drama should be proud of their achievement, because every single one has given a realistic and incredibly entertaining view into another historical time.

The scene on the pier is sure to go down in cinematic folklore as THE unmatched romantic scene of love winning against all odds.

Move over Romeo and Juliet... a new iconic love story is born!

Just 4 episodes have been released at the moment, but it already made me cry , laugh, angry, felt all kind of roller coaster of emotions, the script, writing, direction, cast , their acting is top notch, every supporting actor's too are sooo sooo good. IU playing dual role like a professional, you can see no similarly between aesun and gwanmijeo (both played y iu herself) her expressions, body language, dialogue delivery, her eyes, she is sooo soo good. And Park Bogum is also sooo sooo good, the character he plays , he did it soo well which made many women wish for Gwanshik in their life💜 .....

When Life Gives You Tangerines is a beautifully crafted drama that captures the essence of love, resilience, and the passage of time. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Jeju Island, the story follows Ae-sun and Gwan-sik as they navigate life's challenges over six decades. The drama effortlessly blends romance, slice-of-life, and melodrama, creating a deeply emotional and immersive experience. What truly stands out is the exceptional performances by IU and Park Bo-gum. Their chemistry is natural and heartfelt, making every moment between their characters feel genuine. IU brings warmth and depth to Ae-sun, while Park Bo-gum's portrayal of the steadfast Gwan-sik is both touching and inspiring. Their journey is filled with quiet yet powerful moments that linger long after the episode ends. Visually, the drama is a masterpiece. The cinematography beautifully captures Jeju Island's landscapes, enhancing the emotional weight of the story. The setting isn't just a backdrop-it plays a vital role in shaping the atmosphere and emotions of the characters. Overall, When Life Gives You Tangerines is a deeply moving series that leaves a lasting impression. It's not just a love story-it's a reflection on life, perseverance, and the beauty found in everyday moments. If you enjoy character-driven dramas with stunning visuals and heartfelt storytelling, this one is a must-watch.

After viewing four episodes, I just can't sit still without saying a word about this new Netflix series. Definitely a must watch drama! Undoubtly, one of those which will be considered a masterpiece.

The main leads, IU and Park Bo-gum did a great portrayal of their roles. So are the other actors/actresses. Excellent performances!

IU is a born actress. She performs her roles with such easiness. The role is definitely hers the moment she shows up on screen: her gestures/movements; her facial expressions, her eyes especially; her voice/ways of delivering her dialogues; even when she does nothing, it shows her acting supremacy. I can never forget her performance , in "My Mister". It is one of the best portrayal of an actress I've ever seen. She did it again in "When Life Gives You Tangerines".

Park Bo-gum is a very good actor full of charm. This charm overflows when he plays the young Gwan-Sik. He is very convincing as the very lovable boyfriend/husband of young Ae-soon. One would like to embrace him with his kindness, affection and warm-heartedness. A good actor, indeed!

I am looking forward to the next episodes.

I gave my review after the first four episodes of this series. After 12 episodes, I still consider it a great show.

The cast, the cinematography, the soundtrack, etc... do not fail to satisfy. The actors, both leading and supporting roles, are wonderful. I am getting short of adjectives to define how good they are. Hats off though to IU, she is just outstanding in her double role! No doubt at all.

However, there are three performances that excel in volume 3. First, the appearance of Kim Seon Ho who masterly delivers a totally different character whom the viewers are not used to see him previously. Netflix somehow drops a bomb and creates a chaos by giving him a role that even his fans have difficulty recognizing him. He absolutely nailed it! PS. He always does in every role I have watched him.

The second one is the actress playing the mother-in-law. She is fantastic in delivering her dialogues. Her acting is perfect! The moment you see her, she gives the viewers the expectation of what she should be... a hate object. No unnecessary movements, just her "elegant wickedness"... and she does it with excellence! The third is, "her son" or "Geum Myeong's first love". He plays his character quite well. A nice guy who is hopelessly-in-love but with a totally weak personality... a mamma's boy and a cry baby. He gives the viewers the sight of being loving and kind yet pitiful, distressful, and ridiculous person at the same time... that makes one say in the end, "serves him well".

Eagerly waiting for the last four episodes.

Volume 4 (last four episodes) sets light to to many questions left unanswered before. It shares us joy to problems getting solved eventually... and it gives us sorrow upon watching the painful realities of life. Life's ups-and-downs. Wow, what a journey!

"When Life Gives You Tangerines" is finally over. Ae-soon and Gwan-sik adventures have come to an end. But life goes on. Their legacy continues. The tears and laughters they gave to the viewers stayed on.

Again, my respect to the whole cast. You were all great! Spectacular performances! Each and everyone contributes to the making of a masterpiece. Thanking of course the director, the scriptwriter, and the entire crew for giving us this wholesome and unforgettable drama. Congratulations for a job well done!

What a heartbreakingly beautiful show this is. It's the kind that quietly sneaks up on you, warms you with its sincerity, and then-bam-crushes your soul when you least expect it. And I loved every second.

The actors? So genuine it hurts. They don't just play their roles; they are their roles. Every emotion feels raw, real, and straight from the heart. And the main actress? I'm still in shock over how good she is. She doesn't just deliver a performance-she lives it.

And the visuals? Absolutely stunning. Every frame is so aesthetically and authentic, like stepping into a living, breathing world rather than just watching a drama. The story itself is beautifully sad, at times unexpectedly funny, and always engaging, leaving a bittersweet taste-much like tangerines themselves.

IU and Park Bo-Gum don't just portray Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik, it's like they lived their life too. You laugh with them, you cry with them, you want to hug them and tell them that everything is going to be alright. You desperately want them to be happy. I wouldn't imagine anyone else play Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik, they're outstanding, impressively good and extraordinary. Each moment is significant, memorable and special. The whole cast, screenplay and locations are noticeable and treated with meticulous attention to details. It's a binge worthy show. While watching every episode I've enjoyed it so much that I didn't notice the time passing by.

The drama reminds me my parents who went through all these harsh times to support me. Their generation never stopped working for the next generation and the country rose from nothing.

It is much easier to understand the drama if you get to know the background of the time. Since Japanese Invasion and Korean War, the people in Korea had very hard lifes which I remember the country actually was the poorest in the world. Yet, the mothers and the fathers were still planting the dream of better life and hope for their children on the ashes of the wars in the small land where mostly has the mountains with no trees left.

The story is the true life story of you and your family who live now. And we still have the reasons to live this world, even though the life may be hard

My respect to all mothers and fathers in this planet.

This drama will make you cry, laugh, be happy and let you experience a range of emotions. Even though only 4 episodes have aired, it is very good, and lets one experience the beauty of spring through the eyes of the characters. It is very heartwarming, and each season ends without cliffhangers, so you can just continue the next season without being on the edge. It's kind of like a feel good drama, and the direction, transition and script are all excellent. During the 4 episodes, I have experienced an upheaval of emotions that made me so invested in the drama. The actors in the drama, from the kids to the adults were well casted for their roles and I felt a lot of love/ hate for everyone of them. They did such a good job of portraying their characters.

Im so excited for volume 2! This drama is so sweet, but also really heartfelt. I cried like three times in the first episode. I think writers did a great job at balancing the cute aspects but also the emotional ones. Not to mention the casting, IU really knows how to pick her projects, although i am nervous since all her dramas seem to have sad endings... Park Bo-gum also nails the "awkward teen boy" moments, the gulping actually sends me lmao. Ae-sun and Gwan-sik have such a cute dynamic. I absolutely LOVE how the writers constructed their characters. Usually with characters like Ae-sun, they stick to the "bold girl" aesthetic and don't let her have any other personality besides bold and bratty. With Ae-sun though, she may have her attitude and clap back at comments, but she's still shy and timid at times. She'll go from angry, to being angry with tears streaming. It's a complexity that shines and helps the viewer understand the gravity of her emotions. You can feel two things at once, so I'm really happy that they actually gave her depth instead of slapping the "bold girl" label on her and nothing else, plus IU's acting is incredible!! As for Gwan-sik, i love how the writers didn't take the "male character who cries" route for public validation (which is ironic when you consider how frowned upon it is for men & boys to cry), but everytime he cries, albeit a lot, he has good reason!! Park Bo-Gum showcases Gwan-siks empathy amazingly. The writers made Ae-sun and Gwan-sik very in touch with their emotions, even while they're trying to figure out their new feelings. Overall I'm really excited for the future volumes!!!

This drama is so perfect. The reason why I like Korean dramas is that the actors' acting is so delicate. Others complain that this drama is so sad, but it means that the actors acted fantastic. Not only the main characters, but also the main actors, the main actors, and the child actors were all great !! Anyone who calls this drama overrated would not have watched it.

I cried a lot watching the drama, but it's worth it If you want to understand Asian sentiment, watch Korean dramas They'll show everything in true acting without lies !!!

By my standards, this is a masterpiece. I would also like to say that it is my life drama.

I have seen a couple of Korean Dramas, and with few exceptions I started to realize one thing: they are awfully similar to Portuguese soap operas, with the exception of having a better production value.

Like others, When Live Gives You Tangerines goes on for way too many episodes, it could've easily been condensed in half of them and have the same narrative and messages to deliver.

There was a lot of great acting and I usually don't criticize individual performances but IU's acting skills were really poor here. I've seen her in My Mister and I wasn't necessarily impressed but she is simply not believable, her crying is really cringe worthy and she is unable to showcase real emotions, it feels really forced and given how important she is through it the series (she plays two characters!) it was tough to watch her scenes.

While the story and the themes the show touches are important like motherhood, going through a life with only struggles and still persevere, the true meaning of love, I can't say that the execution was always the best. Sure there are many great scenes and the last episode is really emotional, but I also felt that even though some of the themes are universal there was also a lot that might be specific to Korean culture and how the relationship dynamics are and were in the past.

That's not necessarily bad but it also didn't cause as much an impact on me.

Finally I feel that there was just too much drama and bad things happening, I am not saying that there aren't difficult lives but you really had to put that family through all the hardships you can think of, we get it, they had it really hard but you don't need to triple down on it ever single episode... It's good but I feel the IMDb score is really inflated.

This is a rural love story TV series set on Jeju Island in South Korea in the 1960s. I think since most foreign audiences cannot understand Korean accents and dialects, it is not a big problem to watch. But for me who can speak Korean and understand Korean regional dialects, IU and Park Bo Gum use Seoul accents to play the male and female leads who were born on Jeju Island in 1950, which I can't understand. How can a person born in the countryside speak in the tone of an urban person? Also, IU is not suitable for the role of a mother, and her crying scenes often make me feel awkward.

I finally finished watching this drama because of Moon So-ri and Park Hae-joon's acting. Their actings deserve more recognition.

Starts with a peek to the present day and gives us exclusively the background for the whole drama! This drama is everything its meant to be. It provides reality of asian households in 60s and struggle of women along with the fight they have to put. It provides us the warmth with the dream and struggle of reaching it and settling with a dream of family and children.

Its also sassy in a way the love story is approached giving us sadness and also while being chaotic shows the importance of family in those time for protecting the dream of a children especially girls who were forced to work in household unlike boys who were loved and given every freedom. This is just not a drama but a peek into reality of that time, sometimes it gives sadness and sometimes it provides warmth.

WLGYT is a riveting drama depicting a young couple's love and devotion to each other in an era where girls were looked down on and used for maids and nannies. Both the ML and FL struggles to find their footing/courage with their families. This is a sweet but sad drama that depicts the couple's naivety while growing up in a remote (Jeju Island) town. IU gives an outstanding performance as the courage's spunky girl with ambitions of going to college and soon realize that her dream will not happen because her family is poor. Park Bo Gum is the young male that has always tried to protect/shield the FL from hardship. What's so funny and cute is that it's the female lead that really protects the ML in her own roundabout way. This is a well written drama with an excellent cast. The pacing is just right and the story will pull on your heartstrings. I totally enjoyed the first four episodes. I am all in for this journey of life!

Heartwarming! Full of emotions indeed!

I have been waiting for this drama like forever (since knowing from 2023), and finally it's here! Of course, I have been anticipating for this because of excellent actor&actress Park Bogum and IU! The caliber of acting of these two are just so great, no question! Kudos also to the little Aesoon and Gwansik (child and teen), their acting and emotions are superb! Actually, they're all great here!

The plot has made an overall impression; it is excellent in telling the story of life, love, dreams, and all of the problems that can be conquered with love, trust, and belief. We fail, but then we learn to be strong and endure.

I finished watching it an hour ago and I can't still help myself but to cry on how beautifully it was created. The last episode is just perfection, it made me weep from first to the last second. I would definitely watch it again and would recommend it to everyone. It was a roller coaster ride of emotions and really hands down to all the people behind this film. Thank you for bringing this art work to the world. It deserves a lot of recognition, right after watching the last episode I just feel like giving standing ovation for how perfect it ended, and how perfect of a film it is overall. Now I don't know how to live life again after watching this series haha.

Watching When Life Gives You Tangerines feels like having a deep conversation with old friends on a warm summer evening. The sincerity of the characters, the natural flow of the story, and the metaphor of tangerines delivering a subtle life message make it all feel so genuine that you find yourself right there with them. The visuals are heartwarming, the humor is light yet meaningful, and the dialogues touch your soul.

Some scenes make you smile, while others make you pause and reflect on your own life. It doesn't just tell a story-it slightly shifts your perspective on life. And that's exactly why When Life Gives You Tangerines is more than just a series; it's a feeling-a feeling of warmth and quiet happiness.

This is a review of the first 4 eps of the series. And so far it's so beautiful! The plotline is simple, but the screenplay and beautifully written characters make this series worth watching. Another key aspect of this series is, the technical values, the production design is just too good. The cinematography and DOP are top-notch. Visuals are pleasing to the eyes. The music is good, not groundbreaking or memorable, but it suits the tone and vibe of the scene. Coming to the performances, IU excelled in all the shades and roles given to her. She steals the show as Ae-Sun. I loved every single frame of hers on screen. Park Bo Gum did an excellent job in his role. His character is very well-written. The rest of the cast did well too there is no bad performance in this series so far. The casting was done well!

This series ticks all checkboxes for making a web series a perfect watch from cast to good storyline and from technicalities to beautiful narration this has it all.

I can't wait for next eps!

You can't go 5 minutes without hearing someone scream, whine, WHY OH WHYYYYY, throw a tantrum, make an exasperated face... It's suffocating, frustrating and unwatchable so I'm dropping it on episode 7.

I don't care about the characters after 6 hours, IU is not convincing as a poor peasant with her plastic surgeried face and perfect lipstick and fresh hairstyle. Let her stick to overproduced Kpop. I've seen My Mister too and while her acting was better there, she was equally unbelievable with her idol hair and makeup.

The best part was the mother at the beginning, she looked the part, she acted well.

The two characters played by IU are basically the same person. There's zero nuance.

I thought it would be along the lines of Our Blues but it's leagues behind.

I cannot understand why this series is rated 9.3 (as of April 2025). If I compare it to the other multi-generational Korean drama Pachinko, this is much inferior. The main female character is extremely annoying, almost all male characters are total wimps who cannot put two sentences together. Once the series shows the elder parents, the characters become more tolerable and realistic. In almost every freaking scene somebody is crying (female and male). It is supposed to convey emotions and pathos but ends up just aggravating and ridiculous. Another ludicrous point: poor people in rural Korea in the 70's have always multiple layers of lipstick on. Really?

This is a very mediocre work in terms of technology. The rave reviews are a reflection of the degeneration of public aesthetics. The narrative is completely short-play, the story lacks depth, the plot development is extremely fragmented, and the narrative lacks qualified fluency and basic restraint. Its success is due to its sentimentalism and its exaggerated tear-jerking strategy. I don't know if anyone has counted how many crying scenes and crying faces there are in this play. The sensationalism of this work is not just deliberate, it has reached the point of disaster. It is really sad that people are satisfied with crying, and people exaggerate to praise any work that can make people cry, but a work of art can only make people cry - physiological tears are very boring, onions can also make people cry, and the artistic value of this play is nothing more than an onion.

This is the first and quite possibly the last time I'm writing a review, since it isn't exactly my comfort zone. But having just finished the show, with all my friends sound asleep and no one to share my emotions with, I felt compelled to try-despite my belief that words can hardly do justice to this masterpiece

This story is about everything and everyone and yet, no one specific. The story transcends individual narratives, portraying universal emotions through characters that feel like reflections of the people around us. It's the epitome of past lived by our grandparents and parents, the present we were able to live with them and future we have ahead to walk through without them, well in most of the cases.

Show is a depiction of love, loyalty, friendship, passion, sadness, sorrow, angst and unspoken and undisclosed feelings we all feel towards our parents who mostly lose themselves and are becoming our parents for the rest of their life...

There are some proverbs in my language (Georgian), I kept thinking about them while watching: one goes like whatever you give out to the world, is yours, other than that is lost (what goes around comes around), Good deed will always find its way to you and you will never be able to repay your parent's kindness and debt even if you "fry an egg on your palm" (do impossible)... These life lessons are strongly imprinted there.

And the acting? The performances are so immersive that you don't watch them; you live them. Every glance and gesture pulls you deeper into their world. You'll find yourself mourning their sorrows and sharing their happiness.

Details, connections, storyline, hidden meanings and cinematography, it's a powerful mix to give you a lifelong lesson and longing.

Prepare tissues, clear your schedule, mute distractions, and immerse yourself completely.

And if you already finished, did you survive, or barely holding on just like me?