Synopsis

When Life Gives You Tangerines, directed by Kim Won-seok and written by Lim Sang-choon, is a slice-of-life drama that tells the story of Oh Ae-sun and Yang Gwan-sik. It showcases three generations of their family and the life they lived, how each generation differs and is affected by the previous generation.

They grew up together on Jeju Island during the 1950s, and the sixteen episodes explore more than 50 years of their journey as childhood best friends, a couple, newlyweds, parents, and grandparents. The drama showcases the couple's unwavering trust and commitment to each other when constantly being thrown hardships and bad fate.

Castings

IU, Oh Ae-sun & Yang Geum-meong

The queen of Kpop and Kdrama, IU, again takes on the role with striking storytelling and acting skills. She is known for her roles as Jang Man-wol in Hotel Del Luna and Lee Ji-an in My Mister. IU takes on the young Oh Ae-sun and also the daughter, Yang Geum-myeong. It was quite a bold decision to cast the same person for such different roles, but she nailed it with the smooth execution through the rawness of emotions, and the versatility she was able to show through this drama was impressive.

Image Credit: 월아조운 from Wikimedia Commons

Park Bo gum, Yang Gwan sik

Park Bo-gum is known for his roles as Choi Taek in Reply 1988 and Lee Yeong in Love in the Moonlight. Park Bo-gum swayed the audience: he's charismatic and undeniably loving. His kind and soft demeanor made him the husband and father of the year! His role certainly played a part in translating the love and understanding that the family shared.

Image Credit: TenAsia from Wikimedia Commons

Some of the other actors include Kim Seon-ho, as Park Chung-seob, the love interest. Moon So-ri as the old Oh Ae-sun and Park Hae-joon as the old Yang Gwan-sik. This drama included many heavy elements, each of the cast embodies their characters well and fluently.

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Reasons Why You Should Watch

1) Plot & Themes

Instead of making the plot an exponential growth, we get to see a life in which most days are hard yet worth living for the next. It makes the story more relatable and heartfelt to the audience. The plot also includes much of South Korea's unique history and historic changes, which were both interesting and informative. It also challenges many of the conventional views back then, such as the main couple's relationship.

“Parents dwell on what they couldn’t give, and children dwell on what they couldn’t get.”

A theme they emphasized was family- one that stems from poverty and bad fate, yet is always conquered with the utmost love. The quarrels were heartbreaking; they make you reflect and truly appreciate familial unconditional love in the worst moments.

Although the plot was deep and oftentimes heavy, it had many comedic elements! The romance element is to die for and their chemistry is truly felt.

Image Credit: 티비텐 from Wikimedia Commons

2) Cinematography & Casting

The cinematography of the whole series was exceptional from recreating the scenery dating back to the 1950s to the present day. The color schemes, lighting, and setting played a huge role in invoking more emotions and truly added to the emotional depths. As mentioned in the previous section, the casting was perfect and truly embodies the roles in the story.

Image Credit: Mollie Sivaram from Unsplash

Final Thoughts

As someone who have been watching Kdramas for a period of time and this has to be one of my favorites. I could not catch a break, every episode resulted in a puddle of tears and actual crying. The last episode broke me into pieces.

This, however, indicates how well the drama and plot was executed, its beautiful storytelling and emotional depht captures the souls and hearts of the audience. I do have to say, if you're looking for a quick watch or something to lift your mood, this drama might not be the best candidate. You will likely experience a series of raw emotions yourself from laughter to tears; I had to take a break from continuing some of the episodes. If I had to recommend any K-dramas, this would be the one! I don't want to spoil it more so please go watch it now!