The Tangerine Wasn’t Squeezed Into My Eyes… I Did That to Myself
An Over-Tenderly Devastating Review of When Life Gives You Tangerines
Some dramas don’t just tell a story. They sit you down, pour you a cup of tea, and then quietly destroy you. This one? It had me by the heart from the very first episode. Released over the span of four weeks in four volumes, with four episodes each week, it turned me into a emotional wreak every single time. It tapped into wounds most of us carry but rarely talk about. There are no villains in this drama. No scheming enemies, no one to hate. Just life… quietly, relentlessly doing what it does best. Testing people. Taking from them. Teaching them. Hurting them. And through it all, you see these underdeveloped characters just... trying. Failing. Loving. Surviving. It’s so heartbreakingly honest, it almost sneaks up on you but in the coziest way possible.
When life gives you Tangerines is set in the calm, nostalgic beauty of Jeju Island (a place known for its tangerines, which is why in the English title they swapped the usual “when life gives you lemons” for tangerines), the story follows Oh Ae-sun (played by IU) and Yang Gwan-shik (played by Park Bo-gum). Every episode took a part of their life, held it up to the light, and showed us just how fragile, complicated, and real it all is. The situations they faced, the decisions they made, the way everyone around them reacted, it all felt so... human. Everyone’s just trying to survive in their own way. Some push through, others get worn down. And honestly? Both are valid.
The Korean title 폭싹 속았수다 (a phrase from the Jeju dialect) adds a layer of depth too, translating roughly to "you've worked hard" or "thank you for your hard work." It’s not just a phrase; it’s a gentle reminder that no matter what life throws at you, your efforts matter.
Watching Ae-sun grow and break as a daughter, sister, wife, and mother hit me in places I didn’t know needed hitting. At her core, she was just a little girl with dreams. But life kept taking pieces of those dreams away, slowly, painfully. There was no big bad villain here. Just life. And sometimes, life is more brutal than any scripted antagonist could be. It really was the most haunting version of “when one door closes, another opens” I’ve seen.
It also reminded me of a book I read last year called Kim Ji-young, Born 1982, which tackles similar themes across three generations of women. The difference was that, that book made me want to fight the patriarchy. This drama gave me reassurance that there are men like Gwan-shik. He wasn’t just a good man, he was the standard. The kind of man who doesn’t raise his voice but raises the people around him. Who shows up without being asked, who loves without ego. He wasn’t perfect, but he was present. He was safe. He was the change we keep wishing for in real life. Watching him felt like someone finally said, “Here. This is what it’s supposed to look like.”
There’s this one line Geum-myeong kept saying whenever her future in-laws mistreated her: “My parents will cry.” That one hit me hard. When you grow up in a loving home where your parents have sacrificed so much just to raise you right, it stays with you. You carry their love like armor. And when you step into the world and let someone treat you poorly, it feels like you’re letting them down too. That line wasn’t dramatic. It was honest. It was the quiet pain of someone who knows the weight of love and the guilt of not protecting it.
And it’s not just one story. This drama holds so many quiet heartbreaks that mirror real life. There’s the pain of losing parents too soon, the kind that leaves a silence you never really grow out of. There’s the grief of losing a child in an accident and still waking up the next day like the world hasn’t ended. The first daughter who’s raised like a son, carrying the weight of the whole family while her younger brother grows up feeling invisible. A father who swallows his pride to take on jobs he never imagined, just to keep the lights on. A mother who lets go of her dreams so her children can chase theirs and many more.
But in the end, it’s not just about the pain. It’s life. The kind that’s messy and unfair, but also full of small, quiet moments that somehow keep you going. Like a shared meal. A warm hand to hold. A surprise visit to your family house. A soft laugh with your spouse in the middle of all the chaos. This drama reminded me that even when life squeezes you dry, there’s still some sweetness left. And sometimes, that’s all you need.
My Rating for the Drama:
Genre: Romance, Slice-of-life
Based on a Real Story
Cast: IU, Park Bo-gum, Kim Seon-ho, Lee Soo Kyun, Lee Jun-young, Park Hae-joon, Moon So-ri, Choi Dae-hoon
Plot: 9.9/10. Tight writing, no plot holes, no useless scenes. Not once did I feel like skipping forward.
Character Development: 10/10. Every character had an arc. Every single one. My favourite? Bu Sang-gil. The way he changed after becoming Gwan-shik’s in-law and how he just melted for his granddaughter. I really started feeling bad for him.
Acting: 11/10. Yes, I said eleven. Every actor delivered, but IU? She didn’t just play Ae-sun and Geum Myeong. She became them. Every expression, every sigh, she nailed it. I’ll be so mad if she doesn’t win the Grand Best Actress Award in every single Award Show.
Cinematography & OST: 9/10. apt filters for each scene, pleasing visuals, soundtracks that sneak up on your emotions and squeeze them right out. Loved it. I am DYING to visit Jeju Island.
Favorite Character: Oh Ae-sun. But if I’m honest, I saw more of myself in Yang Geum Myeong. Her quiet strength and Ungratefulness felt really close to home.
My Favorite Quotes/Dialogues:
“Parents dwell on what they couldn’t give, children dwell on what they couldn’t get.”
“We may have hungry days, but you’ll never break my heart.”
“I had a very loving father, but my dad didn’t have a loving daughter.” and “When I spoke to others, it’s as if I were writing a love letter. I would choose my words carefully, one by one… But I treated the saviour to whom I’m a million times grateful like scrap paper. I wasn’t careful with my words or feelings.”
“Carelessly spoken dry words made Eun-myeong grow up hungry.”
"She didn’t want to pass on such a world to her daughter, so Mom flipped the table first." Geumyeong says this while recounting how her mom refused to let her daughter inherit the superstition that women can’t be on a boat because it brings bad luck.
"When your parents die, you let them go into the afterlife. But when your children die, you keep them alive in your heart."
"One day, life might get so tough that you feel like you can't go on. Don't just lie still, struggle with all your might. Tell yourself you won't die and must survive, no matter what. You'll be able to breathe again."
“My parents prayed so hard for the world beyond their arms to be gentle” and “Every time I walked a tightrope, my dad stood there holding a net”
“I've lived an extraordinary life in my own way. Don't pity the life that I've lived.” — Ae-sun to Geum-myeong
“It’s harder to laugh together every day than it is to kiss every day.”
"I could only see my daughter, and my mom could only see me."
“There was a time when people held their heads up. A time when people stayed true to their hearts. A time when we looked at each other, not our cell phones.”
“If you keep hammering tough shells, maybe they’ll seem unaffected at first, but eventually, you will start to see cracks on the surface. Don’t show your children favoritism, ever. ‘Cause they will always remember.”
I really have a long list but I’ll stop here:)
Most Memorable Scene: Gwan-shik reminding Geum Myeong, at different stages in her life, that she could always come home. No matter what and that he’d always be there, waiting. I cried. I’m so lucky to have grown up with a dad like that. Touchwood.
Swoon-Worthy Moment: All the soft Gwan-shik and Ae-sun moments tbh. But that one scene in the yellow canola flower field? Where Ae-sun’s ranting about marrying a Seoul guy with her hand inside Gwan-shik’s hoodie? That awkward confession? Yeah. That one.
Rewatch Value: 7/10. Only because I don’t think I can survive that heartbreak again so soon. But one day, when I’m ready with a blanket and tissues, I’m going back.
Overall Score: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖 This one is going to stay with me for a long, long time.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back with another review when I recover from this one. Hyllu-lujah!
Yours binge-fully,
hungryypanda
Ah! This series :’)