When Life Gives You Tangerines Review: Look Into a Generation We Never Truly Knew Through Ae-sun and Gwan-sik

Netflix’s most awaited Kdrama starring IU and Park Bo-gum is finally here and we are already falling in love with this couple who are a chaotic mix that knows how to warm our hearts. This When Life Gives You Tangerines review takes a look into the premiere episodes of the show that have already won hearts as the couple brings us to a time that belonged to those who loved, and lived with contentment.

The series has 16 episodes and will be released from 7th March 2025 to 28th March 2025, releasing four episodes every Friday.

When Life Gives You Tangerines Recap

The premiere episodes of the show take us to the beginning of Oh Ae-sun (IU) and Yang Gwan-sik’s (Park Bo-gum) journey, when the ten-year-old Gwan-sik’s crush on Ae-sun was known by everyone in their hometown. Through the memory of the 70-year-old Ae-sun, we see that the person she misses the most and wishes to call out the most is her mother who protected her the fiercest, wishing for Ae-sun to never serve anyone like she had done throughout her life.

While Ae-sun always wished to give the world to her mother who was always a tough figure to handle, she, unfortunately, passed away at the tender age of 29 due to lung disease contracted from her occupation as a Haenyeo. Ae-sun is left behind with her stepfather and siblings and becomes responsible for the house. While this is not what her mother nor she wished for Ae-sun, she is compelled by her stepfather who promises to support her higher education.

Unfortunately, with a new woman entering his life, Ae-sun finds her years wasted on this family who leave her with no warmth in the world. However, Gwan-sik continues to remain by her side through everything and tells her that he will always hold warmth for her. Slowly but steadily, love blooms between the two and Ae-sun finally gets the confession she needs. But still, with nowhere to go, she makes the bold decision to run away.

Gwan-sik joins in this idea and the two become a young runaway couple who soon make their way to Busan. But it doesn’t take long for them to get scammed and after some twists and turns, Gwan-sik’s mother finds them and brings them back home. However, the news of their runaway spreads everywhere and Ae-sun is also expelled from school because of this. With her dreams slowly shattering, she tries to get away from Gwan-sik so as to not harm his future as an athlete. With this in mind, she tries to get married to a divorcee in town while Gwan-sik is about to leave for the national tournament. However, she is unable to let go and rushes to the port only to see the ship sail away. But Gwan-sik is not one to let go of Ae-sun when she rushes back to him and jumps off the ship to swim to her.

The two soon get married and have a daughter. While they gave up on their young dreams, new dreams forged their way into their hearts. Troubles soon return to the young couple in the form of Gwan-sik’s family who wish for a boy from the couple. But Gwan-sik is steady when it comes to Ae-sun and decides to leave home, become the head of his house and work hard each day for his family. With another child on the way, Gwan-sik hides his pain each day to work hard, but when Ae-sun finds out that he is working for the man whom she almost married, she gets worried.

True to Ae-sun’s suspicions, Gwan-sik is being ill-treated and even abused at work. Ae-sun witnesses the way the man talks to him and rushes to save Gwan-sik like she has done since she was 10. Once again, she saves the man who never speaks out and has him quit this work while she prepares to bring a change to their lives.

Midway, we see a middle-aged Ae-sun and Gwan-sik who still remain to be very much in love. When her daughter bursts out about the poverty they once faced, she tells her how there were also happy moments in those times. When asked if she would choose Gwan-sik again if given the choice, Ae-sun tells her that she would always choose him.

When Life Gives You Tangerines Review

What a wonderful four episodes it has been of this show! When Life Gives You Tangerines is definitely up for a good start and I can see myself going into another time when watching this show. It stands by what it promised and I can see a whole other generation standing in front of me throughout the duration of these episodes. A generation that is less concerned about the competition in the world and knows how to find happiness in the smallest of things, this show very smoothly takes us to a whole other time.

I have absolutely loved these four episodes, but what strikes me most is how wonderful the characters Ae-sun and Gwan-sik are carried by actors of different ages. They bring every side of these two people without making it feel as though these two people have changed. Kim Tae-yeon wonderfully takes us through Ae-sun’s childhood while Moon Su-ri brings us an older and wiser Ae-sun, but IU is definitely the highlight when it comes to the character. She shows us some of the best years of Ae-sun when the real change took place- her loneliness, her running away, losing her dreams, and later finding new ones. All these elements are beautifully captured by IU who proves why she is one of the most loved actors in the industry.

Meanwhile, Lee Cheon-mu also beautifully captured the steel-like Gwan-sik who never looks away from Ae-sun while Paek Hae-joon brings us an older, more rusted Gwan-sik who never forgets to hold Ae-sun’s hand. But once again, the highlight has to be Park Bo-gum who brings us the best Gwan-sik who blindly follows Ae-sun to run away, holds her hand no matter what, swims across the sea for her, and makes sure to stand for his family despite all the pain he has to bear. He too brings us the best years of Gwan-sik and I absolutely loved every bit of his performance.

While the main couple is surely shining throughout these episodes, we also have to mention Yum Hye-ran who plays the role of Ae-sun’s mother. She stunningly stands out in the first episode and you will not be able to look away from her character- a woman who is ready to take on the world for her daughter. Hye-ran makes sure to show the resilience of this mother and absolutely shines throughout the duration of her performance.

Altogether, I have loved all the characters who have come together in this show. They all have something special within them and they all shine in their own way. But the focus remains on this whole other generation we get to witness in this show who are showing us the youth of those we find hard to connect. The show beautifully captures this generation, making us all the more excited for the upcoming episodes.

Watch When Life Gives You Tangerines on Netflix.

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