Netflix Four Seasons of Family, Love, and Struggle K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines Premieres to Glowing Reviews, Viewership, and Online Buzz
This past weekend big budget Netflix exclusive K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines premiered the first four episodes, with three more four episode drops on the subsequent Fridays to come. The theme is love, family, adversity, and life through the four seasons, literally and figuratively. The first poster of leads IU and Park Bo Gum they are school students in a spring time flower field, and the second poster above they are young parents in a summer seaside cliff, which means fall is coming and the drama will end in winter. The drama is off to an incredibly lauded start, with rave reviews from viewers and critics alike, praise for the acting of the leads and the entire supporting cast, the realistic backdrop of countryside Jeju, and the heartbreaking and heartwarming stories of mothers/daughters, extended families, and of course young love. There are wishes from K-netizens than this drama would have aired on TV so more grandparents and parents generation could just turn it on and watch their lives onscreen crafted with such care and affection and honesty. This is the kind of drama where a mega budget of 60 billion won in building an entire village and on the salaries of the leads feels worth it, to bring a story to life that organically makes viewers laugh, rage, sigh, and cry in the most humbling of ways. Netizens are already saying “Give them all the awards!” and only four episodes have aired lol. And to cap it off, China loves it too as Douban ratings open with an insanely high 9.1.
I’m so happy for both of them! I will start when more episodes are out 🙂 I have a big soft spot for PBG. He’s one of those actors that I think has a lot of range but haven’t picked great scripts in recent years. I’m glad he finally has another potential hit. I also love how multi-talented IU is.
This drama is currently the highest rated kdrama on IMDb too surpassing Reply1988, My Mister, Mr Sunshine etc. As a bogum fans, I’m glad he gets another life-character here. Everything in this drama is perfect, from plot, directing, acting. In particular, Bogum and IU gave a very solid performance both as teenage GwansiAesun and them as parents. Vol II is released tomorrow, hope the hype gets higher and the reviews remains positive.
IMDb shouldn’t be used to gauge the quality of a drama. Its been known to be easily manipulated by fans and haters alike.
IMDb shouldn’t be used to gauge the quality of a drama. Its been known to be easily manipulated by fans and haters alike.
I love them both. IUBogum nailed everything. They r stars for so many reasons. They nailed every scene they needed to act,was not overly or lackingly acted, just enough to savor all the scenes and left a lingering feeling in every viewers heart. Also, this wont hv this kind of massive popularity if the script is not well written and if the actors/actresses are not in sync with the PD and the screenwriter. So a total in all this masterpiece is a collaboration of all the cast in the surface and crew in the behind the scenes. Tomorrow is Friday and we will be watching the 2nd volume so I am really excited to continue watching, knowing, sympathizing, and loving the story of all the characters in this great drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, especially Aesun and Gwansik’s lovestory.
Second!
Beautiful!
I had never been a fan of dramas based upon SK countryside themes. So many stories focused on those backdrops have failed me even I liked the casts. I tuned in to watch the first 4 eps of WLGYT thanks to the star power and BANG! I was hooked at the get-go to my big surprise. I agree the drama deserves all the accolades. The cast is amazing, be they the main leads or supporting actors. IU and PBG nailed the roles and their characters’ story has won my empathy even the settings and their characters’ upbringing are so much different from my own experience. The first few eps so far are a rich mosaic of art in terms of narratives, visual effects, cinematography, and actors’ performances. Kudos to the sincere, and down-to-earth writing yet not boring (that’s oftentimes a good companion of dramas in this genre LOL), as well as artistry galore through the cameras and the directing.
Yes, the drama is definitely award worthy if the following eps continue with all the forgoing attributes.
I also second that the drama should be aired on SK TV channels besides an international streaming platform like D+ (no pun intended LMAO). Appreciation would be different from different classes of audience. Apparently WLGYT is culturally and historically SK-relevant that may not be alluring to international audience in general. I imagine WLGYT would brought back retrospectives of many older generation Koreans alive if it were more accessible for them to watch. This is a shame!
We, the international community, absolutely adore this historically significant South Korean masterpiece which features various key time periods. The film director approaches it with meticulous detail and sensitivity. Not only do we get a glimpse culturally significant Norms and values for South Korea, but also specific to Jeju Island and Busan areas. How lovely to be immersed so realistically in this cultural rewind. I think the Korean community for opening up to all of us who appreciate the real cultural and family values of its people to the international community. 🌎🌍🌏 👍🏼🌺🍊🙏🏼💪🏼 Gamsahamnida!
P.S. It gives us so much joy to see our BOGUMCITO’s (Bogummy in Spanish) exemplary performance in this biographical character. This role was PERFECT for him, as he holds many of these very same values of kindness, consideration, respect and love. IU is an amazingly talented woman with a heart of gold. These two, and this Dramatic series fill us with gratitude to be here and now… To enjoy this timeless masterpiece.
May all of the film awards be yours! Because our hearts you already have WON! ❤️💪🏼🌺🥰
Volume 2 is even deeper with more intriguing and heart wrenching narratives unfold. I’m impressed by the directing the most that visually designed each ep with indie movie quality. WLGYT definitely will become a classic in K drama history when time passes. Drama god would be sleeping if WLGYT doesn’t snatch any significant Baeksang awards, and He needs to descend from heaven to teach judges some lessons LOL.
Well chosen casts… both leads are really very comfortable in their roles . I enjoy their chemistry.
I don’t like it unfortunately. I really like Kim Won Seok’s past dramas, that’s why I checked it out but I was so turned off by IU’s character and her acting. It’s just over the top and exaggerated. Too bad because I was so looking fwd to it.
The child actor did a much better job.
This. I can’t stand watching her exaggerated expression, the pouting, the wailing. I tried rewatching when I read so many good reviews but I cringed the entire hours and eventually gave up.
Nevertheless, since the show getting good reviews, IU stands a high chance to nab the Best Actress trophy (roll my eyes if she does) at Baeksang, with Jang Nara being the strongest contender (and my pick for the win).
IU nailed the role IMO cuz her character is expected to be annoying and dislikable by the general public back then LOL. On one hand, I didn’t like her character’s personality. On the other hand, the heroine’s tenacity and audacity are the driving force behind the incredible adventure of an ordinary couple back in that era. The young couples do not perfect personas we usually expect to see in Kdrama that feed us rosy romance to swoon over. They are flawed and even annoying. There is no fantasy in the drama. But that’s why they felt so real and their stories relevant to us yet intriguing. That’s the charm of this drama IMO.
I don’t expect anything glossy from this writer and this director but gosh, her character is just outright annoying even by modern standard. It’s hard to watch a drama when the heroine is just so unlikeable and the cringe-acting.
But then, to each of its own. I decided not to watch anymore after the first 4eps.
I have loved both IU and Park Bo Gum in their other dramas, so looking forward to this. It certainly is garnering alot of fans!
This drama is fast paced and I love it. Usually, slice of life kdrama has kinda boring script, but not this one. Also, in acting department, all cast from main lead to the extras did SUPERB job!
Watching it made me feel so emotional that i have to stop …which it means a lot .
I understand what you mean..
So far I really love it. I really like Park Bo Gum in this too. He surprise me so far despote character hasn’t properly develop yet since this is IU as the main f9cus I think
I think he’ll have a bigger focus in the 2nd part. It shows him and his older counterpart a lot more.
Like the comment above, I had to take multiple breaks because I was crying so much. Couldn’t binge it and rewinded so many times to rewatch scenes that hit hard or I missed something because of shock or crying. I had to watch in 3 sittings because of how impactful it was.
The show is good, but I don’t think it’s the best drama ever as some people are rating it. It is very much an ensemble piece.PBG has very less screentime compared to Others but he is so impactful when he comes on. I find IU a little too shouty but she does get the emotions right.Moon sori is amazing too.Yeom Hye Ran should get a supporting actress Baeksung, she is amazing.
Since both leads are do well loved, I do think they might just win the awards even though this year should be Jung Nara’s year. She was perfect in the good partner.