A confession. I am affected by IMDB ratings although skeptical. "When Life Gives you Tangerines" got my attention with a 9.3 rating when it first became available to me, but after a few weeks it climbed to 9.4 proving that North Americans strongly liked it. My skepticism melted quickly, but its true value is how it builds.
It has romance, heartbreaks, few laughs, difficult struggles but is really a family drama. Parenting over two generations is a big part of the plot. The stories takes place on Jeujeu Island and Seoul.
Ae-sun is an orphan who runs away and marries Gwan-Sik. She has three children.
Geum Myeong, the daughter is sent to Japan to study and later works in Seoul where she attracts her first love and has to deal with a disapproving potential mother in law.
The film uses flashbacks a lot. Sometimes it might be annoying, but it usually puts something in context.
This film really does deserve its high ratings due to a great amount of talent. The few I list are an indication of the overall professionalism.
Kim Won-seok created the idea and was director and producer. He has 8 credits as a director and 1 as writer including "Misaeng" (2014), "Signal" (2016) and "My Mister" (2018). See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/05/frequency-and-its-extended-korean-remake.html which discusses an American film with "Signal".
Krishna Dinata was the sound editor. He has 8 credits for the Sound Department and 1 each for composing and music department including "A Copenhagen Love Story" (2025) `
IU (stage name of Lee Ji-eun) hooks you in as Ae-Sun at the beginning and later keeps your attention as the daughter Geum Myeong. I was fooled by different hairstyles and a different acting, but now appreciate she was the true star. She started at an early age as solo singer. Several of her songs were ranked number one and she even put out a Japanese album. She was also popular in China and Taiwan. She wrote songs including one for "Crash Landing on You" (2019). She was popular for television commercials. In December 2024 she provided meals and snacks for protesters against President Yoon Suk Yeol, the president who had declared martial law. see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/crash-landing-on-you-very-addicting.html
Or her movie career she had 62 acting credits and 26 for composing including "My Mister" (2018) for which she learned sign language and "Broker" (2023) See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/07/broker-japanese-korean-collaboration.html under her real name Ji-eun Lee.
Park Bo-gum played Gwan-Sik, Ae-Sun's first and only love. He was also a popular singer including with the Japanese market. He was a torch bearer for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. A big award winner. He has 20 acting credits and 1 for soundtrack. including "Itaewan Class" (2020).
Moon So-Ri played the middle age Ae-Sun. She was active on stage and was a professor of film studies at Konkuk University. She has 44 acting credits, 2 for directing and 2 for writing including "The President's Barber" (2004), "The Housemaid" (2016), "The Handmaiden" (2016) and "Queenmaker" (2023). see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/05/queenmaker.html
Park Hae-Joon played the middle age Gwan-Sik. He has 44 acting credits including "Misaeng" (2014) and "My Mister" (2018). See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/01/my-mister-is-slow-drama-with-emotional.html
Choi Dae-Hoon played Sang-gil, a brutish rival to Gwan-Sik. He also acted on stage. He has 26 acting credits including "Crash Landing on You" (2019), "Flower of Evil" (2020), "Melancholia" (2021) and "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (2022). See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/10/flower-of-evil.html and http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/08/extraordinary-attorney-woo.html
Oh Jung-se played Byeong-Cheol. He has 92 acting credits including "Swing Kids" (2018), "It's Okay Not to be Okay" (2020), "Queen of Tears" (2024) and "When the Stars Gossip" (2025). See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/its-okay-not-to-be-okay.htm and http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/02/when-stars-gossip.html
Yeom Hye-ran played Ae-Sun's mother in law. She has 39 acting credits including "Memories of Murder" (2003), "Live Up to Your Name" (2017), "Chocolate" (2019), "The Glory" (2022), "Juvenile Justice" (2022) and "Mask Girl" (2023). See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/07/live-up-to-your-name.html and http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/08/mask-girl.html
Kim Seon-ho played a boyfriend of Geum Myeong. He was active in theatre. He was elevated to leading man status because fans were displeased that he played second fiddle too often. In this series he plays a strong emotional role, but doesn't quite make it. He has 15 acting credits including "Strongest Deliveryman" (2017) and "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" (2021) where he is the leading man. See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/10/hometown-cha-cha-cha-another-delightful.html
Jang Hye-jin played Yeong-ran. She has 29 acting credits including "Poetry" (2010), "Crash Landing on You" (2019), Oscar winner "Parasite" (2019) and "Doctor Slump" (2024). See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/09/parasite-breaks-oscar-tradition.html
This series can be enjoyed subtitled or dubbed on Netflix with some tears and cheers. This is the most worthy of your attention I have seen this year.
As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen. Some of them are among my favorite Korean films and a big part of my Korean obsession. If you follow the links you should be able to determine if any film is worth following up.
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