Movie Review: When Life Gives You Tangerines is lighthearted riff that says ’Life goes on if you keep living’

It is made available on Netflix from March 7 to 28 with the first volume debuting on March 7 while the last volume debuted on March 28.

By Nirupama Kodukula

Directed by Kim Won-seok and written by Lim Sang-choon, ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ is a 2025 South Korean romance slice-of-life television series that stars IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, and Park Hae-joon.

It is made available on Netflix from March 7 to 28 with the first volume debuting on March 7 while the last volume debuted on March 28.

Published in volumes, the series ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ is a lighthearted riff on the saying ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,’ substituting ‘tangerines’ for ‘lemons’ to honor Jeju Island’s well-known tangerine bounty.

Because of its exquisite structure, ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ feels like a warm embrace with every episode. There are 15 episodes in all, each lasting around an hour. However, there is never a dull moment.

It highlights the six decades of love between Gwan-sik and Ae Sun and is about a couple who stood by each other no matter what. Every episode feels new, making the viewers not want to miss a minute.

The cast is good and with delicacy and freshness, the main character, IU, plays a dual role, portraying a mother and daughter. This series appeals to every age audience, especially the ones who feel low-motivated and complain about a lot of things in their lives.

It teaches how to lead one’s life, how to be empathetic to parents and people, what parents do for their children and how children deal with it. It is about relationships and how every relationship has to be dealt with love and empathy.

Try to give it a watch. There may be many other shows on the watch list, but this series is genuinely a must-watch for everyone.