MaryMeKpop

Aww, I like this one. I wasn’t expecting to finish all four episodes in one night but before I knew it, I was so intrigued and interested, especially after finishing the first episode of “When Life Gives You Tangerines.” Starring IU and Park Bo-gum, the drama follows the marriage and story of their characters, Ae-soon and Gwan-sik. The drama takes place over a span of decades and follows their journey from when they were ten years old all the way to when they’re adults. Ae-soon and Gwan-sik’s love for each other is resilient, pure, sincere, and strong and we watch as they rise above all odds thanks to their unconditional love and affection for each other. We explore the sacrifices that the two are willing to make for their family and which values are most crucial to them.

To start off, there really wasn’t a reason to not give this drama a try. You have IU and Park Bo-gum as your two main actors. Then you also have director Kim Won-suk (My Mister) and Im Sang-choon (When the Camelia Blooms) on this project so there were reasons to look forward to it. As expected, the drama did not disappoint with the first four episodes. And as expected, I was curious as to why Park Bo-gum’s character, Gwan-sik, gave me strong Yong-shik vibes from “When the Camelia Blooms” and sure enough, it was because both dramas are from the same writer, haha.

Admittedly, I didn’t love the drama but I did like it a lot and there were moments in each episode that I really enjoyed. Out of the four episodes, I think my favorite actually had to be the first episode where the main focus was on Ae-soon and her relationship with her mom. It was so interesting to watch the way that Ae-soon was influenced and impacted by her mother. She wanted to be loved by her mom; she held her values and dreams in life dear in her heart because of the things that her mother said to her when she was a young child. And we watched as Ae-soon envisioned a different life for her daughter, Geum-myeong, because she didn’t want her daughter to live the way that she or her mom lived. I enjoyed watching the context and background behind Ae-soon’s upbringing. I actually wished we could have gotten maybe just one more episode focused on young Ae-soon with her mom and young Gwan-sik. The first episode was one of the better and stronger pilot episodes I’ve seen in a while and I think the drama did a great job in setting up Ae-soon’s story. We got to see why she thought and acted the way that she did as she got older and how she lived by these values and morals when she became a mother herself.

The central plot in all of this was, of course, Ae-soon and Gwan-sik’s love and support for each other. It was so interesting and heart-warming to watch their love story because their relationship was one that was built on strong, genuine, and unconditional love. He was so protective and supportive of Ae-soon. He liked her since she was young because she was smart, creative and ambitious. She liked him because he always cared for her ever since they were little kids. He always made sure to look out for her and to feed her and he cared for her. Gwan-sik was always by Ae-soon’s side (literally) since they were kids and even when they got married and became parents, it still stayed that way.

The drama slowed down in episode 2 once Ae-soon and Gwan-sik grew up. We watched as they attempted to escape Jeju and traveled to Busan to live on their own. Ae-soon didn’t have a home; she didn’t belong anywhere except with Gwan-sik. Gwan-sik was willing to risk it all and give it all up for Ae-soon. But when their plans failed (oh how great it was to be so young and innocent and naive about love), they decided to create their own lives for themselves. I enjoyed watching Gwan-sik and Ae-soon’s pure love for each other but there were a couple of scenes in particular that really stood out to me. The first one being 1990’s Ae-soon where she mentioned that she would go back and do it all over again with Gwan-sik if given the chance. Even though it wasn’t easy and there were many struggles and prejudices that she faced, there wasn’t a thing that she would do differently. The other was when Ae-soon ran back to the ocean and chased after the boat that Gwan-sik was on. The reunion between them was so admirable and heartwarming and it proved once again that the two could never imagine a world or life where they weren’t by each other’s side. They were destined to be soulmates. Another scene I really enjoyed was a brief and subtle one but one that was important nonetheless in my eyes. As Ae-soon and Gwan-sik wished his grandma and Geum-myeong a good night, Gwan-sik secretly held onto Ae-soon’s hand that was behind her back. Though she fought off the public affection so as to not cause a scene, this subtle move by Gwan-sik to hold her hand spoke volumes about their relationship and served as a reminder of how much he loved her. Last but not least, I really enjoyed the scene towards the end of episode 4 when Ae-soon stood up for Gwan-sik by confronting his boss and kicking his boss in the shin. The couple walked away afterwards and Ae-soon cried out of heartbreak for her husband who endured so much in his job. This scene in particular was such a great representation and summary of Ae-soon and Gwan-sik’s relationship. All throughout their lives, it was always just the two of them against the world. No matter who or what it was they were up against, they knew they could overcome anything because they had each other.

Given that the drama took place in the 1960’s, we watched as Ae-soon challenged traditional gender norms. Women were expected to support their husbands and take care of the kids. They were supposed to cook and they belonged in the kitchen or out in the ocean as haenyeos (female free divers in Jeju). They were not even supposed to ride tricycles. When Ae-soon and Gwan-sik ran away to Busan, she was the one who got in trouble and was expelled from school. There were nasty rumors spread about her while Gwan-sik didn’t face any consequences which proved how much of a disadvantageous and unfair situation she was in. She was also forced to grow up much faster with the unexpected passing of her mother and had to take care of her half-siblings. Her dreams and wishes of becoming a poet were placed on the back burner as she became a young mother. But Ae-soon’s experiences reminded her of her hardships and she wanted her daughter to have a much better and more carefree life than the one that she and her mother did. “When Life Gives You Tangerines” constantly reminded you of the difficult sacrifices that moms make for their children. They give up so much in the process of taking care of their kids in hopes of providing them with a better life than the one they had.

I was afraid that Gwan-sik was going to be a bit one-dimensional after watching the first three episodes. But it really wasn’t until episode four that the drama focused a little bit more on his story by showing us the sacrifices that he made for Ae-soon and his daughter. As the breadwinner of the family, he worked as a fisherman and was subject to physical and verbal abuse by his boss (who was none other than the man who Ae-soon was originally set to marry so Gwan-sik was his main target). But even through it all, Gwan-sik never once complained or said anything. He stuck it out because he knew he needed to take care of his family financially so he sacrificed his body even if he was hurting in the process. We also saw him stand up against his family in various ways – the first being the time he ran away with Ae-soon to Busan. Then later on when they got married and she moved in to live with him and his family, he ate at the same table as Ae-soon and his daughter which was frowned upon by his parents and grandma. Then the final straw was when he, Ae-soon, and their daughter cut ties with his toxic grandma and mom so that they could live happily and peacefully on their own. The ending of episode 3 especially got to me when we watched Gwan-sik and Ae-soon spend time with their newborn. There was news coverage playing in the background about the national sports festival where a swimmer aimed to win the gold medal at the Asian Games. As a swimmer himself, this was something that Gwan-sik could have done and won if he truly cared and was committed to it. But in the end, he chose the life that he wanted, which was to live a happy life with Ae-soon. He was never as passionate about swimming as he was about her and he had no regrets with the decisions in his life. Similar to Ae-soon, if Gwan-sik could do it all over again, he would still choose Ae-soon every single time. He too wouldn’t change a single thing.

I don’t really know what else to say other than that I just loved how beautiful, strong, and unconditional Ae-soon and Gwan-sik’s love for each other was. They were each other’s pillars of support; they were each other’s rocks. It was adorable how he followed her around and was always there for her starting from a young age. Gwan-sik was always looking out for Ae-soon; he even wanted to be the First Lady if Ae-soon was to become president of the country. Haha. I really felt for them as they endured and overcame the challenges that were their toxic and unhealthy families. But I was also comforted watching Gwan-sik and Ae-soon pave a way for themselves where they could be at peace and not have to be restricted or held down by any boundaries. The two really went through so much and it was beautiful to watch their love bloom and blossom throughout the many springs over the decades.