'When Life Gives You Tangerines' is story of life, love, melted into 4 seasons of Jeju Island

By Park Jin-hai

The upcoming Netflix series "When Life Gives You Tangerines" has garnered attention from drama fans for its stellar cast and the combination of a writer and a director renowned for their heartwarming stories.

Singer and actor IU and heartthrob Park Bo-gum teamed up with director Kim Won-suk, known for the 2018 drama "My Mister" and 2014 series "Misaeng: Incomplete Life," and writer Lim Sang-choon, who penned the 2017 show "Fight for My Way," to explore 65 years of love and life unfolding against the picturesque four seasons of Jeju Island.

IU takes on the role of the "rebellious and clever" Ae-soon with big dreams in her heart, while Park Bo-gum portrays the "foolish and sturdy" Gwan-sik, who expresses himself through actions rather than words in this big-budget drama with a production cost of 60 billion won. The Korean title of the drama "Pokssak Sogatsuda" is a Jeju dialect phrase meaning "You've worked hard."

Kim described the drama as "a tribute to the parent and grandparent generations and a cheering anthem for the younger generation."

"The script made me laugh through my tears. It warmed my heart, yet brought tears to my eyes. I created it with the hope that the walls between generations and genders would crumble," he said.

His directing principle is to consult with the writer from casting to postproduction and music.

"The writer has their own sense of the story and I try to realize that well. The biggest directing focus was to capture the essence of characters that are human. So, I wanted to create an environment where good actors could perform comfortably, without their emotions being interrupted," he said. "Rather than chopping up scenes with too many cuts, I filmed smoothly, like flowing water."

Referencing the 1991 epic drama "Years of Upheaval," also known as "Eyes of Dawn" in Korean, Kim highlighted the challenges of crafting stories that span extensive periods.

"Producing such expansive narratives today is uncommon because they require significant financial resources and a highly skilled team," he said. "Accurately depicting different eras is crucial for the authenticity of the drama and to achieve this, our top art directors, cinematographers and other technical staff have put in much effort, stitch by stitch."

The high budget enabled meticulous filming techniques, the construction of sets of different time periods from the 1960s to the present, and the use of advanced visual effects to enhance realism.

The setting of Jeju Island plays a crucial role as well.

"This is a place where you want to go to the mainland but can't easily leave. Life within that setting doesn't hold much hope for them. Jeju's unique beauty could amplify their pain," the director said. "The rough stones, the strong winds and the existence of 'haenyeo' (female divers) are all important elements in the drama. I think Jeju was the optimal choice."

While IU and Park Bo-gum play the young couple Ae-soon and Gwan-sik, veteran actors Moon So-ri and Park Hae-joon portray the characters' older versions.

IU, who is returning to the small screen after a six-year hiatus, described her character as "a girl with many tears, laughter, a lot of rebelliousness and many dreams. Although she has nothing, her heart is always full."

Moon So-ri introduced her character, the middle-aged Ae-soon, as "a mother who sells squid at a stall, still carrying the rebellious spirit of her youth and who still laughs a lot and cries a lot. She is a person who lives with her dreams always cherished."

As the two play the same character, Moon said she was very conscious of the continuity.

"To match our speech patterns, we even exchanged each other's lines. And IU has a very small mole on her face and it felt like her signature, so while getting my makeup done, I put on a mole and thought, 'I am IU,'" Moon said.

IU and Park Bo-gum are the same age and have known each other since their teens, but this is their first time starring in a drama together. IU said she felt comfortable from the very first shoot, just like their characters, Ae-soon and Gwan-sik, who have had a close bond since childhood.

"We first met while shooting an advertisement in our teens, briefly met again in our 20s for a special appearance in 'The Producers' and now we've met again in our 30s. It's fascinating that we're same-aged friends and we're acting together as we get older," Park Bo-gum said.

"Our English title is 'When Life Gives You Tangerines.' It's a drama about making warm tangerine tea from even the sourest tangerines life throws at you. I hope you'll take the time to watch our drama with a calm and peaceful heart," IU said.

Netflix will release the first four episodes of the 16-part drama on Friday. After that, four new episodes will be released every Friday, with the final batch dropping March 28.