Warning: Spoilers for When Life Gives You Tangerines ahead.
Fans are having two main reactions to Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines trailer. The first is that IU and Park Bo-gum make for an all-star line-up, understandably. With hit songs like “Blueming” and “Celebrity” and esteemed dramas like My Mister, IU has garnered a dedicated fan base. Similarly, Park’s performances in must-watch dramas like Reply 1988, Record of Youth, and more have made him a fan-favorite. The second is particularly devout K-drama watchers forewarning that this is going to be a tearjerker. (Spoiler alert: It is.)
Set in Jeju, South Korea, the drama follows Ae-sun, played by IU, and Gwan-sik, portrayed by Park, as they grapple with growing up, familial clashes, poverty, and life in general. Ae-sun fronts a strong-willed personality, promising her mother that she’ll beat all the odds to go to college and become a poet. Still, the adversities of life take their toll on her, and the only one who happens to catch her vulnerable moments — because he’s pretty much always physically and figuratively by her side — is Gwan-sik.
He, in turn, swaps his gentle nature for fierce determination to be there for her. Whereas he won’t fight back against his own bullies (and stares in awe as she does it for him instead), he’ll shamelessly tell off an adult to ensure she’s being treated right. Together, they throw their quaint island town for a loop again and again. For this drama full of laughs, tears, and everything in between, IU and Park pull out all the stops, sparing no detail.
Ahead of the premiere, Teen Vogue chatted with IU and Park about When Live Gives You Tangerines. Below, read all about what drew them to the drama, their reactions to the castings, preparations for their roles, and that relatable first kiss scene.
Teen Vogue: What was it about the drama or your characters that originally piqued your interest?
Park Bo-gum: For me, the first time that I read the script written by writer Lim, I thought instantly that all of the seasons that the two characters Gwan-sik and Ae-sun go through are so beautiful and so endearing and lovable. And I thought it was something that I just really wanted to be a part of. I also thought that this was the type of project where, after a long time passes by, it’s something that you can watch with your family and think to yourself, “I’m just so grateful that I was a part of something like this.”
IU: For me, I think I was drawn to the fact that it was a character I hadn’t ever showcased throughout my acting career before. And also the fact that I’d be working with director Kim Won-suk, writer Lim Sang-choon, and also of course my co-star Bo-gum. That was also yet another very important reason that I wanted to do this.
TV: While you both have a lot of experience, this story and these characters are nuanced, so is there anything specific that you did to prepare, like speech coaching or history lessons or cultural exchange?
IU: Well, actually the both of us, our characters don’t speak in the Jeju dialect in the series as much. However, I thought to myself that it’s going to be so much easier for us to go into character if we were used to what the Jeju dialect sounds like. So I attended a few Jeju dialect classes where the more senior actors in our show were taking lessons and I would just sit in to listen to that as well so that I can get used to it. If you watch our drama series, it really stretches over a long period of time from the 1960s to 2025. There’s a lot of different historical events and social trends that are a part of the script. So just reading the script itself actually naturally gave me almost a history lesson in that sense.
