Lessons from ‘When Life Gives you Tangerines’

I have been a K-drama “lover” since I retired. Watching dramas ( Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video) eases the stress, keeps your mind active, helps you spend your time productively, and most importantly, it also gives you a number of life lessons to live by.

“When life gives you tangerines” is considered as one of the best K-dramas of all time according to Maggie Adan. She adds that the series is a heartwarming story,  with compelling characters, stunning cinematography and powerful life lessons, which has captured the hearts of viewers worldwide. It’s a show that doesn’t just entertains but also enlightens making it truly unforgettable.

Here are 10 important lessons from the movie:

1. The community you surround yourself with is what will carry you through life. Orphaned at a young age, the people in Ae-sun’s village, took it upon themselves to raise her. The haenyo community (or “sea women” of Jeju Island in South Korea, are a unique community of female fee divers who have a rich history of harvesting seafood, with their culture recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) which Ae-sun’s mother was a part of when she was alive. They proved to be Ae-sun’s lifelong allies and guardians.
2. Find a man who is devoted to you. Find yourself a man who loves you as much as Gwan-sik loves Ae-sun. He set the gold standard, was known as “Steelheart,” and was the embodiment of devotion. Geum-yeong, their daughter summarized it: “I may be number one in my father’s heart, but my mother was always ‘number zero’.”
3. Know your worth. Geum-yeong’s first love, Park Yeong-boom, cared for her deeply. But when his mother kept on belittling her and her parents, she was compelled to call off their wedding. She told him: “I do love you deeply. But I love myself deeply, too.”
4. There is more to people than meets the eye. Bu Sang-gil’s redemption arc proves that people are complex and multifaceted. As portrayed in most of the drama, he was a philandering husband and a neglectful father, making it difficult to sympathise with him. But in the final volumes of Tangerines, the audience learns that despite his many failings, he had moments of redemption, revealing that even the most flawed individuals have the capacity for growth and change.
5. You reap what you sow. You never know when and how, but the universe keeps score and always pays back the kindness you give others. Two instances are cited to illustrate this lesson: a) When Ae-sun and Gwan-sik warned a young woman about the motel owner’s schemes, they did so because it was the right thing to do. Many years later, the woman, now much older, repaid their kindness by protecting Ae-sun and Gwan-sik’s daughter when she was falsely accused of theft; b) In another instance, a celebrity rescues Ae-sun and Gwan-sik’s restaurant from closure to pay back the kindness Gwan-sik showed her years before, when he hid her from reporters and photographers during a vulnerable time in her life.  (Maggie Adan. 5 Life Lessons from “When Life Gives You Tangerines. “ April 01, 2025 @ www.tatlerasia.com).
6. Sometimes you have no option but to surrender to your circumstances. At 17, Ae-sun’s mother died, leaving her with an incompetent stepfather and an indifferent family of her late father. She is forced to choose between the two. This is a reminder that life is not always rosy and that sometimes, survival means surrendering to your situation.
7. Nobody is responsible for you but yourself. Ae-sun’s stepfather promises to send her to school if she stays and helps raise his children. But his stepfather abandons her, forcing her to flee. This highlights a hard truth – in the end, only you are responsible for yourself and no one else.
8. For every Oh Ae-sun, there’s a Yang Gwan-sik. Just as Oh Ae-sun had a Gwan-sik by her side through every season of life, we all have that one person who stands by us through thick and thin. Thus, it is up to us to recognise and value them and never take them for granted.
9. The world is cruel and you should not let it defeat you. Gwan-sik and Ae-sun tried to runaway from Jeju Island to Busan where they were fooled and mugged on their first night. But they fought back, teaching us to stand for ourselves and not let the world dominate us.
10. Always listen to your heart. In an attempt to separate them, Gwan-sik’s mother tries to manipulate Ae-sun into leaving him, to no avail. This reminds us how crucial it is to filter out external noise and follow our hearts. ( Mudit Bhatragar. 5 Important Life Lessons from IU and Park Bo-gum’s When Life Gives You Tangerines. March 28, 2025).

Conclusion:  “When life gives you tangerines”  is a play on the saying —-“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” adapted to reflect Jeju Island’s  signature crop —tangerines, and the K-drama’s themes of resilience and making the most of difficult situations.

In many cultures, especially during Lunar New Year, Tangerines symbolize good luck, prosperity and abundance often given as gifts to wish well- being and success. Their vibrant color and round shape are also seen as mirroring coins and wealth.

Happy viewing for those who will watch “When Life Gives You Tangerines!”

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Author’s email: nptayko@gmail.com