If you’re a K-drama fan and you haven’t seen When Life Gives You Tangerines yet, then this is your sign. The IU and Park Bo Gum-led series is this season’s “It” drama. Not only is it currently number one on Netflix, but it’s also everywhere on our social media feeds as viewers continue to share their sentiments and reactions with each episode.
The Real Meaning Behind the Title of "When Life Gives You Tangerines"
A slice-of-life drama, it follows the tenacious Ae-sun and the devoted Gwan-sik as they traverse life together in the span of over 60 years. Where Ae-sun wants to escape her poor island life and become a poet, Gwan-sik wants nothing more than to stay by her side and help fulfill her dreams. What we get is a generational love story that extends to even show the lives of their future children.
As it’s set in Jeju, the show’s title takes from the Jeju dialect phrase "Pokssak Sogatsuda," which directly translates to "You've worked hard.” Instead of using the translated phrase for its English title though, Netflix opted to capture the show’s essence instead with a more familiar phrase that would easily resonate with its global audience.
We all know the age-old adage “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Taking from this, the drama’s title then became When Life Gives You Tangerines to convey it message of remaining positive and resilient in the face of adversity. An article by The Korea Times explains that “tangerines” was used instead of the original "lemons" in homage to the show’s shooting location, Jeju, and its abundance of tangerine farms.
In a press conference, IU further discussed the meaning behind the English title, sharing, "Even if life presents us with tart tangerines, let us transform them into sweet marmalade and savor a warm cup of tangerine tea.”
Other foreign translations for When Life Gives You Tangerines took the same route in order to evoke the show’s heart. In Thai, it’s titled Let's Smile Even on Days When Tangerines Aren't Sweet, while in Taiwan, you can find it under a Chinese idiom that, when translated and given the Jeju touch, results to Bitterness Ends, Tangerines Come.
You can stream When Life Gives You Tangerines on Netflix. Its fourth and final volume is slated to come out on March 28, 2025.
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