2025 • TMDB 8.8 • 1 season • 16 episodes • Drama • Netflix
Where to Watch
In the US, When Life Gives You Tangerines streams on Netflix, with 1 season. Availability checked against US listings on October 29, 2026.
Overview
When Life Gives You Tangerines follows Ae-sun and Gwan-sik from childhood on Jeju Island through a lifetime of love, loss and stubborn hope. Ae-sun is a spirited, poetry-loving girl determined to rise above poverty, while Gwan-sik is the quiet, steadfast boy who stands beside her through every setback. Across decades, the series traces their first love, their family, and the sacrifices parents make for their children, showing how small, everyday choices shape an entire life. Told with warmth and heartbreaking honesty, it moves between youthful dreams and middle age, letting the same characters grow, grieve and keep going. The island setting, the passing seasons and the rich supporting family all make the story feel intimate and epic at once. It is a deeply emotional drama about endurance: proof that love is not only found in grand moments, but in the people who stay, season after season, no matter what life takes away.
Creator and Main Cast
Created by Im Sang-choon and Kim Won-suk. The main cast includes:
- IU as Oh Ae-sun / Yang Geum-myeong (16 episodes)
- Park Bo-gum as Yang Gwan-sik (16 episodes)
- Moon So-ri as Oh Ae-sun (middle-aged) (16 episodes)
- Park Hae-joon as Yang Gwan-sik (middle-aged) (16 episodes)
- Baek Ji-won as Hong Kyung-ja (16 episodes)
- Lee Su-mi as Choi Yang-im (16 episodes)
- Yeom Hye-ran as Jeon Gwang-rye (13 episodes)
- Choi Dae-hoon as Bu Sang-gil (13 episodes)
- Oh Min-ae as Kwon Gye-ok (12 episodes)
Seasons Snapshot
- Season 1 — Limited Series (2025) — 16 episodes, premiered March 7, 2025, finale March 28, 2025
When Life Gives You Tangerines has 1 season and 16 episodes, and is listed as ended.
Why Watch When Life Gives You Tangerines?
- A sweeping, decades-spanning love story set on Jeju Island
- IU and Park Bo-gum lead a cast that follows the characters through a lifetime
- A moving look at family, sacrifice and the choices that shape a life
- Beautiful, emotional storytelling that earns its tears
- One complete 16-episode season, perfect for a weekend watch
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