The song featured during the recap: Midnight Walk by d.ear. The song feels nostalgic and represents Ae-sun’s longing for the past.
The deeper themes of family, love, and survival that make this show feel unique compared to other historical K Dramas.
The emotional opening with an elderly Ae-sun reflecting on the word "eomma" (mom) and how it carries deep significance throughout her life.
The realistic and historical setting of Jeju Island, which makes this drama feel different from the more fantastical K Dramas we have covered before.
The contrast between the English title, When Life Gives You Tangerines, and the Korean title Pokssak Sogatsuda, which means "You’ve worked hard" in Jeju dialect.
The introduction of young Ae-sun and Gwan-sik and how their childhood relationship sets the foundation for the story.
The significance of Ae-sun’s mother, Gwang Rye, and her fierce independence as a haenyeo, a female diver of Jeju Island.
The rich cultural history of haenyeos, their role in Jeju's matriarchal society, and the challenges they face today due to environmental changes and declining numbers.
The economic and social struggles of Ae-sun, who is orphaned at a young age and left to raise her younger siblings, with only Gwan-sik standing steadfastly by her side.
The role of gender and social hierarchy in the drama, as Ae-sun is denied opportunities simply because she is a girl.
The heartbreaking yet powerful portrayal of Ae-sun's mother, played by Yeom Hye-ran, and her impact on Ae-sun's resilience.
The dynamic between Ae-sun and Gwan-sik—his unwavering devotion and her initial indifference, which mirrors her mother’s tough love.
The visual storytelling of the marketplace scenes, where Gwan-sik quietly supports Ae-sun while she remains oblivious to his sacrifices.
The grandmother’s disapproval of Ae-sun, believing that daughters inherit their mothers’ fate, and how this reflects traditional Korean beliefs.
The poetic meaning of the episode title, Spring in a Heartbeat, which speaks to the fleeting nature of youth and the rapid passage of time.
Next week, we will recap and analyze Episode 2 of When Life Gives You Tangerines and explore the fascinating topic of Korean drama writers—are most K Drama writers women, and can we tell their gender just by their names?
References
What a stunning first episode! I already brought out the tissue. I had a feeling this series would rank high among my favorite K-dramas, and this premiere only confirmed it. Directed by the Kim Won Suk of Misaeng, My Mister, Signal, Arthdal Chronicles Season 1, and Sungkyunkwan Scandal and written by Im Sang Choon, the brilliant mind behind Fight for My Way and When the Camellia Blooms, both known for their heartfelt storytelling.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of When the Camellia Blooms, When Life Gives You Tangerines brings us a reunion of Yum Hye Ran and Oh Jung Se, who previously played a married couple. What a treat to see them together again!
Sunghee and Joanna, this deep dive is exactly what I needed! I want to catch every detail, understand the storyline fully, and make sure I don’t miss a thing.
Irma, thank you for your comments! And oh my goodness, how could we miss that reunion between Oh Jung Se and Yeom Hye Ran? Thanks for that reminder. We are loving the show as well. I just know it's going to be one of my all time favorites!
DeleteIrma, I couldn't agree more. This show broke your heart in the first 15 minutes and kept going!
DeleteI agree with you all! What a treasure of a story! The characters, brought to life by such incredible actors, are so heartfelt. I'm loving from the start. And I agree with Malcolm, this story is breaking my heart
DeleteI don't think I have something susbtantial to add to what you Ladies have said.
ReplyDeleteI will just say that it was very satsfying that the high expectations were met. A truly great first episode. Yeom Hye Ran was superb!
I haven't watched past E01, because I was watching "The Red Sleeve" and also wanted to attempt watching one episode a week to stay in tandem with the podcast.
But, after finishing "The Red Sleeve" I am finding it very difficult to just hop to another drama. While I might not think the series was perfect, it is very memorable and emotionally impactful. Even the OST made an impression on me (that is a rarity), and I have been listening to some songs several times.
And, no matter what people might say about E17. For me, this was a very good episode, and elevated the whole drama.
The whole cast is amazing, but the leads were just breathtaking together. Everytime they were together on screen you couldn't take your eyes of them. And, I don't mean that in a romantic sense. They just play very well off each other no matter what the situation is.
If it had done just few things differently it would have been a strong contender for a top 10 spot. Unfortunately, some of my issues are very important to me.
Hopefully by next Friday I would have started to move on and catch up on WLGT.
Seven Seas, thanks for this! Yes, Yeom Hye Ran is superb, absolutely wonderful acting!
DeleteAs for Red Sleeve, the two leads are mesmerizing aren't they? I've seen the show several times and have rewatched pivotal scenes dozens of times. When I watched episode 17 the second time, it had even more meaning for me. And to think that the show is based on a true story! I agree that it's hard to move on from Red Sleeve!
I want to raise a topic here, because Netflix offers the choice of dubbed English or Korean with English subtitles. With this drama, I tried both and went back to the subtitles, as usual for me. I like to hear the actor’s voices. Thoughts everybody? Some of my friends don’t watch Kdramas because of subtitle struggles, so I’m glad they’re doing it.
ReplyDeleteJoanna, so happy to think of your meeting in Japan on March 28, which happens to be my birthday! I’ll be thinking of you guys and the cherry blossoms!
Also to Joanna, I first heard the Korean duo Melomance on the Mr. Sunshine OST, then again in Business Proposal, and was so impressed. Their biggest hit is not on an OST, called Gift. Check it out on YouTube, they have a live outdoor performance next to the river on a beautiful day.
https://youtu.be/uQrLhRwaajA?si=38YzEtU7QhDPRVAi
I absolutely love this show so far. Your comment on the older actress playing the mother, reflecting her hard life is apropos, with the smoking an aging factor as well.
Looking forward to everyone’s comments
Also, Melomance writes this song, and you can just see that in the emotional performance
DeleteMost of what I watch nowdays is non-English Language. I watch not only Korean, but from all over the world. And I always do that in the original language. I have just got used to subtitles.
DeleteEven Anime, I prefer to listen in Japanese. But, English dub is not as bad as live TV.
Dubbing Korean series are extra difficult in my opinion. The languages are vastly different. The cultures are different, and even the way of acting is different.
But, I suppose if it makes some people watch, then I suppose that is good. Mind you I also worry that it could put people off.
I just want to end with Bong Joon-ho quote: "Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films."
Ooh I've always liked every song I hear from Melomance, from Because This Is My First Life, Business Proposal.
DeleteI NEVER watched dubbed. So much of the acting is from the voice. And yes, there are great dubbing actors, but it's just not the same. Also, certain sounds, like the clucking that Ae sun makes when she's scornful of Gwang sin doesn't translate well, so the dubbing is just off! Subtitles all the way! It's good for the brain anyway! Love the quote from Bong Joon-ho! Thank you!
DeleteAnd yes, I love Melamance. The song from Business Proposal is sweet, but the song from Mr. Sunshine is amazing!
And Ellen, Happy Birthday in advance!
I feel the same way about people who watch K Dramas dubbed as I do about people who like pineapple on their pizza - no respect! But, seriously, if that's what it takes for people to get into K Dramas I am fine with it. But I think we all realize that you miss a lot when you see it dubbed.
DeleteI agree that it must be more difficult to translate from Korean to English than say other "western"" languages. I don't speak Korean but even I notice when some of the translations are more a summary of what a character says than a direct translation. I find that Viki is a little better than Netflix in more directly translating - if that makes sense. I sometimes wish there was an option for a more word translation of a drama. I know that is almost impossible to do because the grammar and sentence structure is so different, but it would certainly help me better understand how Koreans actually speak.
I completely agree with you all on the matter of dubbing vs original language. Seven Seas and Malcolm have a point that if dubbing is the only way to get people to try Kdramas, then maybe it's a necessary evil. But I would hope that once they are introduced to this rich wonderful world, they will move on to watch and listen in the original language. Korean is so different from English in it's cadence and intonation. When I hear the dubbed version, it sounds so flat to me.
DeleteI agree that Viki seems to do a more specific translation than Netflix. When we covered Mr Queen in Season 5 of the podcast, I always watched the Viki version. One thing about listening to the original while reading the translated subtitles is that since the sentence structure in Korean is often the opposite of English, what you read in the subtitles is often flipped from what you're hearing, which gets very confusing if you're trying to understand the language but also reading the subtitles.
Happy birthday Ellen!
Daebak! What else can I say about this show!
ReplyDeleteI can tell that Joanna is putting on a brave face because this show has no demons, or zombies, or spirts, or reincarnation, etc. But fear not Joanna, there is time travel! Because I was unable to just watch just one episode and have watched all the available episode and I am here from the future to tell you that this show is amazing! I promise that is my only “spoiler!”
Where to start…. For one, the production values as you pointed out is amazing. The recreation of 1960s Jeju Island is fantastic. And the acting in this first episode is outstanding. I could watch an entire series set in these early days. Yeom Hye-ran is soooo good as Ae-sun’s mom. And the child actors are equally as good. Although I am shocked that they didn’t have IU play herself as all ages! LOL.
I think you made a great point about having a significantly older actress play the mother to illustrate how tough her life was on her. But can you think of any current 29-year-old Korean actress that could pull that off?! I mean IU is 31!!!
Loved this discussion about the haenyeos. I have seen them featured in at least three K dramas and there is often a common plot issue with one of the haenyeos (usually a main character) character being too independent from the group. While the haenyeos are independent as a group, they are highly protective of each other and if one of their members is not following the group it causes a real rift. You saw this a bit in Welcome to Sam Dal-ri, and even more so in Our Blues. It’s no surprise that their numbers are dwindling in this modern age. The work seems impossibly hard and not particularly lucrative. I think haenyeos are one of those professions that Koreans idolize but have no interest in actually doing. Sort of like we might think of coal miners or steel workers or cowboys.
I agree with Sung-Hee that we are not going to see K drama elements in the same way in this series. Obviously, you’re going to have food and alcohol and some of your very broad general K drama elements, but it don’t think you’re are going to see some of the more stereotypical elements. For example, I don’t hink there was any product placement in this episode, including the radio. When I think of K Drama product placement, it is usually so obvious and almost out of place, like chaebol CEOs always eating at Subway or the Koppiko “pick me up” moment! In other words, its got to be obvious that its been paid for.
Joanna, I’m curious what you think of Melo Movie. I watched it and I was sorta meh. I thought the actors were good, but I felt like the story just didn’t go anywhere.
As for what I’m watching….
The Potato Lab – Good actors – meh plot
My Dearest Nemesis – Good actors – totally unconvincing plot
Undercover High School – cuckoo bananas plot, but it somehow works….
Siren – Survive the Island – This is a reality show, but it is very compelling. Basically, teams of strong women from professions like Firefighters, Police, the Army, competing against each other. Not your typical reality show, but if you want to be impressed by some strong Korean women, I highly recommend it.
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Malcolm, we are so happy to be discussing this show! It's always a risk when we decide on a show we haven't watched. But oh boy, this is going to be a runaway winner!
DeleteI agree with you about dubbing. I never watched shows dubbed. For some reason, Netflix keeps wanting to give me the dubbed version of Tangerins and I have to keep flipping it back. Grrrrr... Voice is such a big part of acting, so of course I want to hear the original actors' voices. IU and Park Bo Gum have such distinctive voices!
I think this show will be full of K Drama elements; it already is! Let's see if we have a white truck of death. I'm sure there will be a piggyback ride! And we've already had product placements in episode 2!
I don't have much time this week to watch other shows but I will report back on Melo Movie. Thanks, as always, for the recommendations!
Malcolm, I have caught up with all released episodes as well. And it's wonderful! I only watch one episode a day. I feel this series is not for bingeing, each episode is meant to be enjoyed.
DeleteIrma, I agree. I wish they hadn't released four at a time. I don't have the willpower to watch one a week. Plus there are spoilers if you spend any time on the interwebs!
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