IU and Park Bo-gum in a shoot for “When Life Gives You Tangerines.” Image: Netflix Korea
Before IU and Park Bo-gum portrayed a married couple in “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” they had quite the history of working together at some point in their careers.
They first met while doing a noodle advertisement in 2012, in which they played aspiring musicians. In 2015, they appeared in the variety show Hyori’s Homestay, and the actor made a brief appearance in the K-drama The Producers, which starred the “Palette” singer.
Coincidentally, IU and Bo-gum’s respective history dramas “Scarlet Heart: Moon Lovers Ryeo” and “Love in the Moonlight” went head-to-head in terms of ratings in South Korea.
Ten years later, they meet again in their 30s in “When Life Gives You Tangerines.” The drama takes place from the 1950s to the present day, with the love story of childhood friends-turned-married couple Oh Ae-sun and Yang Gwan-sik as one of its focal points.
“I was really touched by the fact that we’re now working together. We saw each other for the first time when we’re shooting a commercial when we were really young. We shared a brief moment together while working in our twenties,” Bo-gum said during the drama’s press conference in Seoul, reflecting on how their working relationship grew through the years.
“Now, we are in our thirties. The fact that we’re growing older together and getting a chance to work together as actors on the show that’s this amazing was so touching,” he continued.
In “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum) is devoted to Ae-sun (IU) since childhood. After getting together with the love of his life, Gwan-sik’s commitment will be tested after going through the ups and downs of marriage.
The drama then shifts to present-day Gwan-sik (Park Hae-joon) and Ae-sun (Moon So-ri) as devoted parents to their three children, particularly guiding their eldest daughter Geum-myeong (IU) through adulthood.
Bo-gum said being the same age as IU was meaningful to him as it allowed them to be more comfortable in portraying their respective characters. “You don’t easily meet a friend of the same age on set so it was so meaningful to me.”
“[IU] did such a beautiful job portraying the wide spectrum of emotions that Ae-sun goes through and really helped me to slip into my role,” he continued. “We had an amazing time together. While doing this campaign, we grew even closer. If we have the chance to work together in future [projects], that would be great.”
For her part, IU said having the same age as Bo-gum allowed them to have the “best chemistry.”
“We’re friends. We had known each other since our teenage days but it’s our first time officially working together on a series. Strangely enough, from our very first day of the shoot, I wasn’t nervous at all. I felt so comfortable around him [as] if we have been neighbors forever just like Ae-sun and Gwan-sik,” she said.
IU and Park Bo-gum during the media conference of “When Life Gives You Tangerines.” Image: Courtesy of Netflix Korea
The singer-actress also touched on their working relationship behind the scenes, saying she didn’t mind asking for Bo-gum’s opinion in every scene.
“I think I just relied on him a lot. This is not always the case for me, but I would ask him for his input and opinion for each take. We could freely exchange ideas. He was the best partner I could ever wish for,” she said.
Slice-of-life genre
Four episodes of the drama are released each week, shifting from the marriage of Ae-sun and Gwang-sik to Geum-myeong braving adulthood. According to director Kim Won-seok, it is meant for the public to take in the drama down to the “smallest details.”
“People love binge-watching these days. But we thought that 16 episodes were too long for everyone to binge-watch in one sitting. People tend to fast-forward or try to watch it at a faster speed. Taking that method will allow [the viewers] to enjoy this series to the fullest,” he said.
“If you try focusing on the series and watching it at its original tempo and pace, you’ll be able to take in the smallest details and emotions that this series captures more. Just like picking a sweet from a candy box, savoring it, and enjoying it one by one slowly. We thought that releasing these episodes would make the audience enjoy them,” he further explained.
“When Life Gives You Tangerines” is considered to be Bo-gum’s third foray into the slice-of-life genre. He captivated audiences with his portrayal of a professional baduk player in “Reply 1988” and a model-turned-actor in “Record of Youth.”
“Thanks to such a detailed script, I was able to really focus and immerse myself into the character,” Bo-gum said of Gwan-sik. To physically prepare, the actor had his hair trimmed into a buzzcut and gained weight. “I think the character grows internally a lot, so I tried to focus on portraying that.”
(From left) Park Hae-joon, Moon So-ri, IU and Park Bo-gum during the press conference of “When Life Gives You Tangerines.” Image: Courtesy of Netflix Korea
Another noteworthy point of the drama is IU opting to use her screen name instead of using her real name Lee Ji-eun. The reason for this change, according to IU, is for journalists to not have a hard time reintroducing her in their stories.
“I thought it might have been a nuisance for the journalists so sometimes, you would write Lee Ji-eun then IU in parenthesis,” she said. “I felt that I debuted as IU and everyone knows me as IU. It’s the same thing. It is my artistry — my acting and my music career, I’m going to continue using my name IU as the main name.”
Also part of the cast are Kim Yong-rim, Oh Min-ae, Na Moon-hee and Yeom Hye-ran, as well as guest stars Lee Soo-mi, Kim Jae-young, and Kim Seon-ho.