When Life Gives You Tangerines — news, coverage & facts — IJR

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IU and Park Bo-gum appeared in KBS1's Gayo Stage to promote the series. They performed a duet of "Mountain Boy's Love Story" while wearing the traditional high school uniforms of their characters. The idea to appear in the show came from Park Bo-gum, stating that it was a way to appeal to a wider generation of audience.

Netflix Korea generated additional revenue through intellectual property collaborations aimed at drama enthusiasts. A partnership with Yuhan-Kimberly resulted in the launch of a limited edition Kleenex Moisturizing Essence Lotion, with packaging featuring the drama; this product sold out during the pre-order phase. Collaboration with design studio Oimu produced stationery items, including notebooks, letter paper, and rapeseed bookmarks, which quickly sold out at the Inventario stationery fair. Official merchandise including keychains and plushies of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, was also released. The platform also partnered with a life insurance company to feature quotes in the series as the company's advertising material.

Netflix held the event "Well Done! Well Done! Geumeundong Village Feast" on March 30, 2025, at the Myeonghwa Live Hall. The event was attended by IU, Park Bo-gum, Park Hae-joon, Oh Min-ae, Jang Hye-jin, Kang You-seok, and Lee Soo-kyung. It featured an awards ceremony and a reading session, where the actors read the winning works selected by writer Lim Sang-choon from submissions to the When Life Gives You Tangerines 100-day event, held both online and offline. They also joined a panel discussion with the actors moderated by Movement CEO Jin Myeong-hyeon.

In February, Netflix organized an early screening of the series for nine grandmothers from Seonheul-ri, who then created paintings inspired by the story. The Social Museum is hosting an art exhibition titled "Pokssak Sogatsuda, Doldo, Eomeongdo, Halmangdo" from May 2 to June 29, 2025, at the Seonheulri Painting Workshop and Nonghyup Warehouse in Jeju. The exhibition showcases paintings by the nine grandmothers and their art teacher, Choi So-yeon. IU attended the exhibition in June.

Impact

Following its release in the first week of March, the series topped the Good Data Corporation's Top 10 TV-OTT Drama Topicality Ranking for seven consecutive weeks. During this period, IU ranked first in the buzz-worthy drama performer category. Park Bo-gum rank second for six consecutive weeks and third the following week. In the third week of March, Lee Jun-young was fourth, and Kim Seon-ho was tenth. In the fourth week, Kim Seon-ho ranked third, Lee Jun-young eighth, and Kang You-seok tenth.

In addition, the series ranked first in Gallup Korea's nationwide survey of favorite TV programs for March, April, and May 2025. It was Netflix's fifth series to rank first for three consecutive months. It was also the first drama to surpass a 10% preference rating since January 2013. Park Bo-gum was named Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year, with IU in second place; he became the first artist to top the poll for an OTT release.

According to the mobile big data platform Mobile Index, Netflix reported 14 million monthly active users (MAUs) in March 2025, reflecting an increase of over 640,000 from the previous month. This marked the first time Netflix's MAUs exceeded 14 million since January 2023, when the drama The Glory gained significant popularity. Following the initial public release of the series, Pan Entertainment's stock price rose by 22.12%. Ahead of the second release, the stock reached 3,930 won, surpassing its 52-week high.

The show had a major influence on popular culture, resulting in the creation of the term "Pokssak Sogatsuda Craze" (Korean: 폭싹 속았수다 열풍) shaping trends in furniture, fashion, food, and tourism. The mother-of-pearl chest treasured by Ae-sun in the drama prompted a trend of refurbishing similar chests on social media. The fashion styles of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik in the drama led to a resurgence of retro chic, also known as Grandmacore. Online shopping sites reported a spike in searches for these styles after the drama's release, with items like pearl hairpins, dot scarves, checkered ties, and floral shirts experiencing a notable increase in sales. A school lunch menu with dishes inspired by the series, such as barley and pea rice, squid, and croaker, gained popularity on social media. These dishes subsequently appeared in various cafeterias, including Hybe's cafeteria, further increasing online interest. Sales of sesame oil, perilla oil, soju brands, fried chicken brands, and snacks from the show have also experienced a significant boost.

The Jeju Tourism Organization observed a surge in interest in Jeju, the main setting of the series, prompting airlines to increase flights to Jeju during Golden Week. Major airlines like Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Jeju Air reported that all flights to Jeju on the first week of May were fully booked. In addition, after the success of the series, Jeju's local government and Netflix Korea signed the "Business Agreement for Activation of Jeju Culture and Tourism and Content" on May 16, 2025.

IU and Park Bo-gum's rendition of "Mountain Boy's Love Story" in Gayo Stage was praised, with the song becoming popular in streaming and social media as well as karaoke rooms. Park Bo-gum and Park Hae-joon's portrayals of Gwan-sik have been well received both domestically and internationally. Their depiction of a loving husband sparked a meme referred to as "Gwan-sik-ness," with the phrase "My Own Gwan-sik" trending on social media as users shared posts about partners and fathers exhibiting similar loving behaviors. Choi Dae-hoon's portrayal also led to the "Hak-ssi Craze," with the catchphrase "Hak-ssi" becoming well-known and earning him the nickname "Mr. Hak-ssi." Additionally, "Kim Seon-ho's smile challenge," in which netizens mimic his wink and smile from the drama became viral on social media globally.

The series' recognition led to unauthorized use of its images. A supermarket in Hebei, China, used images of the main characters from the drama in advertisements without permission, including scenes of Park Bo-gum as Gwan-sik selling cabbages and IU as Ae-sun holding a cup of pea rice. On June 2, 2025, shortly before the 2025 South Korean presidential election, candidate Kim Moon-soo posted a parody of the series on his social media replacing the faces of Park Bo-gum and IU with his and his wife's. Prior to this, he wore a red tracksuit similar to Gwan-sik's costume while campaigning in Jeju. Some viewers questioned whether Netflix had authorized the use and expressed concerns about politicizing the show. On June 3, Netflix stated that it was aware of the parody but had not approved it and was monitoring for further unauthorized uses.

When Life Gives You Tangerines

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