Learning Korean - Blog Posts
When Life Gives You Tangerines
*Spoiler alert*
I just recently finished watching this Kdrama series When Life Gives You Tangerines starring Oh Ae-sun played by IU and Yang Gwan Sik played by Park Bo-gum and guess what, it did not disappoint at all. People were talking about this drama and how different people can relate to it. Some say that every episode made them cry and personally they were all right. Episode one made me continue to watch more episodes. Never a dull moment in this drama. Up until the end my eyes were pouring hard (dehydration calling).
One of my favorite features of this drama is that it speaks of history in Jeju. It represents culture and family. The representation of tangerines, the haeneyo is a plus for me. It showed a multigeneration of people from year 1960s onwards. I love movies with a vintage vibe and a twist feature of the present generation. I was also amazed that this series was based on a true story according to a post I saw. The story of Ae-sun and Gwan Sik are stories worth sharing to the world.
I would like to commend IU for playing different characters from different generations. We could really see the difference in all the characters she played from being the young Ae-sun to being Geum-Myeong. The life of Ae-sun was not easy, especially during her childhood. Being a poor girl in those times was difficult despite being a brilliant child. No matter how hard she tried to elevate her life, circumstances were too difficult. Women nowadays are lucky as they can take on leadership roles and hold positions in the government. They can be whoever they want to be. I hope women will continue to excel and be empowered.
I also love the fact that Ae-sun writes poems all throughout the series. I can relate to how Ae-sun writes poems and her love for words. I am in the same boat. I love writing poems. This series made me want to write more poems again. Maybe I will write again.
But to tell you honestly, my favorite scene of IU in this series was when she saw her child Dong Myeong die during the storm. You can really see that IU felt her character. As if it was really her child that died. Plus, the oceans and sky poured hard adding the ambiance. When it comes to the character of Gwan Sik played by Park Bo-gum, my favorite scene was when he jumped in the ocean to go back to Ae-sun. It was raining hard, and he swam the ocean just to go back to Ae-sun, that scene was truly iconic, and upon knowing that Park Bo-gum did it without a double. Salute.
The character of Gwan Sik portrays the modern-day walking "Green Forest" hahaha. This is a real man you all. His commitment to his family and wife is on point. He is the very example of the Filipino term haligi ng tahanan. They both are destined to be together.
People might also be torn between the two love interests of Geum Myeong. The first love and the last love. In the beginning, I thought she would be marrying her first love Young Beom like her mother, but I was wrong. Not being with the person, you love is heartbreaking, but it would be more heartbreaking if you would not love yourself more. I remember what Geum Myeong said "I do love you deeply. But I love myself deeply, too. I cried together with Geum Myeong it was too painful to watch, especially during the wedding scene of Geum Myeong, people thought they would end up together, but he only saw her wearing her wedding gown, as he promised before. Even though they did not end up together, they both became a lesson for one another. As the saying goes, there will be people who will just pass by and leave you a life lesson.
I also noticed that there were scenes in the series depicting some iconic re-enactments. Similar to the Sixteen Candles movie, a couple thing is when a couple puts their hand in the pocket of their lover, Ae-sun usually does this with Gwan Sik. Also, a scene from The Titanic is when Geum Myeong was being drawn by Park Cheong Sob played by Kim Seon-ho. Jack did this with Rose with such nostalgia.
I was also happy for the fact that Kim Seon-ho is back. His character Park Chung Seob, was somewhat similar to Gwan Sik in how he truly cares for Geum Young and his child. You can truly fall in love with his character especially when he drew Geum Young's portrait all emotions are poured into it. The way he cared for Geum Myeong from afar was heartwarming. Their story was like destiny at play as they crossed paths after a long time. He even ran fast just to catch the bus where Geum Young was riding. In his mind, it was now or never. If you are meant to be together, you will find each other again.
Though their family life was not perfect and plenty of problems arose within the story line. But they never gave up on each other. Despite all the misunderstandings and differences among their family especially their children, in the end, they never turn their back on their family. Just similar to the Filipino culture of family. I understand why plenty of people from the story envy the family life of Ae-sun and Gwan Sik.
Another plot twist in the series was unexpected for me upon find out that the little girl with the Squirtle sticker was the reincarnation of her mother. There were hidden messages all throughout the series, but I did not notice it. I applaud the writer for adding those details in the scene from finding the ring of Ae-sun in the flower fields to being the editor of Ae-sun's book.
The scene of Ae-sun's grandmother having Alzheimer's disease and forgetting other members of her family except Ae-sun brought me back to the memory of my grandmother. I still miss her until now and I could still remember her from the last time I was with her. Memories with grandparents always makes me cry.
When the final episodes came out last week. These episodes made me cry more haha. My eyes were too heavy. I cannot stop crying for the last four episodes especially knowing that Gwan Sik got sick and died. I was like Ae-sun will be left all alone. In the final moments of Gwan Sik's life you can clearly see he lived a meaningful life. He devoted his life to his wife and children and even in the end he still made sure that Ae-sun would still be comfortable by stocking up all the hair clips he bought and then arranging the mugs, cups, and plates of where Ae-sun could reach it.
The love of Ae-sun and Gwan Sik reflects the Bible verse:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Nowadays it is difficult to find the love that Ae-sun and Gwan Sik shared. They set the bar higher. People should not settle for something less than they deserve. Just pray to find that love and who knows it may come when you least expect it.
I would rate this Kdrama 10/10, five stars. Another favorite of mine. Can you share some of your favorite scenes?
2023/10/12
Studying at the library before going to class. Next week we don’t have classes, which means more studying by myself. Also will be able to finish all the assignments! 🤓📖🖋️
P. S. Finished watching “Destined With You” - really loved this K-drama 💜💙
might start posting in korean....might not who knows [help i dont know if i should or not]
2025년 5월 6일 (화)
이 포스트를 쓰는 동안 벌써 5월이 된 걸 깨달았어요…. ㅋㅋㅋ 전 “뭐?”라고 생각했어요
아무튼… 지금 기차에서 이 포스트를 쓰고 있어요. 뭘 더 써야 할지 모르겠어요 ㅎㅎㅎ
좋은 날 보내세요
2025년 29일 4월 (화)
오늘은 우리 새로운 사무실 건물에 처음 가는 날이야~ 짱이야 :)
👋 hi language learner! yes, you! have a favor to ask of you :)
for my graduation, i’m researching ways that technology can enhance the language learning process through visual media (series, movies, but also news etc.). for this, i need to speak to learners (of any language, genuinely, no matter your rate of fluency or how long you’ve been studying for) to interview and possibly test my prototype a few times through a link i’ll share with you. it’s also perfectly okay if you haven’t had experience with tools that help you learn through shows and such, but instead have worked with other things such as duolingo.
anything we discuss can be entirely anonymous and can be done via chat here or discord or whatever you prefer, that’s up for discussion. i don’t need to record your voice, provide your real name or show your face, so typing is also fine.
i’d love to hear your input on your wishes for language learning programs and your experiences if you have any so i can design something we may be able to use in the future to learn, that’s hopefully an improvement upon currently existing methods.
as i’ve mentioned, the language you learn is unimportant to me as any feedback is great feedback; but as i need to pick a language to prototype with to keep the scope of my project doable for the period of my graduation (even though i’d *love* to do it for all languages right off the bat ☹️), korean and arabic learners are somewhat preferable as these are languages that i’m familiar with. please don’t let yourself be deterred by this if you’re learning any other language though!
on top of that; i’ll be taking accessibility into account, so if you’re able to give me input on that front, i’d be eternally thankful as well.
if you wanna help me out (thank you so much), please react with a ❤️ to this post or shoot me a message and i’ll get back to you soon. if not, i’d appreciate if you would spread around the message by reposting.
thank you for your attention!
UPDATE: oh my god, this got so much attention 🥺 thank you to those who shared and those who want to help me with this, it means the world. i will be reaching out in the near future :) if anyone else wants to join still feel free to react.
2025년 4월 4일 (금)
오늘은 제가 너무 피곤하고 머리가 아픈데도 중요한 일을 끝내야 해요… 근데 끝내면 쉴 수 있어요.
좋은 날 보내세요 여러분
2025년 4월 2일 (수)
많이 잤는데도 왜 아직도 이렇게 피곤할까요? 이게 무슨 일이에요 ㅜㅜ
아무튼… 여러분 잘 잤기를 바래요.
전 오늘 할 일이 많아요 :‘)
최근 기쁜 날들에 감사해요 그리고 여러분에게 기쁜 날들이 오기를 바라요 ♡
와ㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏ 오늘은 진짜 기쁜 날이에요 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ ) 진짜 좋은 소식을 들었어요. 그걸 공유할 수는 없지만 어쨌든 그 일에 대해 쓰고 싶었어요. 제 게시물은 요즘 더 장난스러워지고 있어요 ㅋㅋ 좋아요! 아마 더 자연스러워진 것 같아요.
2025년 4월 1일 (화)
와ㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏ 오늘은 진짜 기쁜 날이에요 ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ ) 진짜 좋은 소식을 들었어요. 그걸 공유할 수는 없지만 어쨌든 그 일에 대해 쓰고 싶었어요. 제 게시물은 요즘 더 장난스러워지고 있어요 ㅋㅋ 좋아요! 아마 더 자연스러워진 것 같아요.
2025년 3월 31일 (월)
안녕하세요! 오랜만이에요~ 보고 싶었어요? ㅋㅋ 농담이에요, 사실 2일밖에 안 됐어요.
좋은 소식이에요: 이제 더 이상 아프지 않아요. 그런데 너무 바빠서 활동을 못 했어요. 지금부터는 더 열심히 활동하려고 해요~~
아무튼 오늘은 친구 생일이라서 한국과 일본 무한리필 식당에 가서 먹을 거예요. 기대되고 신나요~~~ 짱!
좋은 하루 보내세요~
2025년 3월 28일 (금)
여러분 ㅜㅜ 머리가 아파요…
오늘은 쉴 것 같아요 ㅜㅜ 솔직히 전 어쨌든 휴식이 필요했어요.
아무튼, 이건 오늘의 기분에 맞는 노래예요 ㅎㅎㅎ
*side note: i debated saying 아무튼, 여기 오늘의 기분에 맞는 노래 있어요~" to emphasise ‘/here is/ a fitting song for today’s feeling’ but idk if that’s very natural to say in korean…? if anyone knows and feels like sharing i’d be thankful~ :)
2025년 3월 27일 (목)
안녕하세요~
오늘은 정말 아름다운 날이에요~ 해가 환하게 빛나용 :) 오늘은 여러분을 위한 행복한 날이 되기 바라요.
2시에 중요한 일이 있어요… 행운을 빌어주세요!! <3
2025년 3월 26일 (수)
안녕하세요 :) 잘 잤어요?
내 한국어 학습 여행의 시작부터 가끔 이 캡처 속의 이야기 한 편을 열심히 읽으려고 노력했어요. 오늘까지 읽을 수 없었어요..!!
작은 승리일 수도 있는데, 정말로 행복해용~ 내 한국어 실력이 성장하는 걸 볼 수 있어요.
좋은 하루 보내세용~ ♡
2025년 3월 24일 (월)
안녕하세요 :) 오늘 하루 어땠어요?
디벨로퍼가 되고 싶어서 Vue를 배우고 있어요. 이건 정말 재미있는 프레임워크예요. 잘할 수 있기를 희망해요.
너도 배우고 싶은 게 있어요?
연습할 사람이 없어서 한국어 배우는 게 ㅈㅉ 어려워요 :‘) 어떡해요…. 한국어로 블로깅을 해야 할까요…?