IU and Moon So-ri won hearts with their performance of When Life Gives You Tangerines Oh Ae-sun; and they don’t just shine as the stars of the show, but they also represent the legacy and diligence of women against all odds. These two actors have brought out the best of Ae-sun and gave us a glimpse of the wonderful woman hiding beneath the simplicities of life that we all find in our lives even today. She is someone who shines by herself through all the hurdles of life while happily shining light into the lives of others at all times.
When Life Gives You Tangerines (폭싹 속았수다) follows a rebellious girl with a dream and a boy ready to give his all to fulfil her wishes. A story of endless love, this show takes us to the 1950s. Directed by Kim Won-suk, the drama stars IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, Park Hae-joon, Kim Tae-yeon, Lee Chun-moo, and other cast members.
There is no doubt that this Kdrama has proven to be among the best series on Netflix recently with its unique perspective that relates to the hearts of many across generations. It doesn’t just target a specific age group but includes everyone, which in turn binds all kinds of audiences together for a wonderful experience. Among the many amazing aspects of this show are the characters, especially our beloved Oh Ae-sun. She beautifully stands for all the women out there: those who have pursued love wholeheartedly, those who have faced loss of many kinds, those who have given up on dreams, and those who pursued the same dreams later in life. She is someone whom we find in and around us at all times, so there is no way we are missing out on highlighting her wonderful character.
So, with this, let us take a look at some of our favourite Oh Ae-sun moments from this new Korean drama that has also made this show one of the top Korean dramas at the moment!
When Life Gives You Tangerines Oh Ae-sun Moments We Adore!
Oh Ae-sun’s Resilience
While we have all witnessed Ae-sun’s unbreakable resolve and resilience in the whole series, there is just something about Ae-sun in Volume 1 that we find hard to overlook. Be it crossing the mountain as a child to reach her mother or taking care of her siblings after her mother’s demise, she never fell in front of the worldly challenges in front of her and went ahead to fight her way through everything. Surely Gwan-sik’s support always made her fly into these challenges, but she never shied away from taking the first step through it all.
Yang Gwan-sik’s Whistle
We have to agree that seeing a heavily pregnant Ae-sun rush through the street to kick Bu Sang-gil was one of the most amusing yet satisfying scenes of the show. Adding to the fire of this scene was the wonderful edit where we see Ae-sun rushing to help Gwan-sik through all ages while screaming in a way that reminds Gwan-sik of a whistle. Gwan-sik later buying a whistle because of how much it reminds him of Ae-sun, which becomes the cherry on the cake. Putting aside the laughter, we have to say, Ae-sun not caring about anything else but saving her beloved Gwan-sik in moments of trouble really makes us fall in love with her all the more.
Forever Young
Through all the ages that Ae-sun passes by, we always get to see the young girl within her, no matter what she becomes to the world to see. This is something I absolutely adore about Ae-sun because even after going through the trials and tribulations of life, she is still able to keep the little girl within her alive. This is something that not everyone can do and seeing Ae-sun being able to achieve this seemingly easy but very difficult thing just makes me appreciate her character all the more.
Bringer of Change for Her Daughter
One of my favourite parts of Ae-sun is when she shows her love for Geum-myeong by bringing change within herself that reflects in her actions. She wishes for her daughter to have it all, stay on the right path and never succumb to anyone, and this is something she achieves through her consistent effort. Be it her actions of not cheating the vegetable vendors, letting her daughter go on the boat, or standing up to scoop the rice during Geum-myeong’s marriage meeting and announcing that she never let her daughter learn these things because she didn’t want her to do it. These actions may have seemed small or meant nothing, but it is because of these that Geum-myeong goes on to be the wonderful person that she later becomes.
Worrisome Mother
A beautiful side of motherly instincts is what this show brought to us through Ae-sun, and we begin to realise how true these can be. Ae-sun shows her strength when it comes to saving her children while her whole aura softens when they need her love. These changing vibes are stunningly brought out by the two actors who embrace Ae-sun in a way that we can feel her around us. The way these sides of Ae-sun are portrayed shows us how wonderful a mother Ae-sun becomes despite her doubts about it.
The One Who Loves Silently
Finally, I have to talk about Ae-sun’s love for Gwan-sik which was just as silent as his for her. From writing a poem for him titled M.F.L (My First Love) to giving up on him so that he can become an athlete, she never backed away from doing what was best for him. Though sometimes, her love for him would overflow to the point where she would even chase him and call out to him. But what broke my heart the most was her smile through the pain she was experiencing to fulfil Gwan-sik’s final wish and bid him an eternal farewell.
Ae-sun’s strength through all her loss really makes us appreciate her character all the more as she continues to carry the pain, longing, love, and the person in her heart throughout her life. She reminds me of the strength hidden behind the people I see every day in my life who are just like her- strong, resilient, and simple yet wonderful. This full of life character has to be one of my favourites and the actors who brought her life deserve lasting applause.
Which is your favorite Oh Ae-sun moment from the show? Let us know in the comments below!