Directed by Kim Won-seok, When Life Gives You Tangerines has officially prevailed over all its fellow K-Dramas to become 2025’s best of the lot. Defeating this year’s popular releases like Squid Game Season 3 and Tempest, the show is at the top of TIME Magazine‘s 10 Best K-Dramas of 2025 list.

Other shows on the list are Way Back Love, One Unwritten Soul, Resident Playbook, Study Group, The Tale of Lady Ok, Spirit Fingers, and Trigger.

Talking about the drama, director Kim called it a “tribute to past generations of our fathers and mothers” and an “anthem of encouragement for the daughters and sons who will now navigate the world ahead.“

When Life Gives You Tangerines quickly became the talk of 2025 with its emotional storyline and relatable characters. Social media was full of clips from the show, bringing tears to the eyes of even those who didn’t watch a single episode.

Starring IU and Park Bo-gum, the show received a ton of praise for the performances, direction, and screenplay, becoming a must-watch around the globe and not just in South Korea. On Rotten Tomatoes, When Life Gives You Tangerines stands out with the highest possible score of 100%.

When Life Gives You Tangerines Beats Squid Game

Despite the hype surrounding Squid Game ever since its release, When Life Gives You Tangerines has emerged as the critics’ and audience’s top choice. The show has become the highest-rated K-Drama ever on IMDb, surpassing popular titles like Squid Game and The Glory.

For context, Squid Game and The Glory are rated a solid 8.0 and 8.2 out of ten, respectively. On the other hand, When Life Gives You Tangerines has scored 9.1/10.

Squid Game‘s best-rated episode, Kkanbu (S01Ep06), has a score of 9.2 on the platform. Meanwhile, When Life Gives You Tangerines‘s top-rated episode is Here’s to All You’ve Been Through (S01Ep16), with a score of 9.5.

According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, the show completed its four-week run at the No. 3 spot on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English shows list for the week of March 24. The Daily Star reported that the streaming platform witnessed a surge in viewership on March 29, the day after the final episode, reaching 4.05 million daily active users.

It received multiple accolades, including a complete sweep at the 2025 Asia Artist Awards with seven wins, and more.

Actress IU Gets Candid About Her Character

Park Bo-gum and IU in When Life Gives You Tangerines | Credits: Netflix

K-pop idol and actress IU, also known as Lee Ji-eun, opened up to TIME about her character on When Life Gives You Tangerines, stating that she could relate to her fiery spirit.

Talking about the things she finds in common with Oh Ae-sun, IU said, “The way [Ae-sun] has such a fiery spirit, the way she’s very competitive, the way she has a lot of dreams, and also her love of poems and literature. All of those things are what I share as my actual personality in real life.“

Despite the difficult task of playing such complex and emotional characters, the cast felt at ease with each other from the get-go. IU praised her co-star, Park Bo-gum, stating,

From the very first day of shooting, I felt very much at ease. And, after we shot together and worked on this drama series for about a year, what I felt was that, even more so than what I had already known about him: Bo-gum is someone who’s just a really great person.

If you haven’t watched the show just yet and are looking for a good tear-jerker with a bittersweet ending, this is the one for you. Let us know what you think about it in the comments section below.

Stream When Life Gives You Tangerines on Netflix.
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