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The Netflix Original drama ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ starring IU and Park Bo-gum has achieved a milestone of being the highest rated Korean drama on IMDb with a rating of 9.3 out of 10. This is an achievement that beats other highly rated international shows such as Squid Game and The Glory.
Released on March 7, 2025, the 16 episode drama captured viewers with its moving story against the scenic background of Jeju Island. The narrative follows the long standing romance between Ae-sun, played by IU and Gwan-sik, played by Park Bo-gum from the 1960s to the current time. The series explores their common struggles and victories that enable viewers with a touching experience of love and resilience.
When it came out, the series rapidly ascended Netflix’s worldwide non-English chart, premiering at No. 4 with 3.6 million views and taking the number one spot in nations such as Indonesia, Hong Kong and South Korea. Its popularity continued to grow, making its IMDb rating to skyrocket from 8.7 to 9.3 after the finale. Significantly, the series finale had a near perfect rating of 9.9 highlighting the series popularity.
The success of the drama is also evident in Netflix Korea’s viewership data. IGAWorks Mobile Index reported that the platform had 14.09 million active users in March 2024 with a daily high of 4.05 million active users on March 29 the day after the finale of the series. This is the highest single day viewership since Squid Game Season 2 was broadcast in December 2023.
Directed by Kim Won-suk and written by Lim Sang-choon, the show had a big production budget of around $41.5 million, making it one of the most costly K-dramas to have been produced so far. This can be seen in the production values which are high with intricate set designs and realistic period attire and these helped to make the show feel immersive.
