When Life Gives You Tangerines: 5 Moments Chung-seop and Geum-myeong's relationship mirrored Gwan-sik and Ae-sun's

The K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines premiered on March 7, 2025, and showed us how Ae-sun (IU) and Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum) navigated their lives through different times, resembling each season in a year. Their family went through some happy times, just like how nature thrives during summer and spring, or goes through a tragic loss as the rain and storm tend to take away with them.

However, one thing remained the same during all the seasons and challenges they faced: Gwan-sik and Ae-sun’s love for each other. Their love was so inspiring that when their daughter, Geum-myeong, fell in love for the first time, she found Yeong-bum (Lee Jun-young), a man similar to the young love-crazed Gwan-sik, thinking that might be it. Just like her parents, Geum-myeong might end up with her first love.

However, that didn’t happen, and Geum-myeong, brokenhearted, had to let go of her first love. After losing the love of her life and later her job due to the recession, Chung-seop (Kim Seon-ho), the aspiring artist, came running into her life, and surprisingly, was more similar to what Gwan-sik became later in life, a kind and thoughtful man. There were many similarities between how Chung-seop treated Geum-myeong and how Gwan-sik treated Ae-sun, and hence Geum-myeong finally found someone similar to her father.

Here’s a look at 5 moments where Chung-seop and Geum-myeong's relationship mirrored Gwan-sik and Ae-sun's in When Life Gives You Tangerines.

Disclaimer: The article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.

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When Life Gives You Tangerines: 5 Moments Chung-seop and Geum-myeong's relationship mirrored Gwan-sik and Ae-sun's

5) Food sharing

Chung-seop, from the beginning, showed how caring he was toward Geum-myeong. For instance, he got her a part-time job in the theatre where he worked. From the painting that he made of Geum-myeong to comparing her to a Christmas tree that shines bright, no matter what, Chung-seop’s love for Geum-myeong was visible from the beginning.

However, when they first went to eat together, as friends, Chung-seop’s taking care of her by pushing the side dishes toward her while she was busy talking reminded me of how Gwan-sik used to share food with Ae-sun. Whether to cheer her up with fried chicken or bring fish for her from his family table, Gwan-sik had been doing it since he was young.

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4) Carried her on his back

While Yeong-bum was Geum-myeong’s first love in When Life Gives You Tangerines, Chung-seop was what happens when the right person turns up at the right time. In an emotional scene, Ae-sun discovers her daughter unconscious due to carbon monoxide, and Chung-seop, without thinking twice, carries her on his back so that she can reach the hospital in time.

The scene reminded me of a vigilant Gwan-sik, who, just when he saw Ae-sun in any distress, was ready to help solve it.

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3) Gone to desperate (but funny) lengths to make her father like him

Chung-seop fit right into Geum-myeong’s family, but he was yet to know that when Geum-myeong asked him to impress her father (who was already impressed by him), and in his drunken state, he tried to show care for her father by asking him to peel shrimp for him. Although funny and a little embarrassing for Chung-seop, he did not want to let go of Geum-myeong and was ready to do anything, be it getting seasick or embarrassed in front of her family.

While Chung-seop easily impressed Geum-myeong’s parents, for Gwan-sik, it was difficult. He had to go through many challenges to be with Ae-sun and accepted all of them. The similarity between the men was how they were ready to do anything to be with the women they loved.

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2) Geum-myeong was Chung-seop’s priority

When Life Gives You Tangerines depicts many parallels between Chung-seop and Guem-myeong, and Gwan-sik and Ae-sun. For instance, following her when she was going to the bathroom, in the boat, or later near their restaurant, Chung-seop always accompanied her.

However, the most crucial scene where we get to see how important Geum-myeong is to him is when the nurse asks him to decide who to save if Geum-myeong has any complications during the delivery of their first child. Chung-seop, in an instant, replied that his wife is the priority; they should save her. This was another trait of Chung-seop similar to Gwan-sik, who, until the day he died, prioritised his wife, by making everything easier for her to help her spend her life alone, by fixing her window and shifting everything from the upper shelves of the cupboard to the lower ones.

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1) Ran after her bus (twice) to reconnect with her

While many subtle moments showed Chung-seop and Geum-myeong’s relationship was similar to Gwan-sik and Ae-sun’s in When Life Gives You Tangerines, these two moments are some of the iconic moments of the series.

To reconnect with Geum-myeong, Chun-seop ended up running behind her bus, not once, but twice, until he caught up to her. This scene resembled one of the most dramatic scenes in the show, as Gwan-sik swam across the ocean to come back to Ae-sun when they were young. Both men showed how they were not taking any chances and worked their way into the lives of their favorite women.

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Also Read: Is When Life Gives You Tangerines based on a true story? Inspiration behind the K-drama, explored