Jeju Native Female Idol Points Out A Glaring Mistake In IU’s “When Life Gives You Tangerines”
Netflix‘s When Life Gives You Tangerines is easily one of the top-tier K-Dramas released in 2025. Despite its slow pace and complex storytelling, it has attracted very high global viewership, winning high praise from audiences. Though the series was released in March, it continues to enjoy sustained popularity, showing potential to become a cult classic in the near future.
One of the central aspects of the K-Drama is its setting— Jeju Island. The story essentially revolves around the culture, customs, struggles, and joys of life in Jeju, and against this backdrop, its central characters experience heartbreak and growth.
While the series was highly commended for its portrayal of Jeju Island and its people, a Jeju-native female idol recently criticized the show for failing to deliver in one undeniable aspect.
The idol in question is Soyou, a member of the iconic second-generation girl group, SISTAR.
Soyou recently appeared as a guest on singer Sung Si Kyung‘s YouTube channel. While talking about her hometown, she was asked about her opinion on When Life Gives You Tangerines. The idol, who was born in Jeju and moved to Seoul at the age of 8, responded honestly, saying that she was “a little disappointed” with the show.
Her answer was so unexpected that Sung Si Kyung joked, “Let’s edit that out.” However, there was a lingering awkwardness in the air as it became clear Soyou was genuine about her criticism.
The idol, however, immediately clarified, saying that she wasn’t disappointed with the quality of When Life Gives You Tangerines as a K-Drama. Her only complaint was the lack of Jeju dialect in it. She pointed out that Our Blues, another sentimental K-Drama based in Jeju, had incorporated a significant amount of Jeju dialect. When it aired, she realized that people didn’t understand that dialect very well. Hence, she was happy to interpret the lines for other people around her. However, with When Life Gives You Tangerines, she didn’t get any such opportunity to contribute.
It’s not that I was disappointed in the quality of When Life Gives You Tangerines as a project. I enjoyed it. But there wasn’t as much Jeju dialect as I expected, so as someone from Jeju, I didn’t feel there was much I could uniquely contribute.
— Soyou
While things could have gone wrong for anyone after putting forth criticism of such a widely-loved work of art, Soyou’s candid and graceful attitude was met with a positive reception, with some netizens even agreeing that the show could have benefited from incorporating the Jeju dialect a bit more into its storytelling.
