Actress Moon So-ri (left) who plays middle-aged Ae-sun and actress IU who plays her daughter Geum-myeong in "Fully Believed." IU plays dual roles as young Aesoon and Geum-myeong in Netflix's original TV series “When Life Gives You Tangerines.” Courtesy of Netflix

Netflix's original TV series “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” which follows the lives of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, born in Jeju Island in the 1950s, ended with the 16th episode released on March 28. Viewers cried and laughed together at the story of the couple, who loved each other and made happiness at every moment even though they lived a curved life with the times.

The daughter of Gwang-rye (played by Yeom Hye-ran) and the mother of Geum-myeong (played by IU). Actress IU and Moon So-ri played the youth and middle age and the old age of Ae-sun who does not lose her girlishness by sharing the role. The two actresses, who met at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on April 2, said that acting in the TV series made them think about a “good life.”

Oh Ae-sun was a smart girl with big dreams. She lovably says, “I'm going to be the class president, the village head, and the president.” She won the most votes in the election for the class president, but when the teacher chooses a rich kid who brought bread to school to be the class president instead of Ae-sun, she cannot stand it and cries loudly.

Actress and singer IU plays Ae-sun from her teenage years to her 30s in the series. Just as stones are chiseled by the passage of time, Ae-sun's personality changes as she gets older. IU said she saw herself in the younger version of Ae-sun. “She doesn't like to lose and she's greedy, but she doesn't live her life just with greed. I thought, ‘I know how she feels.’”

Maybe that is why she enjoyed reading the first to fourth episodes of the script, which mainly feature younger Ae-sun. She said, “I was like, ‘I can't believe this script came to me,’” adding, “I read it all the way through and wanted to be a part of the work.”

Sharing the role of Ae-sun with actress Moon So-ri, IU had to play two roles, one as younger Ae-sun and one as Ae-sun's daughter, Geum-myeong. IU said she was worried about that but it was a script with many points she wanted to challenge. “If I was worried about 10 points, I would prepare for 20,” she said. She read the script with Moon, and asked other actors and production staff around her for their opinions to make the character right.

“When Life Gives You Tangerines” is a TV series that revolves around Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, but is narrated primarily by their daughter, Geum-myeong. Geum-myeong grows up with love and support from her parents who are not well off. With a great sense of responsibility as the eldest daughter, she often expresses her gratitude to her parents with "irritation."

“Geum myeong is a character with many blanks that are not shown in the play, but many of them were explained in the narration,” said IU. "Right after her behavior, her narration said, ‘Actually, I didn’t mean it,’ so I was able to follow the character along, thinking, ‘She is a character who regrets like this. I've been like her too.’”

IU, who played both characters, expressed her respect for Ae-sun's life. Ae-sun's life is full of ups and downs, including the loss of her parents in childhood and the sadness of losing her child. IU described Ae-sun as “a person who meets the shade passing by, but does not give in and ends up looking for the sun with her vitality and power."

Ae-sun, who said she would be the president later, settled down in Jeju and live as a wife of Gwan-sik and a mother of her children. Her dreams of becoming a poet have long been put aside. “Someone might say, ‘What has she accomplished?’ but when I look back on my life and say, ‘My life was like a book of poems, a treasure that I didn't waste a single page on,’ I think I've lived well.” IU said. “In that sense, Ae-sun had a really successful life.”

The stories of the women in the series have also influenced singer IU. It was thanks to the series that her song “Shh..,” a tribute to her mother and other women who have influenced her, took shape. “The series had a big influence on me to turn a theme that was only in my mind into music,” she said, adding that she wanted it to sound stronger than warm.

IU cited the message, "If you live, you will survive," as the main message of the series. In that sense, she said she liked the ending, which showed Ae-sun living life again even after Gwan-sik died of illness. "After experiencing all the sadness, Ae-sun raises her head again, straightens her back, sits in front of her desk and finishes writing poems. Then she brags to Gwan-sik, 'Honey, I've finished writing this.' It was good to show that she was doing well even after Gwan-sik left."

The title of Ae-sun's poetry collection published in her later years is “When Life Gives You Tangerines.” What kind of title IU would name if she published a poetry collection describing her 20s and 30s? After a moment of thinking, she came up with the title, "I'll Sharpen My Pencil Again.”

“I spent my entire 20s writing and thinking, and I feel like my pencil has gotten a little blunt in my 30s, which is fun, of course. But now that I'm in my mid-30s, I'd like to re-sharpen it,” IU said with her eyes shining like teenager Ae-sun who knows how to reveal her desires innocently and cleverly.