For Every Dad With A Heart of Steel: Why When Life Gives You Tangerines Is The Perfect K-Drama To Watch This Father’s Day

In different phases of life, be it the first day at school, the first day of college, or walking her down the aisle, Yang Gwan-sik always told his daughter Geum-myeong, "If something goes wrong, if you can't do it, if it's too much or if you don't like it, just back down and run straight to me. Just run out, I will be waiting right here. Okay?" That’s how our fathers are - strong, silent, but with a heart of steel. Sometimes, just glancing back at their child while heading off to work is enough to bring a wide smile to their faces.

When we started watching When Life Gives You Tangerines, it seemed like a gentle, picturesque K-drama starring IU and Park Bo-gum. But slowly, it turned into something deeper, a mirror to our inner lives. It's not just a love story between Ae-soon and Gwan-sik, but also talks about the long, often complicated bond between parents and their children. Especially fathers and daughters.

On Father’s Day, that feels especially poignant.

Spanning from Jeju in the 1960s to Seoul in the 2020s, the drama unfolds slowly, like life itself. But through every timeline, what remains steady is Gwan-sik’s quiet, protective love for his daughter. No grand gestures, no loud declarations, just presence.

It’s the kind of fatherhood we rarely see on screen. And it hits home. That honest, deeply personal kind of love, where affection shows up in the smallest ways: packing tangerines, reheating leftovers, or simply waiting outside without asking why.

Geum-myeong, like many of us, isn’t always kind to her parents. She snaps, distances herself and buries guilt in sarcasm. But the beauty of her story lies in how she slowly begins to understand the weight of her parents' sacrifices. Her father, especially, never gives up on being her safe space, even when she doesn’t realise she needs one.

One of the most heartbreakingly beautiful arcs is when she returns home after ending an engagement that left her feeling diminished. And there he is, her father. No questions, no judgment. Just warm rice, quiet company, and a presence that pulls her back from the edge. He even wakes her up at 5 a.m. just to get her out of bed, not knowing the clinical terms for depression, but understanding enough to not let her sink further.

This Father’s Day, When Life Gives You Tangerines reminds us of something simple but profound: Not all heroes wear capes. Some drive you to school every day. Some wait up until you're safely home. Some say little, but mean everything.

And sometimes, the strongest thing a father can do… is simply wait, with arms open, no matter how far you’ve run.

Happy Father's Day to everyone! It's the right day to start watching this K-drama with your children.