When Jeju Gives You Tangerines: Inside the Heritage of Korea’s Island Province

Photo: Netflix

I, like many other casual K-Drama viewers, found myself stumbling upon the newest addition to the Netflix K-Drama compendium When Life Gives You Tangerines, a sweeping, historical drama that follows the lives of Oh Aesun (played by IU) and Yang Gwangsik (played by Park Bogum) across the ups and downs (but, frankly speaking, mostly downs) of the latter half of twentieth-century Korea, particularly, twentieth-century Jeju. The characters’ struggles to chase their happiness and support their families, while heartwrenching to any viewer (I’d calculate my average tear-shedding at a rate of 10 tears every 15 minutes watched), were also distinctly South Korean, distinctly Jejuan even. 

As a cultural outsider, I felt like I was staring through a perfectly framed, distinctly Jeju-shaped window into a culture that, while not my own, was tinged with the histories, memories, and bonds of something familiar. And yet, the snatches of cultural references throughout the drama inevitably went over my head. 

For those of you like me, who are neither Korean nor Jeju-born, these four touchpoints of Jeju culture unpacked might shed some light on Jeju-do, an island steeped in thousands of years of culture, heritage, and identity.

1. Jeju Dialect and Language

When translated, When Life Gives You Tangerines refers to the English turn-of-phrase “when life gives you lemons.” However, the Korean title is instead called “폭싹 속았수다” (pokssang sogatsuda). Many non-Jeju Koreans might read this along the lines of “I have been deceived,” but to Jeju natives, the term means “You Have Done Well.”

Jeju dialect, or Jeju satoori, is a particular dialectical form of standard Korean language. Characterized by fewer levels of politeness than standard Korean, additional vowel sounds, and unique phrases, Jeju satoori is even more linguistically distinctive than its mainland counterparts.

Separate from Jeju satoori, which is a subsidiary/dialectical form of spoken Korean, Jejueo or Jejuan is considered by some linguists to be a fully separate language to modern-day Korean. Although critically endangered, with only about 5,000 native speakers as of 2014, efforts to preserve Jejueo are underway, with the Jeju Language Institute launching an online dictionary in 2024.

2. Why Tangerines?

Tangerine farming in Jeju dates back thousands of years. Becoming the island's main export in the mid-twentieth century, tangerines became a lifeline for Jeju farmers, many of whom had limited economic alternatives besides tangerine farming. Now, the Jeju citrus industry accounts for 90% of all Korean citrus, the economic backbone of the island. While Jeju also exports seafood, black pork, and other delicacies, the tangerine reigns supreme. If you ever pass through Incheon Airport, grab some tangerine chocolate at the gift shop; it’s delicious. 

What to do when life gives you tangerines? When it's all you’ve got, you turn around and make tangerine-ade. Whoever translated the title of such a profound cultural reference into an equally resounding English idiom is brilliant, for tangerines are truly emblematic of survival, resilience and prosperity in the story of Jeju.

3. Haenyeo: The Matriarchs of Jeju

In “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” the protagonist, Oh Aesun watches her mother succumb to lung disease after a lifetime of foraging for seafood from the ocean floor as a Haenyeo, one of the female divers of Jeju. Unlike most historical professions, the Haenyeo are a women-led profession, with many Jeju Haenyeo across the last three centuries (and potentially beyond) serving their families as matriarchs. The Haenyeo dive up to 20 meters in depth without oxygen tanks, gathering abalone, seaweed, sea urchin, and other sealife to sell and to feed their families. Named a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Haenyeo’s collective women’s groups, songs, and cultural structures continue amongst the approximately 3,200 Haenyeo still practicing today. 

4. Jeju’s History: More than a Holiday

Today, Jeju is best known as a paradisiacal tourist destination for domestic and international travelers alike. Yet, Jeju Island and its residents faced decades of discrimination, cultural homogenization, and, in the case of the Jeju Uprising or Jeju Massacre (known as the April 3 Incident to Koreans), which one would be remiss not to mention, extreme violence. Only formally acknowledged by the South Korean Government in 2003, the Jeju Uprising involved the killing of thousands of Jeju residents by the Korean and US governments from 1948 to 1949 in retaliation against political protests across the island. In addition to those killed in the violence, many Jeju residents also fled to Japan – further displacing the island and those carrying on its cultural heritage. Many historians credit this, in addition to the overall violence across twentieth century Korea, as the key factors behind the gradual disappearance of Jejueo and many cultural practices across the island.

Preserving Jeju’s culture and history is now a collective effort among scholars, community groups, cultural organizations, and individuals across the island. Institutions like the Jejueo Preservation Society and events like the MOMOJANG Artists’ Market each work to preserve and uplift pieces of Jeju culture in their own ways. If you ever find yourself in Jeju, perhaps stroll through an artisan market, or one of the many traditional markets across the island, visit the memorials of Jeju 4.3 Peace Park, or the Jeju Haenyeo Museum – and don’t forget to peel open a tangerine, if life chooses to give you one. 

Edited by Sandy Ou