IU and Park Bo Gum react to their ‘awkward’ kiss in Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines, reveal 13-year friendship

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The Reply 1988 actor believes that the time they’ve spent together over the years is what made them “feel at ease” with each other. “Especially now that time has passed, when I look back on it, I just think we had such a fun time on set—and I hope we get to work together again,” he said.

Also read: When Life Gives You Tangerines Review: Don’t skip IU & Park Bo Gum’s K-drama if you’re dealing with life’s sour moments

IU reveals how she reacted to Park Bo Gum’s casting

South Korean soloist IU, aka Lee Ji Eun, also opened up about her first reaction when she found out who would be starring alongside her. She admitted the first thought that crossed her mind was how someone as beautiful as Park Bo Gum could possibly play the character of Gwan Sik. “Is it okay for him to be that good-looking? Is it okay for Gwan Sik to look like that?” she quipped, adding, “Because if he were that good-looking, I’m sure everyone on the island would have a huge crush on him—and I don’t think he’d be able to stay there for long!”

Park Bo Gum and IU react to their first kiss in When Life Gives You Tangerines

In the very first episode, while there was plenty to discuss about the story, characters, and acting, what truly captivated viewers was Ae Sun and Gwan Sik’s first kiss in that grassy field. “The scene kept trending on Twitter for days. It wasn’t the dreamy K-drama kiss either. It was sweet, awkward, and full of “wait, is this really happening?” kind of emotions as the two confessed their feelings and tried to figure out what came next.

Speaking about that moment, IU recently opened up about how the scene came together. Netflix even dropped a behind-the-scenes clip a few days ago. “That particular scene was written down to every little detail in the script,” IU shared. “There was even a line that said, ‘You see a fist that trembles.’ So we really tried to stay as loyal to what was written as possible.”

Park Bo Gum also recalled how his character ended up kissing IU’s upper lip and revealed that the script actually carried such tiny details, so they just stuck to it as it was.  Later, Bo Gum couldn’t help but gush over IU’s teenage look in the show. He said, “IU just looks so good with her short-cut hair, that bob you see in the series. I think I speak for any guy out there—if you saw Ae-sun, your heart would flutter too. You’d feel that kind of excitement.”

When Life Gives You Tangerines follows childhood sweethearts-turned-struggling parents, Oh Ae Sun (played by IU) and Gwan-sik (played by Park Bo Gum). Together, they face life’s ups and downs, always managing to smile through the struggles while having each other’s back.