When Life Gives You Tangerines Didn't Just Win Hearts — It Moved the Stock Market

When Life Gives You Tangerines has done more than win hearts — it’s moved markets.

On March 28, the Netflix original drama dropped its final act, wrapping up the sweeping four-part story with an unforgettable 1990s-style retro wedding between IU and Kim Seon-ho’s characters, Geum-myung and Choong-seob. But while fans were swooning over the emotional finale, investors were also taking notice.

Shares of the show’s production company, Fan Entertainment (KOSDAQ: 068050), surged over 12% that morning — even peaking at an 18% increase during the session. The reason? A perfect storm of global popularity, strong streaming performance, and unexpected praise from China’s state-run Global Times.

Globally, the show quickly climbed Netflix’s Top 10, ranking No. 1 in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia, and No. 8 worldwide. The buzz reached all the way to China, where the Global Times published a rare glowing review calling the drama “a new hit in Korean period storytelling,” and noting its impressive 9.4 rating on Douban — China’s premier user review platform.

The praise from Chinese state media has sparked speculation that China may be loosening its informal Hallyu ban, which has restricted Korean entertainment exports since 2016 — further fueling the stock rally and opening the door to even bigger international opportunities for Korean content creators.

From touching wedding vows to rising stock prices, When Life Gives You Tangerines proves it can hit audiences in the feels — and on the financial charts. As the curtain closes on this 16-episode epic, its impact is still echoing far beyond the screen.

The much-anticipated wedding bells are ringing in When Life Gives You Tangerines, as Kim Seon-ho and IU step into their characters’ next chapter as husband and wife. With the release of Act 4 on March 28, viewers finally get to witness the couple’s 1990s-style retro wedding — and it’s drawing major buzz.

In the final four episodes of the Netflix original drama, the spotlight turns to the older years of Ae-soon (Moon So-ri) and Gwan-sik (Park Hae-joon), but one of the most talked-about moments is the marriage between their daughter, Geum-myung (IU), and Choong-seob (Kim Seon-ho), the poster-painting artist and gentle soul who has quietly loved her from afar.

While their first encounter may not have been ideal, fate — as always in this epic love story — has its own plans. Fans are curious to see how Choong-seob, a character marked by quiet devotion, transforms into a husband, and how Kim Seon-ho and IU will portray a new kind of chemistry as a married couple on screen.

Kim Seon-ho, known for his roles in romantic comedies like Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Start-Up, takes on a more emotional, layered character this time. The drama explores love not just between a couple, but also between generations — highlighting Choong-seob’s bond with his mother (played by Lee Ji-hyun), who secretly visits theaters just to see her son’s hand-painted movie posters.

Geum-myung wins over her future mother-in-law instantly. But now all eyes are on whether Choong-seob can win over her father, Gwan-sik — a deeply protective dad who once viewed Geum-myung’s college friend Young-beom (Lee Jun-young) with suspicion. After Geum-myung and Young-beom part ways, Choong-seob steps in. The question remains: Can he pass Gwan-sik’s famously sharp radar?

From “husband Kim Seon-ho” to “son-in-law Kim Seon-ho,” the final act gives viewers an emotional, multi-generational sendoff.

When Life Gives You Tangerines is a 16-episode drama that began on March 7 and released four episodes every Friday. Spanning from the 1950s through 2025, the story follows Ae-soon and Gwan-sik’s lives across decades of love, sacrifice, and quiet resilience — honoring the generations who came before and uplifting the ones still growing under their care. With each era, the series delivers heartfelt storytelling, stunning visuals, and a soundtrack that’s moved audiences to tears.

As the curtain closes, When Life Gives You Tangerines cements itself as not only a nostalgic journey, but a heartfelt tribute to the love stories — big and small — that shape our lives.