The series 'When Life Gives You Tangerines,' which portrays the ordinary yet warm family saga set in Jeju, was named the most-watched non-English TV program by Netflix global users last week.
According to Netflix's official site 'Netflix Top 10,' from March 31 to April 6, 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' recorded 5.4 million viewership hours, securing the top spot among non-English TV shows.
'When Life Gives You Tangerines,' starring Park Bo-gum, IU, Moon So-ri, and Park Hae-jun, released a total of 16 episodes in four installments every Friday from 7th to 28th last month.
In its first week, the show ranked 4th overall, climbed to 2nd in its second week, and reached 1st in its third week, eventually dropping to 3rd in its fourth week when the story ended, only to regain the 1st place this time.
'When Life Gives You Tangerines' depicted stories that resonate with anyone's experience of our mothers and fathers, triggering a significant response.
It captured the strong love of family that helped endure difficult times, gaining popularity primarily in Asian countries that value family.
Looking at the performance by country in its 5th week, it ranked 1st in five Asian countries, including South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and made it to the top 10 in a total of 40 countries.
The fact that it achieved 1st in viewership despite being a 16-episode series with a total runtime of 16 hours and 35 minutes stands out.
When considering viewership hours alone, it tallied 89.7 million hours, surpassing the top English TV show 'Boys' Time' (68.4 million hours), the English film 'Life List' (60.8 million hours), and the non-English film 'Love of Niyala' produced in Indonesia (10.5 million hours).
In addition, Korean works have also made remarkable strides by entering the top 10.
'Weak Hero: Class 1,' which aired on Wavve in 2022 and shifted to a new platform, secured 4th place with 3.7 million views, while the webtoon-based 'Karma' (3.6 million) and the tvN drama 'The Potato Lab' (1.2 million) took 5th and 8th places, respectively.