"When Life Gives You Tangerines" actor Moon So-ri shared her feelings about playing a character similar to IU.

On the morning of the 2nd, an interview with the lead actor Moon So-ri of Netflix's "When Life Gives You Tangerines" took place at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Grand Ballroom in Jung-gu, Seoul.

The Netflix original series "When Life Gives You Tangerines" unfolds the adventurous life of 'rebellious troublemaker' Ae-soon (played by IU) and 'the foolish iron' Kwan-sik (played by Park Bo-gum) across four seasons, set in Jeju in the 1960s. Writer Lim Sang-chun, who gained viewers' affection for her uniquely relatable stories in works like "When the Camellia Blooms" and "Fight for My Way," teamed up with director Kim Won-seok, known for providing empathy, comfort, and encouragement in works like "My Mister," "Signal," and "Misaeng." The production cost was about 600 billion won, featuring performances from IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, Park Hae-joon, Yeom Hye-ran, Oh Jung-se, Kim Sun-ho, Lee Joon-young, and Kang Mal-geum.

In contrast to Netflix's previous practice of releasing all episodes simultaneously, a bold scheduling approach was noticeable. Starting with the first act (episodes 1-4) containing spring, on the 7th of last month, a total of 16 episodes were presented over four weeks with four episodes each week. It topped the global Top 10 series (non-English) category in the 3rd week of the release, and after the release of the 4th act, it recorded 6,000,000 views (the number of views divided by the total running time of the work), ranking 3rd in the global Top 10 series (non-English) category, achieving a successful conclusion.

Moon So-ri anchored the work by acting from middle-aged Ae-soon to elderly Ae-soon. In fact, to match the synchronization with young Ae-soon played by IU, she researched IU's music and videos for vocal tone and breathing patterns before filming and practiced switching lines with each other. Moreover, she paid attention to external factors by closely imitating IU's signature charms to enhance the synchronization.

Moon So-ri noted, "In a way, when two people share a character, there is bound to be pressure on whoever does it, and the person coming after will feel pressure. I am older than IU and have more experience, which adds to the pressure. That pressure is a natural aspect." She added, "IU has always been an actor I admired, so I was looking forward to it more. While we are going to work hard, I was also worried, thinking, 'What if fans of IU are disappointed when she transitions to middle age?' I worried because I thought of how much they love her."

She continued, "Fortunately, IU shared the casting news in real time. As soon as the casting article came out, IU's fans were really excited. Hearing that made me feel, 'I have passed the first hurdle.' Of course, it won't be seamless, but since the writer's portrayal of the character is very solid, I believed that power would help us get through any hurdles."

Regarding IU, who was seen as a daughter, she said, "Is there such a daughter as her? Whenever Hae-joon and I were filming scenes with Geum-myung from the back, we would shake our heads while saying, 'Whose daughter is she? She's remarkable.' We had a lot of casual talks. She's really capable and impressive. It's not just because she's been in this industry for a long time; her achievements as an actress and a singer are incredible." She added, "My daughter is also a fan of IU, and she deserves to be one. I sincerely consider her an artist. In fact, I had this outdated thought of ‘these days, many artists are using her name,’ but she truly is an artist, and that thought just comes to me naturally. She is an artist worthy of respect."

IU sent gifts to her co-stars, including Hanwoo beef to Park Hae-joon and matsutake mushrooms to Moon So-ri.

Moon So-ri shared, "Knowing that I don't eat meat, Ji-eun sent me matsutake mushrooms. But aside from me, my family loves meat. She sent mushrooms for Chuseok and meat for Seollal. On Seollal, at the ski resort, my family all enjoyed eating 'It's IU's meat~ it's delicious~'." She smiled happily.

[Photo] Provided by Netflix

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