Moon So-ri of ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ says she aged fast after playing the elderly version of Ae-sun
A scene from "When Life Gives You Tangerines" / Courtesy of Netflix
In the Netflix series “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” actress Moon So-ri delivers a heart-wrenching performance as a mother overflowing with unconditional love. As a real-life mother herself, Moon said she often thought of her own mom while reading the script or filming the series. Her raw emotion blurred the line between fiction and reality, bringing viewers closer to the heart of Ae-sun, her character.
“Ae-sun stays the same, but people shine in spring and summer, don’t they? With blooming flowers and bright sunlight. Then autumn and winter come, and many just turn into ordinary moms,” Moon said in a recent interview with the Hankook Ilbo. “That also had to be reflected in the story — Ae-sun’s essence had to remain intact. Finding a way to express both individuality and universality was challenging, especially because I had to insert myself into that balance.”
“She’s a mom like any other. The kind who answers the phone at night and cooks for you when you drop by, who reminds you to wear socks,” she said. “Capturing all those moments and blending them into one character was my biggest mission.”
Moon’s real-life mother, Lee Hyang-ran, is also an actress. Asked about her mother’s response to the series, Moon said, “She definitely cried while watching. She didn’t say much, but my father sent me a message saying thank you for showing such a meaningful piece. She said, ‘I watched the drama. I’m proud of you.’”
A scene from "When Life Gives You Tangerines" / Courtesy of Netflix
Filming as Ae-sun also brought out Moon’s own domestic skills. “I didn’t say, ‘I’m going to film tomorrow,’ I’d say, ‘I need to go do housework,’” she said, laughing. “I had to make meals for the kids, organize the shoe rack — there was a lot to do. Ae-sun’s housekeeping reflects a lot of mine. The way I fold laundry or comforters is exactly how I do it at home. Even when making gimbap, I asked for a small bowl of warm water because it was set in the old days, and they didn’t have plastic gloves then.”
Moon became emotional when discussing her daughter Geum-myeong. “It breaks my heart. She matured too quickly. She’s always aware of what her parents want and understands things better than anyone. Kim Geum-soon, who plays Jenny’s mom, is one of my favorite actresses, but there’s a scene where Geum-myeong just silently endures abuse in that household. That really hurt. If my daughter ever faced something like that, I hope she’d cry and scream and tell me everything.”
She confessed she, too, was once a daughter like Geum-myeong — quietly enduring her own pain. “It made me think of my mom a lot. Ae-sun was born in 1951 and my mom in 1952. She had me at 22, got married young, and lived a very resilient life,” Moon said. “Despite having very little, my mom did everything she could to raise me without making me feel deprived. I grew up feeling so loved. Looking back, we didn’t have much, but I never felt we were lacking.”
Playing the elderly version of Ae-sun required hours of prosthetic makeup, which took a toll on her. “The older you get, the longer special effects makeup takes,” she said. “One day they asked me what skincare I used because my face was too moisturized — the prosthetics wouldn’t stick. I have dry skin, so I usually slather on cream in the morning. But when I stopped, I really started aging fast. I realized I need to take better care of myself.”
The final shoot, a scene in a nursing home where Ae-sun paints the sea, left a deep impression on her. “It was everyone’s last scene, filmed in Yeosu. When we arrived at the airport that morning, it was rainy and gray. But just as we finished makeup and stepped outside, the sun came out. The wind even died down. It felt like a miracle,” she said. “But later, I started feeling unwell, just managed to eat a bit of scorched rice, then boarded the plane. The next thing I knew, I was in the emergency room.”
Moon So-ri / Courtesy of Netflix
Moon had caught a severe case of the flu. Though she had weathered COVID-19 isolation without much issue, this time was different. “I had to go to the hospital every day. My throat was so swollen I couldn’t even speak,” she said. “After that, I looked in the mirror and realized how fast I had aged. I even told my husband, ‘I don’t think I can keep going like this.’”
At the time, actor Park Hae-joon was also filming and losing weight to portray a frailer version of his character, Gwan-sik. “He couldn’t eat. I couldn’t eat either. I’d sneak a bite in the car. He didn’t even drink water. His cheeks were sunken. He lost his voice,” she said. “Seeing myself aged on screen — it’s the first time I’ve seen that. In reality, I might age even more harshly,” she added with a smile.
Moon, a self-described perfectionist, reflected on a memory that stayed with her throughout her career. “I’m very strict with myself. Even after filming ends, I can’t watch my work comfortably,” she said. “But sometimes I think, ‘No one else could have done this like me. I’m different from everyone else.’ I try not to go in the same direction as others.”
“Once, a famous foreign director visited Korea, and during a brief meeting, he mentioned many Korean actresses, calling them ‘beautiful’ and ‘glamorous.’ But when he got to me, he said I was ‘unique.’ At the time, I didn’t love that, but thinking back, I’m thankful. If I had to choose among those words now, I’d choose ‘unique.’”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.