From "Lemon" to "Tangerine"... Meticulous Localization Breaks K-Drama Genre Limits [Real-World Hallyu]

"When Life Gives You Tangerines": Breaking Barriers in Non-Hallyu Markets Through Cultural Transplantation Beyond Literal Translation
Jeju's Indigenous Culture at the Forefront: Driving a 96% Surge in Filming Location Visits and 2.8 Million Passengers at the Airport
Turning Local Culture into IP to Generate Tourism Revenue and Dominate Everyday Trends on TikTok and Beyond

Stills from the drama "When Life Gives You Tangerines"

The success formula of Korean dramas, which had focused on bloody, hard-hitting genre pieces, has evolved. The Netflix drama "When Life Gives You Tangerines" has proven the effectiveness of a multifaceted localization strategy.

This romance set on Jeju Island achieved global box-office success without resorting to provocative subject matter. Even in Mexico, where the Korean Wave is relatively weak, it ranked in Netflix's weekly top 10 by viewing hours for 9 consecutive weeks, expanding both the genre spectrum and the consumer reach of its intellectual property (IP).

Behind this overwhelming performance lies a "title localization" strategy that dug deep into each country's cultural context. Instead of a simple literal translation, the meaning was completely reassembled to match the emotional landscape of each market. In English-speaking regions, the word "lemon" from the proverb about hardship was replaced with "tangerine," a specialty of Jeju, resulting in the title "When Life Gives You Tangerines."

In Taiwan, the drama evoked a local sensibility by playfully swapping the Chinese character for "sweet" (甘) in the idiom meaning "sweetness comes after bitterness" with the character for "tangerine" (柑). In France, the title adopted a metaphor that "life bears fruit," while in Thailand it took the form of an everyday, relatable message: "Let's smile even on days when tangerines are not sweet."

Still cut from the drama 'When Life Gives You Tangerines'

Once localization had lowered the barrier to entry, the drama filled that space with indigenous culture and universal emotions. It brought Jeju's unique culture to the forefront for overseas viewers, including the women divers known as haenyeo, the local dialect, and the traditional breath-holding sound called sumbisori. It then combined these with universally relatable themes of family love and battling illness to forge an emotional bond.

The delicate performances of lead actors IU, Moon Sori, Park Bogum, and Park Haejoon further enhanced the work's completeness. The emotional arcs they meticulously built culminated in the final episode, which highlighted the meaning of family and left a deep resonance. At the same time, there is also critical feedback that the slow pace and dark tone in the early part of the series hindered viewer immersion.

Regardless of differing opinions on its artistic merit, the unique culture of Jeju embedded in the visuals helped drive the offline real economy. Immediately after the drama aired, online mentions related to haenyeo increased by about 41%, and video content dealing with the Jeju dialect surpassed 2.2 million views.

This cultural curiosity online soon translated into actual visits to Jeju. At Kimnyeong Beach and Jejumok-Gwana, two of the main filming locations, the number of vehicle arrivals increased by up to 96%. International passengers at Jeju Airport also reached a record high of 2.8 million, generating enormous added value.

Still cut from the drama 'When Life Gives You Tangerines'

The craze has even taken over the daily lives of global viewers. Spontaneous digital play in online spaces has infinitely extended the lifespan of the IP. A prime example is the "My Own Gwan-sik" challenge that swept social media platforms such as TikTok. As more people joined in a trend of "proof shots" showing themselves treating their partners kindly, just like the male lead in the drama, the series became firmly entrenched as an everyday lifestyle trend. Overseas fans have gone so far as to describe the Jeju depicted in the show as an "Amazon-level pristine zone," consuming the region itself as a massive cultural icon.

An official at the Korea Culture Information Service Agency said, "'When Life Gives You Tangerines' has demonstrated in numbers the ripple effect that well-made content can generate when combined with a meticulous localization strategy," adding, "We need to transplant into the broader content industry a sophisticated convergence tactic that analyzes the emotional soil of each country to recreate the text, and that uses regional culture as a weapon to draw in global tourism revenue."