The highly anticipated period K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines released its first four episodes on streaming platform Netflix on March 7. Its South Korean lead actress, popular singer-actress IU, took to Instagram on March 10 to share behind-the-scenes photos and videos.

In some of the photos, IU and the slice-of-life romance’s lead actor Park Bo-gum, both 31, can be seen sitting side by side in school uniforms. They play childhood friends turned high school sweethearts in the 16-parter spanning different timelines and generations. Much of the story is set in the 1950s in Jeju.

IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, plays two characters: spirited rebel Ae-sun and her daughter, Geum-myeong. Park plays Ae-sun’s love interest and eventual husband, Gwan-sik. Veteran stars Moon So-ri and Park Hae-joon step in as older versions of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik respectively.

IU’s photos showed behind-the-scenes tidbits from the first few episodes, which depict Ae-sun and Gwan-sik’s sweet yet dramatic romance, including an attempted elopement. In one of her pictures, Park is seen taking a photo of IU.

Another high point of the early episodes is when Gwan-sik jumps off a boat and swims to get to Ae-sun, who is standing at the dock. In photos shared by IU, the stars, who are both drenched for the scene, are huddled together in bathrobes and towels. Another shows Park laughing while swimming in the sea.

IU also posted a short clip of the pair filming the scene, in which Park can be seen climbing up the dock with IU’s help before they share a tight embrace.

As at March 13, the series is No. 2 on the list of most-watched series on Netflix Singapore, behind Mediacorp’s Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story. Globally, the K-drama is currently the fourth most-watched non-English series on the platform, with 3.6 million views in its first week.

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