[opening theme music playing]
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU TANGERINES
[man] Can we get more squid soup?
-Okay. -Okay.
[woman 5] Come here. Get in the net.
Let's go.
-[Sang-gil] Are we reading this or not? -[child giggling]
-"There was a village…" -[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Welcome.
-[Hyeon-suk] Come on in. -[middle-aged Ae-sun] Welcome.
[gentle pop music playing]
Hi, do you have a table for two?
-You'll need to wait. -Yeah.
-We'll call you back soon. -Oh, okay, thank you. Bye.
Please wait here.
[man] Guys, I told you, didn't I?
[Geum-myeong] Finally, the bells began ringing in the middle of the forest.
Along with the sounds of the card machine.
It's all Ae-sun's fault that I can't retire.
[TV] The uproar about "garbage dumplings"
is affecting handmade dumpling restaurants.
[woman] It's so good.
It's so delicious.
…because of bird flu. The same phenomenon is happening to many dumpling…
[Sang-gil] Oh, let me wrap this for you.
I'll make you an amazing seaweed wrap. Here. Here.
Ah. Oh.
[Hyeon-suk] Stop glaring at the customers who ask for more soup.
Okay, let's eat this. That and that.
-[Gye-ok] Ae-sun, your daughter-in-law… -Ah.
I don't want it, Grandpa.
Please eat it for me.
Who will you give it to, Yeong-won?
Your maternal grandpa or your paternal grandpa?
Ah. Ah.
Ah. No. Oh!
[laughs]
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] You can't open your mouth and then ask.
Can we get some more squid soup?
-Oh, okay. -[woman 3] Can we have more soup here?
-[woman 4] Could we also get another? -[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Yes.
Why are you putting in so much squid? That's why they eat up everything.
Squid soup needs to be on the menu, or else you're going to start losing cash.
We need to hire people. This is too much for you.
Who said it was too much for me?
[Geum-myeong] All that money made my mom dance.
♪ Singing in the rain ♪
♪ Singing… ♪
Why are you going down the steps like that?
-[laughs] -Is menopause over?
No, it's strange.
I'm just in a good mood.
We are making money, Gwan-sik. We're so busy from early morning to late at night.
But it's not really too tiring 'cause our bank account's growing.
[both laugh]
-You thrilled? -Yes, I'm so, so thrilled.
Maybe the heavens
have been so stingy all these years
to bless us all at once.
We made a ton of deliveries during the World Cup.
Jeju has duty-free shops now.
All In was shot in Jeju.
[laughing]
Joonggonara assisted in getting us Cheol-yong.
Jeong Mi-in did an ad for us. How is this our life?
[laughs]
Oh, I feel maybe we're getting paid a reward now.
[chuckles] Honey, I think we should go on vacations.
Let's go to Guam and China.
If a brat like Mi-suk can go, then why can't I?
[chuckles]
Why do you always talk so spitefully of her?
[both laugh]
Oh, if life can continue to be this,
I think I might live ten thousand years longer.
["Singing in the Rain" playing]
♪ Singing in the rain ♪
♪ Just singing in the rain… ♪
[Geum-myeong] My parents, who once so diligently dug up a field of stones,
were now people who had created a landmark.
♪ I'm laughing at clouds ♪
♪ So dark up above ♪
♪ The sun's in my heart ♪
♪ And I'm ready for love ♪
♪ Let the stormy clouds chase ♪
Oh my, my. Mi-suk, that brat!
How dare she call her place "The Original"!
Do you think you own all the squids in Jeju?
Did you get a trademark on it?
[Gyeong-ja] What? Did you apply for a trademark
piggybacking on someone else's success? Did you?
Hang on. You come here for another foot massage?
I already said,
yeah, my foot here was asleep.
Why do you care?
You'd better change your sign.
Change your menu!
Leave her alone. I'm grateful for this.
It's better if we compete for the same thing.
Yeah? Why?
Because with you there pushing fakes, the real thing sells better.
[jaunty music playing]
[Mi-suk] Uh… [sighs]
[man] Excuse me, can we get some more squid soup?
Oh, okay, okay.
[Gye-ok] Please sign here.
DDUKBAEGI SQUID SOUP 4,000 WON
[Geum-myeong] But there was someone who always had a hold over her heart.
Hey, dear.
[Sae-bom] I told you I'd eat it. I wanted to. I wanted to.
I wanted to. I wanted to. I wanted to.
[Geum-myeong] Yes. I also had someone like that.
-Momma. -[Sae-bom] I wanted to do it.
Me, me, me, me.
[Geum-myeong] Even in my terrible 37s…
-[Sae-bom] I wanted to do it! -…I needed my mom.
[Sae-bom] I wanted to. [sobs]
-[sobs] I wanted to. I wanted to. -Aw. Okay, okay. There, there.
Come on. I get that she's in her terrible fours now,
but how can she be mad that I fed her, you know?
She wanted to eat on her own, and she's mad that I spoon-fed her.
[panting]
Say "bye-bye" to Mom.
Goodbye! Goodbye!
[Geum-myeong] I could only see my daughter,
and my mom could only see me.
She lost weight. Even more now.
[Geum-myeong] I'll be back.
Oh, that girl.
She's so shy.
[Geum-myeong] I recognized a thousand expressions
on my daughter's face,
but I couldn't remember any of my mother's.
I didn't know it then.
I didn't realize the only facial expressions I'd remember
were the awkward ones that she made in photographs.
[gentle music playing]
[nail clippers clicking]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Oh, you stubborn child.
Why don't you listen to your mom?
You may be my grandchild, but
but I don't like that you…
you made my…
my daughter suffer.
You may be mean to your mother,
but she's the…
the most important person to me.
Be good to my daughter.
Be good to her
forever and ever.
Okay?
-[door opens] -[sighs]
♪ Sleep, sleep, sweet child, sleep ♪
♪ My baby is fast asleep ♪
[Geum-myeong] For some reason, it felt so awkward to simply say,
"Thank you."
Wait, who asked you to clean the whole place?
And why'd you clean the toilet?
Go rest. You said you're off today.
God, Mom, this is why I don't want to call you over.
Hey, Miss Terrible Thirty-sevens. If you're thankful, just say thank you.
I can tell you feel bad by your… your long face.
[sighs]
-Then set Sae-bom down. -Hey.
You've been getting cupping for your back, you said.
[TV playing indistinctly]
[Geum-myeong] Park Sae-bom is the first person
who's ever made me feel like I'm completely out of control.
Why is she so stubborn?
She never says yes the first time.
Oh, sweet justice.
Your daughter's just like you. [laughs]
Be honest.
I frustrated you, right?
How did you raise three kids?
Eat the drumstick. You do what you have to do.
You have to live your own life
so you don't feel resentful about anything.
Otherwise, you'll always question your choices
and wonder what could've been.
She will figure that out.
She'll be able to tell just by looking at you.
Right now, you're Sae-bom's entire world, you see.
But
that won't last too long.
You won't be a priority.
Later in life, she won't put you first anyway.
So just do what you want now.
Okay?
[gentle music playing]
Mom, do you regret anything?
Not doing everything you wanted?
[chuckles] No, I wanted to do it all.
Oh Ae-sun, the orphan alone in the world.
Oh Ae-sun the housekeeper.
Dropping out of high school Oh Ae-sun.
The best job I ever had was being Geum-myeong and Eun-myeong's mother.
I really lived.
I lived life to the fullest in my own way.
Don't look down too much on my life.
Yeah, um,
maybe I'm missing maternal instincts.
Sometimes, I get so angry.
I scream at that girl.
I think I'm losing it.
In the beginning, no mother knows anything.
Your child will grow, and then so will you.
[music fades]
Sae-bom,
are you going to chew your food a hundred times in the morning?
Will you change your clothes ten times?
Why do you give me such a hard time every morning? Huh?
Why?
If I have an early breakfast, you leave earlier.
If I eat and finish getting dressed,
you go to work.
Is that why you do that?
So I can't go?
Oh.
I'm sorry
that I yelled at you the other day, okay?
That was my bad.
-[tender music playing] -Come here.
Oh, you.
Sae-bom, Mommy loves you.
I love you so much, okay? Kisses. Hmm?
[Geum-myeong] A mother's daughter was now a mother herself.
Mom hoped her daughter's life with her own little girl
wouldn't be a difficult one.
GEUM-MYEONG: GINGER TEA SAE-BOM: CHOPPED VEGGIES
CHUNG-SEOP: BLACK GARLIC
My whole life,
my mom never failed to make time for me.
-[Geum-myeong] Honey. -[Chung-seop] Hmm?
[Geum-myeong] You know the money we saved to buy Sae-bom a piano?
Can we use that for my parents, do you think?
I think if I don't do
anything for them, I will regret it later.
Geum-myeong.
Hmm?
Stop, okay?
You don't need to ask. I'll leave it up to you to make the call.
[moans]
So, should I take my socks off again?
[both laugh]
[bell dings]
So how much is it?
Isn't a Seoul hospital checkup pricier?
You guys would only do this if I paid for it myself.
Parents still need to be good to their kids.
Stay healthy for me, okay?
Just a blood test for me.
Come on, Dad, both knees are totally worn out.
And, Mom, cupping isn't a cure-all.
So what does it come to for both of us?
Just a blood test, all right?
[phone ringing]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Mm.
Hey, Yong-geon.
I'm in Seoul.
No, I can't come today.
[laughs]
Since we have money now…
-[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Oh, oh, right. -…he's taking some guitar lessons.
-Acoustic guitar. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dad?
-Ah. -Guitar?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Count me out for this lesson.
See, when others got to play it when they were young,
your father never got to do anything like that.
Kim Kwang-seok is his amazing new hero.
-Ah, come on. -[laughs] He has a hobby.
First time in his life.
PRECAUTIONS FOR ENDOSCOPY
[gentle acoustic guitar music playing]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] I told you we should remove your moles.
You look so…
so tired.
No, what I mean…
I don't wanna go.
What?
Who's telling you to go anywhere?
The thing is…
I can't go build the barrier with you.
I can't go and build the barrier with you.
Dong-myeong.
He can't.
Dong-myeong.
I'm on my way.
Dong-myeong.
[Geum-myeong] Dad kept calling out his name.
Dong-myeong.
[Geum-myeong] The name that he hadn't been able to say for so long.
Dong. Dong.
Dong-myeong.
[music continues]
Dong-myeong.
[Geum-myeong] Mom finally got to see
Dad's inner prison for the first time.
[Geum-myeong] Barrier?
ENDOSCOPY CENTER
Yes, he said,
"I shouldn't have gone
to set up the barrier."
"Shouldn't have gone."
He kept saying, "Dong-myeong, Dong-myeong."
Now I get
why we never talked
about our lost son.
Well, I asked him to tell me when I was going under,
but before I knew it, they said I was done.
[both laugh]
Dad, would you like to eat something?
I'll get you anything.
-Pork belly? -Pork belly?
Yeah. [laughs]
[Geum-myeong] In their hearts…
was a very small
yet massive tomb.
[mimicking engine revving]
[mimicking car horn honking]
You're silly.
Have you been doing that alone this whole time?
[sighs]
You came today because you thought I'd come tomorrow, huh?
On his actual birthday.
I followed you because I knew you were coming here today.
I'm sure Dong-myeong wants to see his parents on his birthday.
Yes, but it's different.
Families all gather together at the graves of their parents
but not of their children.
[blows]
I couldn't bear… to see your face.
[sighs]
We can't leave our baby alone. [sobs]
-[wind whistling] -[sighs]
[emotional music playing]
Oh no.
I'm sure he's scared.
He must be so scared.
[Geum-myeong] Their footsteps created a path,
and in all four seasons,
the grave where their child lay was the neatest of all.
[gentle piano music playing]
[Geum-myeong] Dong-myeong's grave had the most adorable things
that brought them the most pain.
[music soars]
Let's go.
Come back to the house.
Let's go.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] I finally figured out why we could never talk
about Dong-myeong.
There's no reminiscing if the guilt is bigger
than your longing feeling.
We adored him because he was the youngest.
He was an angel.
[wistful music playing]
At least we got to hold that angel for four years.
If I had the choice to go through it all over again,
I would so that I could hold him.
We'll see him in the next lifetime.
That's getting closer.
I don't want to.
I don't want Dong-myeong to see me after I die.
Each day,
I pray that my Dong-myeong would forget about us.
I miss him so much.
Thinking of him
coming to look for us…
It hurts my heart
thinking about how he misses us.
[sobs]
[sniffles]
[music fades]
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] When are you gonna show me?
What's the title of today's poem?
"The Most Adorable Uncle."
Uncle Dong-myeong.
When our kids told their kids, "This is Uncle Dong-myeong,"
it was so strange to hear.
And as strange as it was,
I loved it.
Maybe Dong-myeong would feel less lonely.
Oddly enough,
I, uh,
get the feeling I'm less of a bad mother.
[both chuckle]
Listen, how could you be a bad mother in any case?
-[phone ringing] -A dog sires a dog. A cow sires a cow.
-[Eun-myeong] Hello? -Who would sire an angel?
-[Eun-myeong] Hey, yeah. -Dong-myeong was our angel.
[Eun-myeong] Okay, hang on.
Every night, I stare at your back
while you're sleeping quietly and dreaming.
I can't sleep because I find myself staring at your wings.
Hey, Dad, the star of the family wants to talk to you.
Not Mom? Me? It's me she wants?
Wake up the kids. Let's go home.
[TV playing indistinctly]
Hey, Geum-myeong.
What, will she be in the papers again?
Mom? She's right here.
I thought you wanted to talk to me.
-Yeah. -She wants to talk to me, right?
Uh-huh.
-[middle-aged Ae-sun] What is it? -[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Yeah.
[Geum-myeong] Just as things start to look up, life throws another curveball.
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Really?
[middle-aged Ae-sun] What is it?
[Geum-myeong] As if someone was collecting an unknown debt,
there was a voice from the heavens saying,
"I'm sorry."
They just wanna take a second look.
I'm sure it's nothing.
Even if it is something, they can treat most things now. It'll be fine.
[nurse] Mr. Yang Gwan-sik.
-Yes, yes. -Please wait at blood testing.
What is going on here?
Why is the Steelheart suffering?
-[groans] -Dad.
Don't be afraid.
I've got your back.
I'll be right here with you, okay?
I'm not. I don't feel worried.
I know my own body.
[Geum-myeong] But no one knew
just how very,
very weak
the Steelheart had become.
[gentle acoustic guitar music playing]
[Geum-myeong sighs]
-Look, um… -Mm.
Don't cry, no matter what the doctors might say.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Not your dad. He doesn't deserve it.
There's no one in the world as kind as your dad.
Hey, Mom. Mom.
Did you hear me?
No matter how sick he may be,
I'll make sure he gets treated.
Yeah, I believe you.
I believe you.
[Geum-myeong] So don't cry in front of Dad.
He's feeling a bit of a shock right now.
[doctor] You've had rheumatoid arthritis for a long time.
I don't know how you bore so much pain for so long.
Sometimes, the symptoms of multiple myeloma are mistaken
for rheumatoid arthritis in joints,
which can delay a correct diagnosis.
Multiple myeloma
is a kind of blood cancer.
Let's call it a distant relative of leukemia.
[Geum-myeong] He never knew anything about pop culture.
I was always frustrated with Dad because
every time there was a new girl band, he'd ask, "Is that Sung Yu-ri?"
Dad just wanted to have conversations with his daughter.
He also wanted to play the guitar.
But I didn't understand, or I pretended not to.
People who just bear the pain
actually permit the disease to develop further.
This has already progressed to kidney failure, and you didn't know it.
You must've been very tired all the time.
So…
what now?
Well, at this point,
if we start the treatment now,
he could have a slight chance.
But that's about it.
[Geum-myeong sobs]
[Geum-myeong] The heavens were merciless to my dad,
who had just become interested in Kim Kwang-seok.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Yeah, yeah.
Uh, you don't need to pick him up.
Geum-myeong, he'll be at the hospital longer than one or two days.
Don't do that.
It'll be too much. Too much for you.
[wind whistling]
[sighs]
Here.
Don't you worry about it.
We'll get it done. We'll get what you need.
I'll get the right treatment.
Let's go.
[sighs]
[wistful music playing]
[Geum-myeong] The 24 sessions of chemotherapy
melted the Steelheart.
Mom even forgot which season it was.
Hey, my angel. Look at the flowers.
Writing poems, you need to enjoy nature.
Have you been writing?
I wanna read your poems.
You love flowers so much, but you're staring at my feet.
I can't let you fall.
Have a look.
Look at the flowers.
Next year, let's see the leaves in Zhangjiajie.
The brat Mi-suk went there. She was showing off.
[chuckles]
Why are you holding my hands so tightly?
You think someone's taking me away?
If you leave me,
I'll be alone.
You know that?
You'll never be alone. You have our kids.
Oh, but I don't.
They have their own families now.
A big nuisance.
You see yourself as a nuisance.
When we were young, I'd think about
your uncle not letting you have croakers at home,
and I'd get so angry I wouldn't be able to
sleep at all.
Ever since then, you've seen yourself as a nuisance.
So you need to win.
A single mother is nothing but a nuisance to her children.
Don't make me grow old on my own.
Of course.
I'll never leave you.
[sighs]
I wouldn't dare leave Ae-sun behind all alone.
[Geum-myeong] The rest of my dad's life
passed like a cherry blossom's.
Oh! That was tough, huh? Did it make you feel queasy?
Not really.
There was no pain.
It was painful. Don't say it wasn't.
Of course it hurt. How could it not?
Is Yang Gwan-sik here?
Oh, yes, yes.
Drink this, okay? Drink it, okay?
-[nurse] Mr. Seo Ji-won. -Yes.
Did you get the blood work done already?
Oh, no, I was told downstairs to come here first.
The instructions are written right there.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Oh my.
-[nurse 2] Please leave. -[middle-aged Ae-sun] Sorry?
-[nurse 2] Please go out. -I'm supposed to be…
You can't just walk in. You have to put those out here. Here.
-Oh, I, um, didn't see… -It's written right here.
Ms. Park Gyeong-ja. Come in, please.
[chuckles]
Uh, so he can eat meat of any kind?
Someone said it wouldn't actually be healthy for him to eat it.
Sure, he should eat well.
-Ah. -[doctor] Then see you next month.
Well, sir, would moxibustion be a good thing he should get?
I hear moxibustion would be good for him.
[sighs] Will you be asking me about everything on the Internet?
Uh…
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Is this not it? I have number 832.
You can't bring the number for the payment window
to the reception window.
Oh. So this number is…
-[man] It's written right over there. -Oh, so it's…
[man sighs]
Last call for 835.
Cut us some slack.
Can you, please?
There are a lot of people here.
We didn't know. Please, would you cut us some slack?
[middle-aged Ae-sun] What's wrong?
Why are you sighing? How dare you sigh in front of people here!
-Oh, my dear. -Of course, first-timers don't know.
You all give us attitude and yell at people all day.
Who do you think you are?
You treat us like complete idiots if we don't follow everything
you already know, like we're committing a crime.
She's as smart as anyone. Smarter than you. She is!
-What happened? Mom, what? -Geum-myeong, hi.
Where have you been? We need you.
Come with us when we visit the hospital. Promise you will.
You have to. Be here.
[sighs]
It's because Dad's sick.
When you're sick, you get more frustrated.
You get frustrated easily, even if you only have a migraine.
He's not mad at you, okay?
[chuckles]
You think Dad's always on my side, no matter what?
He's not.
When you and I fight,
Dad will always side with you first.
[both chuckle]
[Geum-myeong] If I'm his number one, you're number zero.
I think Dad sees you as the precious One Ring.
Anyone messes with you, and they're dead meat.
[gentle music playing]
[Geum-myeong] All Dad saw was Mom.
He saw Mom
who would be sitting here
all alone one day.
Don't bother.
Put me in a four-person room tomorrow.
[sighs] I didn't get this room for you. I did it for Mom's peace of mind.
All right?
I wouldn't have booked you a VIP suite if you got sick. [laughs]
I guess I lucked out with you as my daughter.
Then get well soon and pay me back in other ways.
You can watch Sae-bom for me
and keep scaring my husband.
He's being good to you, isn't he?
The apple of his eye.
So Chung-seop and I will come tomorrow.
-We'll wash your hair. -You're going?
What? Like me to stay?
You always tell me to go. Why do you want me to stay?
Sleep here. I'm all alone.
They give the guardian a pillow in the VIP suite.
Wow, this is nice.
How much is this place?
You can go to Geum-myeong's to wash up.
She'll be staying here tonight.
[gentle music playing]
[Geum-myeong] Crazy, because her mom didn't have enough to bribe the teacher?
That's how that kid's dad took away Mom's class presidency?
-That homeroom teacher was a bad man? -A dick.
A dick.
[Geum-myeong laughs]
[both laughing]
So Mom head-butted that lady, really?
-Yeah? -Cracked that motel owner's nose…
Pow! …with her head.
[both laughing]
So did you see Mom?
Did you see her lying next to Dong-myeong's grave?
I did.
[sobs]
I followed her secretly 'cause I believed
maybe she'd dive in the sea.
How did she live through that?
Your Mom was
twenty-eight at the time.
Twenty-eight.
When I asked your mom to marry me,
I promised her I'd either pay for college on the mainland
or help her become a poet.
I vowed I'd do one of those things for her,
thinking I wouldn't even fulfill one.
Mom's been writing these days.
I love watching her write.
She won a local writing competition once.
In her high school class, she was first.
That's how exceptional she is.
Mom could've been so much more than what she is.
Be good to her.
Promise, hmm?
Dad, you're so annoying.
You had me stay behind to tell me this?
I'm sorry to burden you up to the end.
I'm sorry I'm entrusting my bride to you.
Where do you think you're going?
You're not going anywhere.
I don't want you to. I'm still a kid.
You can't go till I'm grown.
Why are you hell-bent on leaving us?
[music fades]
Geum-myeong, having you
as my daughter was like
catching a whale in a dinghy.
You memorized the multiplication table before anyone else.
You went to Seoul National University.
[chuckles]
I had a full heart, yet I was sorry.
I was sorry for you each day.
I am truly sorry to you,
but to your mom…
my guilt is terrible.
It keeps me awake.
I can't sleep.
Stay by Mom's side, then, if it's that hard.
Just stay with us a bit longer.
Geum-myeong,
you are my baby…
and I'm sorry I'm leaving you.
[sobs]
Your mom
means the world to me, okay?
Don't treat her like
she's being a pain.
Don't get impatient with her,
and be sweet to her.
[sobs]
Treat her well.
[crying]
How can I…
How can I say goodbye to you? How?
[wistful music playing]
Oh, but Dad,
I'm sorry, Dad.
I'm sorry.
Dad, sorry I get so annoyed. Mm?
Sorry I'm always hanging up on you and always rushed.
But I was never actually frustrated with you, you know?
It was never that.
Really, Dad.
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] I know.
Of course I know.
I have the best daughter in the world.
[Geum-myeong] I had a very loving father.
So tell me, is Dad coming to see me or not?
[Geum-myeong] But my dad
didn't have a loving daughter.
"A big fish from a small pond."
I really hate that saying.
What good is it that you're a fish that made it out of the pond?
The pillar, the older sibling.
-God, I'm sick of it all! -Yang Geum-myeong!
[Geum-myeong] His loving request for me to be sweet to my mom
still stings in my heart.
You want me to live like you? Is that what you want?
Yes, because I didn't wanna live like you.
I just couldn't live like you and mom did. I hated it, you know?
You smelled like cooling patches every day. What have you done for me?
[Geum-myeong] We treated him
as if we'd have him forever.
[Hyeon-suk] Is it okay for him to be at home?
That's what he'd like.
He says he wants to live at home for a while.
He wants to see the sea.
It might be better for him if he stays home with us.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Careful.
Dad, sit on this stationary bike so your back feels better, okay?
Or you can sit here and just listen to Kim Kwang-seok.
I also scoured the Internet and got this vinyl.
Here's a guitar.
[sobs]
Oh, Dad,
how…
how did you…
how did you become so thin?
Dad.
[emotional music playing]
Oh, Dad.
Why, Dad?
Hey, you're a dad yourself now. You gotta be strong, son.
Dad, why are you doing this?
There's so much I wanted to do for you.
I said I'd buy you a Mercedes.
I wanted to get you another boat.
I've been in one before.
I don't need another one.
You've been a good son.
I already know.
I always knew, but I…
I…
[grandma] Your brother died three days after your birthday.
They can't celebrate it, understand?
That's not fair.
I don't wanna!
[young Eun-myeong crying]
Eun-myeong, come here.
[Gwan-sik] Eun-myeong, choose one.
We can do some rice cakes at the house or have sweet and sour pork here.
Can't do both. You can pick only one.
What are you trying?
I'll buy you those secretly then, or should I not?
Then you'll keep this our secret, yeah?
You're going to tell your sister,
aren't you?
Tattletale.
Sometimes you like me better than Geum-myeong, I think, Dad.
[laughs]
Have some pork.
[Eun-myeong] You bought that just for me.
And you did it secretly.
I know all that.
See, I do remember the good stuff.
You tattletale.
You're turning me in now?
I'm an asshole.
Oh, now you're bombarding me with insults.
[Eun-myeong crying]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] The aunties harvested these.
That damn sea. It must know I'm angry you're sick.
They were apparently so easy to harvest.
[Geum-myeong] The sea provided endlessly,
no matter how much we harvested in our lives.
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Mom, your son's here.
Wash up quickly.
[Gye-ok] Wash up and eat.
[Geum-myeong] To us,
Dad was the sea.
We all relied on him to live.
[crying]
[man on TV] One day, this petite person brought me
a can of Cherry Coke and offered me a contract to work with her.
She told me with conviction that…
You see, courses on tape are the future.
[man on TV] Honestly, I found it ridiculous at first,
but as soon as I heard of the company name,
I remember thinking I'd give it a chance.
The next speaker that I will bring to the stage
is someone who is going to change the industry.
Please welcome the CEO of Ever Study, Yang Geum-myeong.
[audience cheering]
TODAY'S NOTABLE LECTURER YANG GEUM-MYEONG, CEO
Ooh! It's Geum-myeong. It's Geum-myeong.
[Geum-myeong] We had to repay our debt.
We shone the pathway for a farewell with a fanfare.
Hello, my name is Yang Geum-myeong.
I studied in Japan,
and I used to listen to lectures over and over again.
Because I couldn't speak the language,
this was all I had to rely on.
I thought to myself,
"Wouldn't it be great if I could keep the teacher in my pocket?"
One day, I was in my hometown, staring at the bookcase.
And it
hit like a truck.
I, uh, saw an old workbook
for my mom's college entrance exam.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Is she talking about me?
My mother was exceptional through every part of her life.
She was smart and diligent,
and she really wanted to pursue
a higher education.
Had my mom been given access to classes in the palm of her hand,
she could have studied to her heart's content.
My mom would've thrived.
Even if she never lived in Daechi-dong and didn't have expensive tutors,
the bookworm on Jeju Island should've been able to study.
I think anyone who wants to study
should be able to do so,
whoever, whenever, wherever.
Ever Study.
It all began
as my mother's dream.
Her childhood dream.
[audience cheering]
Aw!
I can't believe it.
I can't believe her. [chuckles]
She's quite the saleswoman there.
[sobs]
[Geum-myeong] And then,
high-speed Internet user numbers surpassed ten million people.
Tech made video conferencing a reality.
Divided families in North and South Korea were able to speak again.
I knew the age of online classes would come one day.
So I seized the possibility with the persevering spirit
that I inherited from my father.
She mentioned me too. She did.
[wistful music playing]
[Geum-myeong] There were things
that I wanted to show my dad.
[reporter] Today, the Haenyeo Museum has opened to celebrate
the pride and the history of Jeju's haenyeo.
[man] Right here. Perfect. That's great.
[woman 5] By opening this museum that shows
the pride and the history of the Jeju haenyeo,
we can show everyone the world of the haenyeo.
To be included in the list of World Heritage sites,
we want to show that we have
a living job.
And we are still alive.
Our culture's alive, just as we are.
We want to do our best to revive.
-Preserve, inherit. -[Eun-myeong] Are you serious?
How can you do this to your dad?
You took cash from my wallet for an A-reum headband. Really?
It's not A-reum, you know. It's Jeong A-ram.
Honey, did you do these highlights on our son?
-Say, "Ah." -[Eun-myeong] Look at this boy.
You'll go to school with these highlights? You have a crush on that girl, right?
-Mom and Dad already know. -Your dad can do it all. Mr. MacGyver.
[Eun-myeong] Dad, why do you keep laughing?
It's like you laugh every time I yell at Je-il.
[laughs] What goes around comes around, huh?
You always reap what you sow. Revenge is sweet.
What?
Unbelievable.
Babe.
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] What? What is it now?
Oh, it's not real.
Why can't we have a moment's peace in this house?
What is it now?
You kept your word.
The promise. You kept one out of three.
[sentimental music playing]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] "To the one who will be leaving me behind."
"Oh Ae-sun of Dodong-dong Jeju."
"When I was young, I thought I had to hold your hand to feel warmth."
"Now I know you're with me
even when you're not around."
"Now I have a warm floor."
"Just the thought of you warms my heart."
"I will go on knowing that the moon is in the sky
even during the day."
"So when it's time for you to go,
spread your wings and fly."
"After 50 years, you can fly free."
"You can let me go now."
"My precious love,
I'm eternally thankful to you."
"You showed me what to do
when life gives you tangerines."
You've been crying a lot more lately.
[sighs, sniffles]
You see? You kept one promise, after all.
Now I'm a published poet, you see?
Yeah, but if you weren't with me, it wouldn't have taken so long.
I couldn't be doing it without you.
I couldn't write poems like this.
Ah, well.
Damn it, Ae-sun.
-[laughs] -Damn it, Ae-sun.
[both laugh]
You thrilled?
Oh yes.
This is
everything.
[both laughing]
[kissing]
Grandma and Grandpa are kissing.
Oh. Piggyback?
-[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Get on. -I'm heavy.
-Hey, my kids are watching. Be careful. -You sure? Careful.
If you and Mom keep doing that, they'll think romance is
the best thing in the world.
Hey, buy a hundred of Mom's books and give them to the fishing village.
You have to.
[laughter]
[Geum-myeong] She wanted time to stop that day.
She wanted the bonus track to never end.
Mom wanted that night to last forever.
[music fades]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Honey.
Can we keep living like this?
I'd love it if we could get
five more years together.
Or
at least one more year.
To experience seasons, okay?
I thought I may not be able to fulfill
even one of the three.
Now that you're writing poems again,
I feel much better.
Much better.
In my next life,
I'll do five, ten promises.
Wanna be there with me?
You believe
we'll meet there?
Why?
Don't wanna be there with me?
Such blessings
don't come easily.
Others deserve a chance to live the good life.
It's my fault you suffered your entire life.
I was never lonely
because of you, dear.
Not a day.
It was a wonderful life.
Ae-sun.
Huh?
I have one thing to ask of you.
Don't weep a lot…
when the time's near.
It's always hard for me
when you weep like that.
I'd never be able to fly away.
What I wanna see…
What I really wanna see in my last minutes…
is your smile.
Life was full of joy
'cause of your beautiful laughter, Ae-sun.
-[sobs] -Hey.
You can't even do that?
Pat me on the back.
♪ Sleep ♪
♪ Sweet child ♪
♪ Sleep ♪
♪ Sleep, sweet child, rest ♪
[wistful piano music playing]
[crying]
♪ My baby is fast asleep ♪
♪ Sleep now ♪
♪ Little black dog ♪
♪ As you go ♪
♪ Little black dog ♪
♪ As you come ♪
♪ Help my baby sleep well ♪
♪ I'll help your babies sleep well ♪
[Geum-myeong] Mom always said she had hard days,
but she never had lonely ones.
In hindsight, my mother lived in paradise.
Oh, wow. Wow, that's terrific.
[Geum-myeong] My dad spent all his life patting us on our backs.
He did his best for us with all the strength he had in him.
[Chung-seop] Sweetie, you'll have an accident.
Why don't you pull over somewhere? I'll be right there.
It's okay.
There aren't any cars.
-There aren't any cars on the road. -No cars?
[Geum-myeong] Dad, don't go before I see you. Not before then.
[Geum-myeong] Heaven showed us mercy one last time.
-So that we could escort him there. -I'm here.
I'm here, Dad. Dad, I'm right here.
Dad.
Dad, I'm right here. Dad, don't be scared.
Don't be scared, okay?
I'm sorry, Dad.
Dad, Dad, Dad, I love you.
-I'm sorry, Dad. Dad. -[Geum-myeong] Dad, I love you.
-Dad. -[middle-aged Ae-sun] Honey.
[Eun-myeong] Dad, I'm sorry.
[Geum-myeong] The last look that Dad got to see on our faces
was a sadness
he'd never seen before.
[emotional pop ballad playing]
[middle-aged Ae-sun sniffles]
[sobs]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] You should've been easier on yourself.
You've grown old so fast.
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] But you're still the same.
[crying]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] I've grown old too.
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] No.
You're the same.
In my eyes, you've never changed
in 50 years.
[Geum-myeong] There was a girl in a boy's life.
He spent all his life
keeping the girl's world safe.
[Ae-sun] Thank you,
honey.
You lived a good life.
We had a good life.
[Gwan-sik] Was it good?
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Was your life with me any good?
[middle-aged Ae-sun] I didn't need anything else.
[middle-aged Ae-sun sobs]
It was so good that I didn't need anything more.
[emotional music playing]
[Geum-myeong] As he looked into the eyes of the one who was ingrained in his soul…
Dad slept in for the first time.
[monitor beeping]
[Geum-myeong] He left many gifts behind.
[Gye-ok] Your dad wanted you to have this.
[music fades]
[Geum-myeong] Through all these years,
Dad never spent
any of the money I sent him and Mom.
[Gye-ok] He never withdrew from this account,
but he would always check up on it here and there.
He said it made him so happy
that his daughter could manage sending that much money.
Oh, why didn't he use it?
[Gye-ok] When you sent 100,000 won,
he said he'd feel a joy worth a million won.
But all he had
was one closet to his name.
God, Dad, why are you so annoying?
[Geum-myeong] Dad's unrequited love was now over,
but mine had just begun.
[sighs]
[Sang-gil] Your father wanted you to have a Mercedes.
He wanted you to live a great life.
Hmm. What's the odometer read?
That's crazy.
You are so similar to my daughter.
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] You wear those hairpins every day,
and I keep looking for them all the time.
Why do I bother buying them for you? You keep losing them anyway.
[Geum-myeong] There was a 50-year love on Mom's Treasure Island.
It was a love
that would never die.
[sighs]
[emotional music playing]
What am I supposed to do?
How do I go on?
[middle-aged Gwan-sik] Stop making rolled omelets.
You never could eat sujebi after Dong-myeong left us.
You might cry seeing rolled omelets when I'm gone.
If the kids want you to live with them, go.
That's what I'd want.
If you have to live without me,
don't do it alone.
[kettle whistling]
Oh.
When did he take these down?
[thunder rumbling]
Boy, my love
was so busy.
[Geum-myeong] Just as we know
the moon is somewhere in the sky during the day,
Mom knew Dad was always there.
[wistful music playing]
SEEING A LOVED ONE RETURN EACH DAY THROUGH THE DOOR THEY LEFT IN THE MORNING.
IT WAS LIKE A MIRACLE EVERY DAY.
I've written a lot.
So many poems.
Let's have another go.
OH AE-SUN
[Geum-myeong] Just as white snow covers the earth,
time covers all the noise and sorrow.
Winter had finally arrived.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] I'll be back.
I'll see you again.
[chuckles]
You see, sir,
that's just where my husband is, right there.
Have a look.
I did write the entire thing.
I finished.
[chuckles]
[Geum-myeong] I believe their story should never be forgotten.
I'm sending you the 70-year story of my parents' lives.
From Yang Geum-myeong, the eldest child of Yang Gwan-sik and Oh Ae-sun.
♪ …though they're here to stay ♪
♪ Oh, I believe ♪
♪ In yesterday ♪
♪ Suddenly… ♪
You know, the things that you've most wanted to say inside.
♪ There's a shadow hanging over me ♪
♪ Oh, yesterday came suddenly ♪
♪ Why she had to go ♪
♪ I don't know, she wouldn't say… ♪
Excuse me, Teacher Ae-sun. Can you color this for me?
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Jeez, why do you keep asking me to do things for you?
It's time you start doing it alone.
Learn to draw by yourself
and speak to yourself.
Play some cards alone
so you don't become sick.
You get sick when you're lonely.
Jeez, why do you keep giving me yours?
I went
to your restaurant with my daughter and her husband.
I ordered the food myself.
It's 'cause of you.
"Jeong Gong-rye, the Illiterate Woman."
I've been embarrassed all my life
that I didn't go to school because I was a haenyeo.
When anyone asked me to order something from the menu,
my heart sank every time.
But yesterday, I ordered what I wanted to eat all by myself.
I ordered a big plate of sushi.
It was the best thing that I ever had.
[woman] Teacher Ae-sun,
have a little.
-Here. -Oh, why do you keep giving me things?
You're pretty. You are.
Do I remind you of your daughter again?
Oh, how I would have loved it to see my daughter work at a desk just like you.
It would be great, my dear,
if you could earn a living at a desk like your teacher in elementary school.
[chuckles]
Mm.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] I wish my mother was here to peel these tangerines.
I wanna eat a big plate of sushi too.
The word I wanted to say again the most in my life…
Mom.
Mom!
[sighs]
Other people live to 90 and 100 years.
Why were you so eager to go?
Were you reborn into a better life?
I hope that you get to work at a desk
like you wanted, to boss people around.
[phone ringing]
MY DAUGHTER
Hi.
How am I?
Well, same ol', same ol', you know.
What?
Oh, but why now?
[feel-good music playing]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] You said you couldn't come this month.
Jeez, I shouldn't have given the sour kimchi to your aunt.
Hey, Mom, stop it and just come sit down.
-Sit down now. -[middle-aged Ae-sun] You like it sour?
Eun-myeong likes to have it fresh.
I always have to have those separate.
Oh my God.
[Geum-myeong] Mom had been lonely up until the day before,
but she turned into that young girl again.
Their boat was full once again.
[singing]
Mother, look, Lim Young-woong is on.
Oh my.
[Eun-myeong] Mom, why are you so into Lim Young-woong?
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Your father loved Kim Kwang-seok.
He learned guitar so he could play this song.
But he never sang it for me because
he thought he'd cry.
But now Young-woong is singing it.
Aw!
It's a beautiful song.
[Geum-myeong] Mom, how do you stay young like that?
[Geum-myeong] She was still like a fragile flower petal.
HAENYEO MUSEUM
UNESCO INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE HAENYEO PERFORMANCE - LET'S GO TOGETHER
And she still had dreams.
Let's go to the hospital together.
You don't need favors from our kids.
If you get sick, I'll take care of you.
Better that you take a bit more care for yourself.
What are you doing about that belly?
The kids are already judging you.
And you should dye your hair. God.
Dye it?
-Will you help me? -[sighs]
So is there an age limit to first love?
God, stop talking, please.
-If there isn't, I was wondering if we… -All right, let me out. Let me out.
But the car is moving. How can you ask that?
Keep driving. Eyes on the road.
[Sang-gil] I'm not your chauffeur now, am I?
[Geum-myeong] In a season of unchanging youth,
my mom still dyed her nails with crushed balsam flowers.
Oh.
You never age, do you?
What's the big deal with aging?
Did you feel any different going from your thirties to your forties?
You feel the same at your age?
Oh, exhausting.
It's the same.
You feel the same inside,
but when you look in the mirror,
an old woman stares at you.
That's all aging is.
Mom. It's here! It's here!
It wasn't a scam, you see?
SEAFLOWER PUBLISHERS
I made it very clear to her that my sister is successful
and that I own a franchise.
I thought the publisher would charge us more
just because I wanted to publish a poem collection so quickly.
It was very last minute.
But it wasn't a scam, you see?
Oh, this is just unbelievable.
Oh Ae-sun's poem collection.
[Geum-myeong] Mom,
I bet Dad is laughing at you now, isn't he?
[wistful music playing]
Huh? Grandma's crying again?
[sobs happily]
HERE'S TO ALL YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH
TRIBUTE
THE BEAUTIFUL, DREAMLIKE STORY BROUGHT ME TO TEARS
"I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. I LOVE YOU"
EDITOR'S NOTE
MENTAL AND FINANCIAL COMPETENCE
So you're here to see the flowers today. How do you feel about it?
Well, the flowers remind me of my first love.
[reporter] Your first love.
-[man] Of course, yes. -[woman] Go live with her, then.
[man] Hye-ran. No, no. That's dirty.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Excuse me, ma'am. Don't stand there.
Ma'am, who did you come here to see?
Well, my mother-in-law said to pick the pretty lady.
So which of us would it be? Which one?
LITTLE PUNK
THE DAY WE BECAME THE SAME AGE
I WAS TEN WHEN I LOST MOTHER
SHE LEFT BEHIND HER THREE CHILDREN AT 29
WHEN I TURNED 29, I CRIED LIKE I WAS TEN AGAIN
[music fades]
[sobs]
Hey.
Are you crying?
[chuckles]
Oh, what's happening?
Why is this making me cry?
Is it that good?
It's just
that I'm…
I'm…
How can I say it?
Proud of her.
So proud.
OH AE-SUN
CONTENTS
SPRING IN A HEARTBEAT THE BLAZING SUMMER SUNSHINE
[Geum-myeong] Should we do something for your debut publication?
Can you at least pretend you want something?
Your daughter's doing quite well now. I even bought you your house.
See me more.
I want to see my busy daughter at least
a hundred more times before I go.
Why would you say that?
I get to see you
maybe ten times a year.
So I'd like to see you a hundred times a year.
[moans]
So you should move to Seoul with me.
Why do you go to the nursing home that often?
You still need a calling in the world.
It's important at my age.
I hate being treated like I'm a waste of space.
I'd just be relaxing mostly in that situation.
You were so, so busy your entire life.
I only go 'cause
I get excited doing that.
See, when I'm there, "Teacher Ae-sun" is what I'm called.
Basically, I'm moving up quite a lot in this world.
Once, I was a haenyeo's daughter who cried every day at sea,
then a bookworm who was so embarrassed about everything in the world.
[Ae-sun] We have a house and a boat.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] Then the most excited and elated wife of a boat captain.
Village Chief Oh,
the fish-filleting lady at the market…
Crazy, right? And then I was chosen.
Supposedly a teacher at 70,
and now, Oh Ae-sun the poet.
You learn about life if you live through it.
How shameful it would've been if I gave up on life.
I'm so glad I lived all that I could.
So… your back in springtime now?
Mm-hmm.
It's spring again.
Um,
I thought life
went from spring to summer
to autumn to winter.
That's not
necessarily true.
Sometimes,
it's winter, sometimes it's spring.
I had lots of spring days, dear.
Many, many of those.
[Geum-myeong] The countless stars of her years formed a galaxy.
[middle-aged Ae-sun] I've had many wonderful,
memorable moments.
[chuckles]
There's seven years of my life in the flower fields
living in this book.
[Geum-myeong] All the memories that she kept close to her chest
were now in full bloom.
So
are you happy?
Mm.
Oh yes.
I'm so
happy, yes.
[Geum-myeong] My mother's heart sparkled in the most beautiful colors.
[emotional music playing]
[middle-aged Ae-sun] To my love,
from age nine to now,
my life
was always in spring because of you.
[camera shutter clicks]
This book wouldn't exist
if it weren't for you.
I will live my life
as though every day is spring
until we meet again.
Come here.
When I grow up to be a poet,
I'll wear two-piece outfits like Um Aing-ran.
And, when I'm rich, I'll live in a two-story house
and raise an adorable dog.
And I'll pay for piano lessons for our kids.
I'll go out to eat nearly always.
Um, then I'll drive Jeeps and wear Ray-Bans.
You love cars?
Yeah.
[chuckles] I didn't know you liked things.
I'm gonna take you and drive that car all over the place.
I'm going to the States too.
Love it! [laughs]
We can go together, chat, do anything you want.
Love it.
I love it too.
Let's do all kinds of things all our lives.
Let's do everything we'd like to.
[laughs]
[wistful music playing]
[Geum-myeong] "To my parents who were so young
and always so tender-hearted all throughout the seasons."
"With remorse, gratitude, and the deepest respect,
thanks for showing us what to do
when life gives you tangerines."
[gentle pop music playing]
"IF YOU CAN'T, JUST BACK DOWN. WE'RE ALWAYS HERE FOR YOU."
[music fades]