Actor Park Bo-gum's missing screen time leaves a slight disappointment in the latter part of "When Life Gives You Tangerines."

Recently, viewers and fans have voiced criticism regarding the Netflix original series "When Life Gives You Tangerines" (written by Lim Sang-chun, directed by Kim Won-seok), which is currently popular. The screen time of actor Park Bo-gum, who plays the young version of the male lead Kwan-sik, drastically decreased from Act 2 and became nearly nonexistent from Act 3.

"When Life Gives You Tangerines" is a story about the adventurous life of 'the resilient rebel' Ae-sun (played by IU) and 'the naive fool' Kwan-sik (played by Park Bo-gum), born in Jeju in the 1960s, told through the four seasons. It has drawn praise for bringing together writer Lim Sang-chun, recognized for works like "When the Camellia Blooms" and "Fight for My Way," and director Kim Won-seok, who has received acclaim for his delicate direction in "My Mister", "Signal", and "Misaeng."

This drama, planned as a 16-part series, is structured into four acts, with each act corresponding to one of the four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Park Bo-gum takes on the role of the young Kwan-sik, showcasing the youthful and passionate love between Ae-sun and Kwan-sik in Act 1. In Act 2, he portrays Kwan-sik growing into a father and head of the family as he raises his three siblings, Geum-myung, Eun-myung, and Dong-myung.

However, in Act 3 of "When Life Gives You Tangerines," Park Bo-gum's appearance has been hardly noticeable. Of course, this is due to the passage of time in the drama, where the roles of Ae-sun and Kwan-sik have transformed from IU and Park Bo-gum to senior actors Moon So-ri and Park Hae-joon. Such changes in character due to the passage of time were anticipated from the casting stage.

However, the disappointment among viewers stems from the fact that IU, who plays the female lead Ae-sun, reappears as Ae-sun's grown-up first daughter Geum-myung and continues to be active, while Park Bo-gum's screen time has become almost nonexistent from Act 3. Given his significant performances in Acts 1 and 2, and the anticipation surrounding "When Life Gives You Tangerines" as a collaboration between Park Bo-gum and IU, the differing amounts of screen time have elicited a wide range of opinions, from fans' grumbles to dissatisfaction with the work itself.

In response, Netflix stated to OSEN, "'When Life Gives You Tangerines' is a work that depicts the adventurous life stories of Ae-sun and Kwan-sik, and we plan to provide much enjoyment and emotion through the middle-aged Ae-sun and Kwan-sik as parents, just as with the young Ae-sun and Kwan-sik." They added, "We appreciate your attention to the upcoming stories of Ae-sun and Kwan-sik, as well as Geum-myung and Eun-myung in the remaining Act 4."

Despite being a Netflix work, "When Life Gives You Tangerines" is uniquely being released in four acts of four episodes each, rather than being binge-watched. This segmented method of release is believed to have intensified the visibility of differences in screen time among actors and characters. As the release of Act 4 approaching in winter, attention is drawn to whether "When Life Gives You Tangerines" can address the disappointment of Park Bo-gum's lack of screen time in its finale. The remaining Act 4 of "When Life Gives You Tangerines" is scheduled to be released on the 28th on Netflix.

[Photo] Provided by Netflix.

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