When Life Gives You Tangerines Episodes 5-8 recap: Gwan-Sik gets a boat and Dong-Myeong meets an unfortunate end

When Life Gives You Tangerines Volume 2, consisting of episodes 5-8, dropped on Netflix on March 14, 2025. Volume 1 of this Netflix K-drama tells the childhood story of the central couple, Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik, and episode 5 picks up right where the last volume ended.

When Life Gives You Tangerines, episodes 5-8, focus on the middle age of Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik. Holding true to its characters, this volume also maintains a strong focus on the theme of things eventually becoming fine, no matter how hard the journey is.

Given the nature of this K-drama, it is not really surprising that episodes 5-8 of When Life Gives You Tangerines were emotionally intense, where the characters went through both major wins and losses.

Let us now explore in detail what happened in When Life Gives You Tangerines, episodes 5-8.

The following article contains spoilers.

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Gwan-Sik finds a boat in When Life Gives You Tangerines Volume 2

Episode 5 of When Life Gives You Tangerines shows Gwan-Sik being in a dejected mood as he has lost his job and can no longer afford to take care of his family. Moreover, Ae-Sun is pregnant, which makes the hardships of this family even more brutal.

However, Gwan-Sik and Ae-Sun, given the kind of people they are, find help in unexpected places that make them survive. For instance, the couple and child do not have to go without food because the landlady supplies them with rice. Though Ae-Sun does not understand the reason behind her kind gesture, it nevertheless helps them.

While pregnant, Ae-Sun keeps thinking of her mother, who, despite dying when she was very young, made sure that her daughter did not grow up unloved. This brings the viewers to Ae-Sun’s paternal grandmother, who has a lot of money and helps Ae-Sun.

With the money that Ae-Sun’s grandmother gives them, she buys her husband a boat and also arranges food for her family. As they celebrate because of this sudden turn in fortune brought by the boat, Ae-Sun’s water breaks, and she is taken to the hospital by Gwan-Sik in a cart.

Another surprise that awaits Ae-Sun is Gwan-Sik's purchase of her mother’s home. This makes Ae-Sun incredibly happy, and the family seems to have everything they need.

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Dong-Myeong tragically passes away in When Life Gives You Tangerines Volume 2

While life seemed good for Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik and their three kids, tragedy soon gave them a visit and charged a rather heavy price. In episode 6, Dong-Myeong gets rebuked by Ae-Sun for dropping a box of candy. The child cries and asks for a hug from his mother.

However, it is then that Ae-Sun comes to know that Geum-Myeong, her eldest daughter, is out on her bicycle amidst a typhoon. This gets her severely worried, and keeping her two sons, Dong-Myeong and Eun-Myeong, at a neighbor's disposal, she goes out to look for her daughter.

Ae-Sun merely asked the neighbor to keep an eye on her sons without ensuring that the person would do so. As a result, when she comes back with Geum-Myeong, she cannot find either of her sons.

Panicking, she asks the neighbors, and everyone starts looking for those two boys. Eun-Myeong is found, and a while later, Dong-Myeong’s body is retrieved. He appears to have died, though it is not made clear how that happened.

This tragedy strikes the family very badly, as everyone, including Ae-Sun, Geum-Myeong, and Eun-Myeong, blame themselves for Dong-Myeong’s death. Ae-Sun thinks if she had been more careful before leaving, she would not have lost the child. Geum-Myeong thought if she had simply remained home, none of this would have happened and Eun-Myeong, thought that it was wrong of him to go after his mother and not take care of his brother.

However, gradually, with the help of Gwan-Sik, the family members comfort each other and work through their guilt. This serves as a stark reminder that despite life getting extremely difficult and unbearable at times, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

When Life Gives You Tangerines can be streamed on Netflix.

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