K-Drama

Netflix’s “When Life Gives You Tangerines” Faces Piracy Issues Amid Viral Success in China

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Riding a wave of worldwide popularity, the hit Korean drama “When Life Gives You Tangerines” is drawing heightened attention with the viral “Kim Seon-ho Challenge” currently spreading across Chinese SNS. However, since Netflix is not officially available in China, the spotlight is also revealing a serious issue: illegal distribution and unauthorized viewership. Netflix is not officially available in China, the spotlight is also revealing a serious issue: illegal distribution and unauthorized viewership.

kim seon ho iu when life gives you tangerines 2

Among young Chinese viewers, the challenge centered around a scene in Episode 13 where Kim Seon-ho’s character Park Chung-seop pretends to faint and smiles after seeing IU’s character Yang Geum-myeong in a wedding dress has gone viral on platforms like TikTok, Douyin and Xiaohongshu. Under hashtags such as #KimSeonhoSmileChallenge and #金宣虎笑容模仿, fan-made reenactments of the moment have racked up over 100 million views.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5TOm4H37Sh4

Even popular Chinese actress Bai Lu joined the trend, accelerating its spread. A review page for the drama has been created on China’s major community site Douban, with over 150,000 ratings and 60,000 reviews. State-run media outlet Global Times even acknowledged its soaring popularity, citing a high user rating of 9.4.

The real issue lies in the fact that all of this popularity stems from illegally accessed content. Without official access, the drama is being pirated and distributed widely across China. Even more concerning, the viral scenes are being used to promote tourism, turning unauthorized consumption into a commercial tool—raising concerns about copyright infringement, ethics and cultural sovereignty.

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Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University harshly criticized this situation in a post on April 4, stating, “The city of Zhangjiajie quoting a line from the drama and sending an invitation to the cast and crew is essentially admitting they’ve been watching illegally.” The referenced line came from a scene where Moon So-ri’s character (middle-aged Ae-sun) tells Park Hae-joon’s character (middle-aged Gwan-sik), “I want to go to Zhangjiajie in the fall to see the fallen leaves.”

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In response, Zhangjiajie’s tourism board said “Thank you for the mention”, launching a promotional campaign urging people to visit immediately instead of waiting for fall. But since Netflix is unavailable in China, this promotion is based on illicit consumption, sparking strong backlash.

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Professor Seo added, “It happened with ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 too illegal viewership of Netflix content in China has become normalized. The fact that even local governments are leveraging pirated content for official promotion is beyond outrageous.” He urged the Korean government to stop overlooking this issue and respond strongly, asserting that decisive action is needed.

As unauthorized Netflix content consumption continues in China with apparent government indifference, “When Life Gives You Tangerines” is now facing more than just a surge in global fandom—it is enduring the harsh reality of being blatantly stolen in broad daylight. Calls are mounting for Korea’s government and content producers to take serious and proactive measures.

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