Ae-sun from *When Life Gives You Tangerines* (Actors Kim Tae-yeon, IU, and Moon So-ri) – Conditions and Features of a Youthful Face

Hello.

I am Dr. Huh Jae-won, a board-certified plastic surgeon at Inpyeong Plastic Surgery, where we perform youth-restoration surgery.

These days I’m watching the drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, and the cast is great and the acting is excellent, but above all, the directing style is very distinctive.

It has a structure in which three actors portray one character, Ae-sun, across different life stages from childhood to old age.

Even though the faces are completely different, we end up feeling that the character is the “same person” from beginning to end.

As a plastic surgeon specializing in youthful facial surgery, this was a topic I definitely wanted to cover in the drama.

In this post, I’ll talk about how Ae-sun’s face changes, broken down by period.

I believe that if you understand the broad flow of these changes and undergo procedures or surgery that turn back time, it will surely lead to better results.

1. Child Ae-sun – Full front cheek and a face with baby fat

Child actress Kim Tae-yeon

In childhood, Ae-sun’s face (played by Kim Tae-yeon) naturally has elastic skin and a thick fat layer that lifts the center of the face upward.

The volume is concentrated below the cheekbones and in the front cheeks, and it does not flow toward the mouth or jaw.

Even without making a big expression, the face looks full and lively.

Overall, the contour is soft and the bone structure is not prominent, giving a boundary-less feeling.

A face before time begins to settle on it; in plain terms, the conditions that create the impression of being “young.”

2. Young adult Ae-sun – Volume decreases, and the contours become clearer

Actress IU

Young adult Ae-sun, played by IU, starts to lose volume and show more defined contours.

In particular, the front cheeks become flatter and the shape of the cheekbones becomes visible, giving the face an impression of having “matured.”

Actress IU

When she has a neutral expression, the midface looks plain, but when she smiles, the remaining volume lifts slightly.

IU is actually youthful-looking in real life too, but when you look at photos taken with actress Kim Tae-yeon, clear differences appear in skin thickness, fine lines around the mouth, and the hollowing below the cheekbones. Young adult Ae-sun is now at the stage where the center of the face is gradually starting to descend.

3. Middle-aged Ae-sun – The eye area becomes heavier, and the center of the face sinks

Actress Moon So-ri

Middle-aged Ae-sun, played by Moon So-ri, strongly gives the impression that her mind remains the same, but her face has changed.

In particular, the volume in the forehead above the eyes decreases, the eyebrows drop lower, and the eyes take on a “triangular” shape.

The skin becomes thinner, the double-eyelid line becomes covered, and even without expression, she gives off a tired look.

Actress Moon So-ri

Changes also appear around the mouth and jawline.

Deep shading forms, the submental area expands, and the center of the entire face shifts downward.

Even when she smiles, the front cheeks no longer lift. That is because the structure is no longer supporting them.

4. Older Ae-sun – A sense of unfamiliarity created by loosening structure

In this stage of Ae-sun’s life, the upper eyelid skin folds over in layers, and instead of a double eyelid, it looks like triple or quadruple folds.

The temples and front cheekbones become hollow, volume decreases, the contour collapses, and deep shadows appear below the cheekbones.

The skin becomes thinner, and fine wrinkles increase around the eyes and forehead.

The jawline and neck line become blurred, and the midface and lower face sag downward, creating the impression of a longer face.

Many patients say this at this point.

“I’m still the same, but the face I see in the mirror is so different from the face I remember.”

The mind remains the same, but the face becomes unfamiliar.

In the drama, Ae-sun says this:

“What is aging, really? Isn’t there a big difference between thirty and forty for you? Inside, it’s the same, but one day when you look in the mirror, some old person is sitting there. That’s what aging is.”

This is not simply about changes in appearance, but about a sense of disconnect from one’s identity.

The person has not changed, but the face changes first, and when that gets out of sync with the mind, feelings of loneliness or anxiety can arise.

So for some people, instead of reversing the face, they choose “adjustment.”

It is not about some dramatic transformation, but about wanting to narrow the distance a little between the self they remember and the self they are now.

That is also the question middle-aged patients quietly ask while looking in the mirror these days.

And as a plastic surgeon, I believe my role is to listen to that question and make careful adjustments.

When Life Gives You Tangerines is a drama that shows how time changes the face, while quietly telling us that the heart inside remains in the same place.

Looking at that face, we may perhaps be taking a brief look at our own time as well.

If you want a more detailed analysis, please visit the blog below.