Chen Xiuhuan (left) recently travelled to Jeju Island with with her daughter Shanisse Tsai. Photo: Chen Xiuhuan/Instagram
Singaporean actress Chen Xiuhuan and her eldest daughter Shanisse Tsai were so touched by hit Netflix K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025) that they travelled to South Korea’s Jeju Island, where the period drama was set.
“This would have to be the most precious and moving Mother’s Day gift I’ve ever received,” Chen wrote on social media on May 11. Mothers Day is celebrated on May 11 in 2025.
With much of the story set in 1950s Jeju, When Life Gives You Tangerines stars South Korean singer-actress IU and actor Park Bo-gum as childhood friends-turned-high school sweethearts. The 16-episode series spanning different timelines and generations concluded on March 28.
Chen wrote: “We had just finished watching When Life Gives You Tangerines – laughing, crying and feeling every moment together. The drama didn’t just move us. It helped us see through each other’s eyes – a mother and her firstborn daughter, each carrying our own quiet struggles, each learning to understand the roles we’ve had to take on.”
Tsai, 27, then suggested to Chen, 59, that they travel to Jeju to view the scenic sights featured in the tearjerker as part of a Mothers Day trip. Chen has two younger daughters – Shalynn, 25, and Shavinne, 21 – with her businessman husband Fred Tsai.
“This trip – from planning to execution – was all taken care of by (Shanisse): the itinerary, accommodations, restaurants, car rental routes,” wrote Chen. “I need to do only one thing: Be her Mother’s Day queen with peace of mind.”
Sharing video highlights of the holiday, the star of Channel 5 series Sunny Side Up (2022 to 2024) added: “I got to know her again during these few days of the trip.”
The duo travelled between the coast and mountains of Jeju Island. The actress praised her daughter for finding a beautiful and comfortable Airbnb, and for planning a barbecue night for them.
“And somewhere between those shared meals and soft silences, I saw her – not just as my daughter, but as a woman, strong and kind, holding me now with the same love I once held her,” Chen wrote.
Concluding the post, she added: “In those few precious days, she gave me a gift no present could match – a quiet, breathtaking reminder of how much she’s grown… and that the love between a mother and daughter is a blessing beyond words. Wishing all the mums out there Happy Mother’s Day.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
