10 saddest kdramas that will leave you in tears for hours

Korean content consists of a range of shows and movies to satisfy every mood. From the happiest to the saddest kdramas, the stories introduce gripping and compelling plotlines and characters that often make you feel the rough or happy times they are going through. While rom-coms might be the most popular genre of kdramas. There is another genre that kdramas tend to excel in, the heart-wrenching and sad kdramas.

Some of these saddest kdramas feature narratives where you see your favorite characters dying, unrequited love, or the characters realising how unceremonious life could be, but still have to keep on living. These tear-jerking and heartbreaking saddest kdramas are a good watch while going through a gloomy phase.

Here’s a list of the 10 saddest kdramas that will leave you in tears for hours.

Disclaimer: This entire article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.

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10 saddest kdramas

10) The Red Sleeve

When we talk about the saddest kdramas, The Red Sleeve is one of the unskippable Korean series as it is regarded as a cult favorite for a good cry. Based on Kang Mi-kang’s novel, this kdrama narrates the story of Joseon King Jeongjo, who falls in love with a court lady, Seong Deok-im.

It's a love story between two people who are tied by their social status but still decide to be together. However, their life is still far from what they envisioned, as King Jeongjo always put his duty over love, until he realised he might not have enough time with Deok-im. The narration, the performances, and also the cinematography of the series add to the artistic brilliance of the drama, making it one of the must-watch series as well.

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9) The Smile Has Left Your Eyes

Starring Jung So-min, this is one of the saddest kdramas due to its exploration of the themes of childhood trauma and the guilt of human beings. The protagonists, Moo-young and Jin-kang, both have a connected dark past that the drama unravels slowly, which also links Jin-kang’s brother, Jin-gook.

While maintaining the mystery around Moo-young being a criminal with the sudden and heartbreaking ending, this show, in the list of saddest kdramas of all time, delivers a compelling story.

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8) Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a story about a man, Joon-woong, who has failed to secure a job even after giving numerous interviews. His life changes when he tries to stop a man from killing himself and ends up in a coma. In a state of half-dead, half-alive, his spirit is asked to join a team of grim reapers who try to stop s*icidal people from killing themselves, and if he does his job perfectly, he will be sent back to his former life and can even have a job.

In every episode, the team tries to stop an individual who has given up all hope and wants to end their life. Additionally, the series also explores the backstory of the reapers when they were human and how they ended up here, creating a compelling story. Tomorrow depicts failure and how the characters deal with it, making it the bittersweet and saddest kdramas of all time. It also shows how hope for the future and optimism, while difficult, play an important role in one’s life.

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7) Uncontrollably Fond

Starring two of the most popular Korean actors, Kim Wo-bin and Bae Suzy, Uncontrollably Fond is often considered one of the saddest kdramas. However, at first, it might not appear due to the lighthearted moments, but as we gradually delve into the drama, we encounter the tragic love story of Joon-young and No-eul.

Separated at a young age, Joon-young and No-eul meet again as adults, and their love story begins again, but this time, it also has many secrets that make their relationship heartbreaking as it is revealed Joon-young doesn’t have much time to live due to his cancer. With a sad ending that would leave you crying for hours, Uncontrollably Fond also doesn’t provide many happy moments between Joon-young and No-eul, making it more heartbreaking to watch.

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6) Move to Heaven

Next on the list of saddest kdramas is Move to Heaven, which tells teh story of a 20-year-old Autistic boy, Geu-ru, who runs his family business of trauma cleaning named Move to Heaven with his uncle and now guardian, Sang-gu, who has just been out of prison. Their relationship is professional at first, as Sang-gu wanted money, but gradually comes to care for Geu-ru.

Even with his difficulty in expressing himself, Geu-ru has many people who try to help him and even manages to develop a warm relationship with his uncle. Even though their work suggests that they deal with death and blood, among other grim things, Geu-ru helps in collecting important things from the deceased and sending them to their close ones. This Korean series is a heartwarming yet brutally sad tale that will make you reach for tissues with its storytelling.

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5) Rain or Shine

Rain or Shine is one of the saddest kdramas due to its story revolving around the survivors of a tragic accident that killed their loved ones. After the S Mall building collapse, survivors have been struggling to move on from the guilt and pain of surviving the accident.

Kang-doo, who lost his father in the accident and also had to give up his dream of becoming a soccer player due to injuring his legs in the accident, has been living a grim life ever since. On the other hand, Moon-soo, who lost her younger sister in the accident, hasn’t reflected upon the trauma yet and has hidden it while living her life and taking care of her mother.

However, after hearing about a construction project on the same site, Moon-soo and many others have to deal with their painful pasts related to the tragic event and try to move on for good. The flashback scenes about the tragic incident and the detailing of it make the audience see the trauma the survivors are living with, and hence narrate a tear-jerking tale of the tragic event and how hard it is to move on from something like that.

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4) My Mister

The Baeksang Award-winning show is also one of the saddest kdramas from the beginning. It narrates the story of an unlikely friendship between Lee Sun-kyun’s Dong-hoon and IU’s Ji-an, who initially just befriended him to make him quit the company to help Joon-young, the CEO of the company they both work in, as he wants to be with Yoon-hee, Dong-hoon’s wife.

The drama is a psychological tale of how the lead characters confront their pasts and presents to rise above the challenges that they have faced. Throughout 16 episodes, Ji-an, who had tried to harm Dong-hoon for money, forms a warm relationship with him and his brothers, who even help her in organising her grandmother’s funeral with their money and inviting their friends and family, as none of Ji-an’s acquaintances show up.

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3) Hi Bye, Mama

Hi Bye, Mama is an emotional rollercoaster where every episode will make you cry, making it the saddest kdramas of all time. It narrates the story of Yu-ri, who has been wandering around the Earth after her death to look after her daughter. After being given 49 days to be back on Earth and insert herself in her previous life, she finds it difficult as her husband has remarried, and after meeting his wife, Min-jung, she finds it harder to go back to her old life as it would disrupt this new family.

Initially, she tries to be around Yu-ri by getting a job at her Kindergarten school, as this was the only purpose she wanted to come back for, but in the end, decides to go back and give Min-jung a chance to be Seo-woo’s mother. The kdrama depicts the emotional side of motherhood and the lengths they would go for their children and the sacrifices they tend to make. Other than motherly love, the show also depicts familial love and friendships in a bittersweet tale, making it a part of the saddest kdramas list.

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2) Mr. Sunshine

Next on the list of saddest kdramas is Mr. Sunshine, starring Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun as Eugene Choi, who goes to the US during the Shinmiyangyo and later returns to Korea as a marine officer. He falls in love with an aristocrat’s daughter, which results in numerous challenges as Choi belongs form a servant family. However, it's not just the love story that makes this one of the saddest dramas, but also the urge of the characters to protect their country from being colonized by the Japanese.

The narrative around fighting for one's country and the love story amid class differences are just a few points that make up most of the storyline, as it is a story about saving one's country from foreign invading powers with every breath of your life. Since the kdrama is about patriotism, love, and sacrifices, the end of many of the beloved characters is bound to make you cry as they leave a lasting impact on the audience.

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1) Guardian: The Lonely and Great God

This popular Korean series has made many people cry, making it one of the saddest kdramas. It tells the story of a 939-year-old Goblin, also known as Kim Shin, who is cursed to live immortally and see his loved ones die until a prophesied Goblin’s wife shows up and pulls out the sword from his chest, ultimately killing him.

As he finally meets his bride, Go Eun-tak, who happens to be a high school student, despite their fate of Eun-tak ending his immortality and killing him by pulling the sword out, they fall in love. Their eternal, sad love story transcended time and lifetimes, but there wasn’t the only love that was hard in the film. The second lead couple, the grim reaper and Sunny, who was Goblin’s sister, also had to endure a sad love story due to the history they shared almost a century ago. While the show doesn't have a love triangle, the love stories are still the most heartbreaking, making it one of the saddest kdramas.

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